Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States

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Exceptions to Minimum Age of 21 for Consumption of Alcohol as of 2007 Underage consumption map 2007.gif
Exceptions to Minimum Age of 21 for Consumption of Alcohol as of 2007

Although the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 in all U.S. states and most territories [1] (see National Minimum Drinking Age Act), the legal details for consumption vary greatly. Although some states completely ban alcohol usage for people under 18, the majority have exceptions that permit consumption. [2]

Contents

Underage drinking has become an activity primarily done in secrecy. In what is known as pregaming or pre-partying, underage drinkers may hide their alcohol consumption by drinking quickly before they go out. Brittany Levine explained in her article "Pre-Gaming" in USA Today that "of all drinking events involving pre-partying, 80% involved additional drinking afterward." [3]

Drinking age

Most states decided on 21 as the drinking age after Prohibition, but the 26th Amendment allowed individuals 18 and older to vote and serve in the military, so several states lowered the drinking age as well. However, President Ronald Reagan, influenced by groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID), decided to federally enforce a 21+ drinking age by signing the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. [4] He believed that doing so would decrease the number of crashes related to drunk driving, because, he claimed, states with a drinking age of 21+ did not have as many drunk driving crashes. Reagan said that although he wished states would create their own legislation to increase the drinking age, a federal law had to be implemented to avoid blood borders, or teenagers driving to the nearest state with a lower drinking age. [5] Reagan threatened states with withholding 5% of federal funding for highways if they did not comply with increasing the drinking age to 21. [6]

In 2007, the drinking age debate in the United States was renewed when nonprofit organization Choose Responsibility began promoting the lowering of the drinking age coupled with education and rules to persuade people to drink responsibly before they are of legal age. Before one is eligible to buy, possess and consume alcohol, an alcohol education class must be completed in its entirety and each teen must pass a final examination before licensing can occur. If a teen has any alcohol-related law violations before they turn 18, they will have a minimum of one year per violation before they are eligible to be licensed. [7]

In 2008, McCardell and the presidents of over 100 U.S. colleges and universities launched the Amethyst Initiative, a campaign to debate the effectiveness of present alcohol laws. [8] In 2008, Gallup reported that 77% of the population over 18 oppose the 18-year drinking age. [9] As it stands, any state that lowers its alcohol purchase or possession age would lose five percent of its federal highway funding. [10] This could range from a $6 million–150 million loss for any single state.

Prevention programs

According to Frances M. Harding of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, "Our target is to change social norms." [11]

Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students

The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program consists of a brief survey given to students to help them assess their alcohol usage against other students. It also consists of one or two counseling sessions granted to the students to provide support and not be confrontational regarding their alcohol use.

"Talk. They Hear You"

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration created the "Talk. They Hear You" campaign that involved a mobile app to assist parents with having conversations about alcohol usage to their children. [11]

Motivations

To summarize the motivations for underage drinking, cultural norms allow underage drinking while social pressures facilitate them. Although the legal drinking age is set at 21, drinking at age 18 or upon entrance into college is the culturally accepted limit. This cultural permission is the primary reason many college students ignore laws concerning drinking. In addition to cultural motivations, students are socially expected to drink. Often if not always, social gatherings are centered on drinking. Furthermore, besides feeling the need to drink in order to be accepted, alcohol intoxication provides students who may be shy or feel out of their element with enough liquid courage to enjoy themselves. [12] [13] Another major factor is for adolescents who grew up in households where drinking was common, encouraged, or provided to them. One study from 2005 showed that 26% of adults think underage drinking is okay if an adult is present.

Those that are for lowering the drinking age generally argue that the moderate consumption of alcohol frequently as a complement to a meal or drink with friends is preferable to and healthier than the binge drinking habits more often associated with dry countries such as the United States. These opinions generally lead to the argument that it is far more effective and beneficial for laws to monitor, limit, and guide healthy drinking habits rather than to outright ban it. Furthermore, it is argued that alcohol misuse occurs—at least in part—as a result of the stringent drinking laws. It is said that if a drinking age wasn't strictly enforced and people below the age of 18 had opportunities to learn how to drink responsibility before college, fewer teenagers would misuse alcohol. Dwight B. Heath, a Professor at Brown points out the ‘forbidden fruit’ syndrome that is created when the drinking age is so high. In contrast to countries with low drinking ages. "Alcohol has no mystique. It's no big deal.” [14] Many of these proponents also argue that instead of there being a strict age limit, laws should be more gradual with suggestions such as having to take a test to get licensed to drink or implementing laws such as those in Europe that limit the type of alcohols or the setting under which they may be consumed. [15] [16]

