Facts About Teenage Drinking

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), 40% of teens have started drinking alcohol by age 14. There are approximately 5,000 total deaths that are a direct result of teen alcohol use each year. The leading causes of those deaths are automobile crashes, suicides and homicides.

Brain Development Issues

• Brain development isn't yet finished in young people until their early twenties. Alcohol exposure during this time can cause an impairment of intellectual development and increased risk of addiction.

Sexual Behavior

• According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), teens who drink are twice as likely as their peers to engage in some sort of sexual activity. The chances of sexual activity rise as the frequency and amount of drinking increase. Also, risky sexual behaviors such as sex with strangers or unprotected sex are much more likely when judgement is impaired by alcohol. Results can include unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

Drinking And Driving

• The Federal Trade Commission reports that there are nearly 2,000 deaths each year of people under the age of 21 that are a direct result of crashes that involve underage drinking. SAMSHA reports that of all automobile crashes that cause the deaths of young people between the ages of 15 and 25, alcohol is the leading factor.

Violence, Suicide or Homicide

• Emotional development isn't complete as a teenager, and alcohol abuse can slow or stop a teen's development of emotional control and identification. Teens can become depressed, and unable to control the urge to commit suicide, homicide, or some other act of violence. In fact, the FTC reports that 300 teens commit suicide each year due to depression and stress that is complicated by alcohol use.

Binge Drinking

• Teens who drink sometimes drink an excessive amount of alcohol at one time, which is called binge drinking. Teen binge drinkers risk alcohol poisoning, along with all of the other risks that teen drinkers face.