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Kaitlyn Affum
Professor Flanigan
Writing 2010
July 31 2016
Underage Drinking in The Youth
Underage drinking is a huge problem around the world; to be exact, a problem without any
answer. Many suggestions have been made including raise the drinking age and harsh
punishments but it seems nothing is going to provide an adequate solution to the problem.
Underage drinking has become more and more a problem over the years here are some
statistics that result in underage drinking. Across the U.S. young people some as young as 15 can
obtain drivers licenses. Unfortunately, these youthful drivers, though not old enough to drink are
having some sobering DUI statistics. 4,300 deaths annually are caused by underage drinking. I
believe this is why Mothers against Underage Drinking came to be. One potentially devastating
things that the youth dont think about before a DUI is that disclosure of it may be required on
college applications, job applications, or for requests for some types of financial aid. The failure
to report this information can result in the loss of rights, loss of financial aid, or even charges of
perjury, if later discovered. Driving with a blood alcohol content of over .08 is considered to be
alcohol impaired driving. 33% of drivers 15-20 years old who were killed in car crashes in
2009 had a BAC of .01. 28% of young drivers had a BAC of greater than or equal to .08. This is
very alarming information. Parents are going to have to be more involved in their childs ware
bouts to avoid this as much as they can. Car crashes become more serious when alcohol is
involved. In 2009, 2% of the 15-20 year olds involved in car crashes that caused propertydamage-only were intoxicated. 4% of young drivers involved in crashes resulting in physical

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injury were intoxicated. Lastly, 24% of young drivers involved in a fatal car crash had been
intoxicated. In 2009, up to 60% of drivers under the age of 21 involved in a fatal car crash were
not properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Underage drinking in driving is greater for young males than it is for young females. In
2009, only 15% of young drivers involved in a fatal wreck had been drinking at the time of the
accident, but the number was 27% for males.
Minimum drinking age laws are estimated to save around 600-700 lives every year, and they are
estimated to reduce fatal accidents among people between 18 and 21 years by 13%. People aged
12 to 20 years old drink, these is an alarming rate, as well as very scary that 12 year olds are
starting to drink. Kids are drinking at a younger age now as opposed to when I was a child. More
than 90% of alcohol consumed is considered as binge drinking. Only 1 in 100 parents believe his
or her child binge drinks. Parents are in denial they just done believe that their kid could be
drinking. Youth drinking is correlated to adult drinking children of parents who binge drink are
2x as likely to binge drink. 70% of young people have engaged in heavy drinking by ages 19 or
20. Nearly 75% of 12th grade students, more than 66% of 10th grade students, and about 40% of
8th grade students have consumed alcohol in their lifetimes. From ages 13 to 21, the percentage
of people who report binge drinking increases from 1% to 50%. High school students who use
alcohol or other substances are five times more likely to drop out of school. According to the
National drug abuse center

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Male drivers are roughly twice as likely as female drivers to have BACs of .08 or
higher. The following research was conducted with both Female and Male candidates. Questions
to establish average weekly alcohol consumption. These questions ask respondents about their
drinking behavior in the 12 months before interview. The measure was developed in response to
earlier medical guidelines suggesting maximum recommended weekly amounts of alcohol of 21
units for men and 14 units for women. OPN data answers questions regarding the number of
units consumed on a persons heaviest drinking day in the last week, to allow for an easier
comparison with official daily alcohol limit guidance. Health Survey England reports continue to
publish average weekly alcohol consumption statistics for England.
These show that in 2012, men consumed a average of 17 units in the last week, compared
with 10.2 units for women. Men aged 5564 years of age consumed the most number of alcohol
units of all age groups. For women, the age group that consumed the most units was aged 4554
years. For both sexes, the age group consuming fewest units on average were aged the over 75s.

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1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

Article title Understanding the Epidemic
Publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Electronically published: June 21 2016.
2. Website: Psychology Today.
Article title: Teen opioid Abuse:
Publisher: Marco Sterling
Can lifeskills training Reduce Misuse?
Date Published: August 15 2012
3. Website; Northstar Transitions
Publisher- unknown
Article title: Denver a Boulder Colorado Heroin Addiction Treatment
Electronically Published November 3 2014