Two new reports issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration give parents all the reason they need to crack down on teen drinking.
One of these new reports, Quantity and Frequency of Alcohol Use among Underage Drinkers, states that the ten million young Americans (ages 12 to 20) who report consumption of alcohol are drinking an average of six days a month, an average of nearly five drinks apiece each day. This compares to 2.8 alcoholic drinks per day for drinkers aged 21 or older. This report also states that underage drinkers consume more than 11 percent of all the alcoholic drinks consumed in the United States.
The other new report, Substance Abuse and Dependence Following Initiation or Alcohol or Illicit Drug Use tells us that the overwhelming majority of those who start using alcohol are still using it a year or more later.
