Although the very hard-drinking days of some past centuries appear to be long gone,  there are still problems with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence in the United States and in many other countries today.  For example,  according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),  in 2007,  about 7.3 million minor children (10.3 percent of all children) in the United States lived with a parent who either abused or was dependent on alcohol.

Although print and signage advertising of alcohol has been sharply curtailed by pressure groups concerned about the effect of advertisements promoting alcohol as something “cool” to adolescents and underage youths, underage drinking remains a problem.  The influence of alcohol is nowhere more prevalent than on the college campus, where fraternities and sororities, as well as students who are unaffiliated with “Greek”  organizations,  hold keg parties and engage in almost ritualistic binge drinking. But the problem may not start in college.

Many students begin their drinking in high school or even earlier.

Adolescents and Drinking 
Studies have shown that many adolescents begin drinking in high school and some start drinking before they reach their 13th birthday.  Early initiators of drinking (before age 14) have an increased risk for alcohol dependence in young adulthood and adulthood.

They also have a seven-fold increase in risk for unintentional injuries and are more likely to become involved in alcohol-related violence up to age 21 and beyond.

Underage-drinking laws have had a positive impact on adolescents, based on research by James C. Fell and colleagues published in 2009 in Alcoholism:  Clinical and Experimental Research.  According to the researchers’ analysis of state drinking laws over the period 1982 to 2004,  the laws against those under age 21 purchasing and possessing alcohol as well as the zero-tolerance law prohibiting drivers from having a very low (or any, depending on the state) level of blood alcohol have saved an estimated 732 lives per year nationwide.

The researchers also recommended that all states should adopt the “use and lose” law on the books in 37 states as of 2004. Under this law, if underage drivers violate alcohol laws,  their driver’s license will be suspended. The researchers estimated that adopting such a law in every state would save an additional 165 lives per year.

Alcohol and Young Adults 
Statistics provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration make it very clear that young adults up to about the age of 25 are the heaviest drinkers of any age group in the United States. They also have the greatest rate of binge drinking. Among young adults,  many college students have a particular problem with alcohol abuse. Underage drinking is also a major problem, and in some cases children as young as 13 years old (or younger)  are taking their first drink and starting what often becomes a disastrous drinking “career.”

###

Mark S. Gold, M.D. and Christine Adamec

###

REFERENCES

1. Amethyst Initiative.  Statement.  Available online.  Accessed March 1, 2009.
2. Beirness,  Douglas J.,  and Erin E.  Beasley.  Alcohol and Drug Use Among Drivers: British Columbia Roadside Survey, 2008. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2009.
3. Berridge,  Virginia,  and Sarah Mars.  “History of Addictions.”  Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health 58 (2003): 747–750.
4. Blanco,  Carlos,  M.D.,  et al.  “Mental Health of College Students and Their Non-College-Attending Peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions.”  Archives of General Psychiatry 65, no. 12 (2008): 1,429–1,437.
5. Blocker,  Jack S.,  Jr.  “Did Prohibition Really Work: Alcohol Prohibition as a Public Health Innovation.” American Journal of Public Health 96,  no.  2 (2006): 233–243.

Full References  »