For those who argue for maintaining and even strengthening current drinking laws, however, citing past examples, generally argue that injuries and deaths related to drinking are bad enough presently. They also argue that initiatives to implement gradual drinking laws or educational programs are optimistic and unrealistic. Furthermore, they propose that drinking and driving related problems are rampant enough among those who are not legally of age and that lowering the drinking age would only enable these habits further, causing an even higher volume of alcohol-related problems. [15] [16]

Statistics

Rates

Current Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 to 20 in the United States. Source: SAMHSA 2002-2013 Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 to 20, by Age - United States.png
Current Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 to 20 in the United States.
Source: SAMHSA

Although the incidence of underage drinking is still significant, government, university and national statistics have confirmed that alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students has declined steadily over the past three decades, and continues to decline annually. [18] [ better source needed ] According to a United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration study involving 30,000 youths aged 12 to 20 years old, between 2002 and 2013 the percentage of underage drinkers declined from 28.8% to 22.7%. Underage binge drinkers decreased 19.3% to 14.2%. A December 2014, study performed by the University of Michigan also found that 75% of senior high school students disapproved of drinking excessively on the weekends. [11] Alcohol still proved to be the favored substance among American youths however, with tobacco and illicit drugs following in rank. [11] According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obtained by The Hill, drug and alcohol-related deaths among children aged 15 to 19 have increased from 788 in 2018 to 1,755 in 2021. [19]

Parental supervision of alcohol consumption for minors

Those who oppose a complete ban on underage drinking argue that it is important that minors be introduced to alcohol in a controlled environment, so that supervision and guidance might occur instead of experimentation. Some parents are willing to provide alcohol for their children if they drink it in a controlled environment. Furnishing alcohol to one's own children is permitted in 31 states, while it's illegal to do so for other people's children in all fifty states. [20] Social host ordinances have been enacted in a number of jurisdictions to attempt to limit the parties where adults may permit minors to drink. [21] Social host laws or ordinances have proliferated in the last ten years because it has been too difficult for law enforcement to prove which adults furnished or served alcohol to minors in their own home, so it permits them to cite or arrest the adult who has control of the premises. [22] Due to the difficulty in proving these cases, some states make this an affirmative defense that the defendant must prove consumption was legally permissible. [23] [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol abuse</span> Substance abuse of alcoholic beverages

Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of alcohol-related substance abuse, ranging from the consumption of more than 2 drinks per day on average for men, or more than 1 drink per day on average for women, to binge drinking or alcohol use disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drinking culture</span> Aspect of human behavior

Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviours that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, nearly every civilization has independently discovered the processes of brewing beer, fermenting wine, and distilling spirits, among other practices. Many countries have developed their own regional cultures based on unique traditions around the fermentation and consumption of alcohol, which may also be known as a beer culture, wine culture etc. after a particularly prominent type of drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</span> Nonprofit organization

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop driving with any amount of alcohol in the bloodstream, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol or any other drug. The Irving, Texas-based organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. There is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has claimed that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Minimum Drinking Age Act</span> 1984 U.S. law which indirectly raised the nationwide minimum drinking age to 21

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 was passed by the United States Congress and was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. The law was later amended, lowering the penalty to 8 percent from fiscal year 2012 and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol advertising</span> Promotion of alcoholic beverages

Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with nicotine advertising, alcohol advertising is one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing. Some or all forms of alcohol advertising are banned in some countries.

Alcohol education is the practice of disseminating disinformation about the effects of alcohol on health, as well as society and the family unit. It was introduced into the public schools by temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 19th century. Initially, alcohol education focused on how the consumption of alcoholic beverages affected society, as well as the family unit. In the 1930s, this came to also incorporate education pertaining to alcohol's effects on health. For example, even light and moderate alcohol consumption increases cancer risk in individuals. Organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States were founded to promulgate alcohol education alongside those of the temperance movement, such as the American Council on Alcohol Problems.

0-0-1-3 is an alcohol abuse prevention program developed in 2004 at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base based on research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism regarding binge drinking in college students. This program was a command-led collaboration between unit leaders, base agencies, and base personnel that utilized a three-tiered approach: (1) identify and assist high risk drinkers; (2) Develop a base culture, supportive of safe and responsible behaviors, including recreational options; and (3) Partnering with the broader community to promote alcohol prevention.

Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), formerly known as the Century Council, is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol use.

The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that, in July 2008, launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S. legal drinking age, particularly the minimum age of 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binge drinking</span> Form of excessive alcohol intake

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol law</span> Law pertaining to alcoholic beverages

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drunk driving</span> Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol

Drunk driving is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.

Binge drinking is the practice of consuming excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Due to the idiosyncrasies of the human body, the exact amount of alcohol that would constitute binge drinking differs among individuals. The definitions of binge drinking are also nuanced across cultures and population subgroups. For example, many studies use gender-specific measures of binge drinking. The epidemiology of binge drinking likewise differs across cultures and population subgroups.

The legal drinking age varies from country to country. In the United States, the legal drinking age is currently 21. To curb excessive alcohol consumption by younger people, instead of raising the drinking age, other countries have raised the prices of alcohol beverages and encouraged the general public to drink less. Setting a legal drinking age of 21 is designed to discourage reckless alcohol consumption by youth, limiting consumption to those who are more mature, who can be expected to make reasonable and wise decisions when it comes to drinking.

Many college campuses throughout the United States have some form of alcohol advertising including flyers on bulletin boards to mini billboard signs on college buses. It is so prevalent on college campuses especially because college students are considered the "targeted marketing group," meaning that college students are more likely to consume larger qualities of alcohol than any other age group, which makes them the prime consumers of alcohol in the United States.

Pregaming is the process of getting drunk prior to going out socializing, typically done by college students and young adults in a manner as cost-efficient as possible, with hard liquor and cheap beer consumed while in group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol (drug)</span> Active ingredient in fermented drinks

Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is the second most consumed psychoactive drug globally behind caffeine, and one of the most widely abused drugs in the world. It is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, decreasing electrical activity of neurons in the brain. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies alcohol as a toxic, psychoactive, dependence-producing, and carcinogenic substance.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol use among college students</span> Unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors by college students

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This page is a list of terms related to the psychoactive drug alcohol.

References

  1. ↑ Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are the only U.S. jurisdictions to have not increased their legal drinking age to 21
  2. ↑ Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) State Profiles of Underage Drinking Laws Archived 2022-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Levine. Pre-partying' can kick off a big night of boozing - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Why is the Drinking Age 21?". www.mentalfloss.com. 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  5. ↑ "21 is the Legal Drinking Age". Consumer Information. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Phil (2019-08-23). "Why the US drinking age is 21". Vox. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  7. ↑ McCardell. http://www.chooseresponsibility.org/proposal/
  8. ↑ "Drinking: 18 vs. 21 | BU Today". Boston University. 21 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Carroll, Joseph (2007-07-27). "Most Americans Oppose Lowering Legal Drinking Age to 18 Nationwide". Gallup.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  10. ↑ Keen, Judy (April 1, 2008). "States weigh lowering drinking age". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Gebelhoff, Robert (11 June 2015). "Alcohol use, binge drinking continues to fall among underage, report finds". The Washington Post . Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  12. ↑ What Drives Underage Drinking? An International Analysis. Rep. International Center for Alcohol Policies, 2004. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.
  13. ↑ Modlin, Gillian. "Underage College Drinking." Telephone interview. 21 Mar. 2012.
  14. ↑ "Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  15. 1 2 "Drinking and Culture: International Comparisons." Choose Responsibility: Balance, Maturity, Common Sense. Choose Responsibility. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.
  16. 1 2 Fell, James C. "WHY 21? Addressing Underage Drinking." MADD. Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.
  17. ↑ "Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings" (PDF). United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration . United States Department of Health and Human Services . Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Statistics – 2012". December 21, 2012. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  19. ↑ DE VISÉ, DANIEL (2023). "Teen overdose deaths have doubled in three years. Blame fentanyl". The Hill.
  20. ↑ "Alcohol Policy Information Service". Archived from the original on 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  21. ↑ "Account Suspended". www.socialhost.org.
  22. ↑ "Underage Drinking & the Law". Underage Drinking & the Law. Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  23. ↑ "§ 4.1-305. Purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages unlawful in certain cases; venue; exceptions; penalty; forfeiture; deferred proceedings; treatment and education programs and services". law.lis.virginia.gov.
  24. ↑ "What Is the Penalty for Underage Drinking in Virginia?". leavittmartinlaw.com. September 15, 2017.
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