Scope of the Problem in New Hampshire

Scope of the Problem(PDF)

Alcohol is our number one youth drug problem in New Hampshire.

Almost one half of New Hampshire high school students - 44 percent - report current alcohol use; one third - 28 percent - report binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on one occasion (YRBS, 2005).
Underage alcohol use is six times more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined (MMWR, Report 51, 2002).

Alcohol Use Behaviors (YRBS, 2005)

Attitudes Toward Alcohol(YRBS, 2005)

There are widespread harms associated with underage drinking.

Young people who drink are more likely to engage in a broad range of risky behaviors including drinking and driving, high-risk sex, and violent behavior (NIAAA, 1997).
Alcohol is a key factor in the three leading causes of death among young people - traffic crashes, homicides, and suicides (CDC, 2006). In 2005, 22.6 percent of New Hampshire high school students reported riding with a driver, in the past 30 days, who had been drinking alcohol (YRBS).
One in ten (9.9%) high school students reported driving after drinking alcohol (YRBS, 2005).

The risk of alcohol problems increases when drinking starts at an early age.

Youth who drink before they turn 14 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetime than those who start drinking at 21. Each year of delay reduces the risk (Hingson et al., 2006).
In New Hampshire, more than 1 in 5 (19.3%) high school students had their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13 (YRBS, 2005).

Underage drinking creates a serious economic burden for our state.

Research suggests that underage alcohol consumption costs the state of New Hampshire $214 million per year when considering violence, traffic crashes, high-risk sex, property crime, unintentional injuries, poisonings and psychoses, fetal alcohol syndrome, and alcohol treatment (PIRE, 2004).

Alcohol affects adolescents differently than adults.

The brain is still developing through our early 20s. Drinking during this critical period may permanently harm the brain (White and Swartzwelder, 2005)
Short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning and memory far more in youth than adults (AMA, 2004).

Reducing and preventing underage alcohol problems requires a systematic comprehensive approach

"Underage drinking cannot be successfully addressed by focusing on youth alone." We need "to create and sustain a broad societal commitment to reduce underage drinking. Such a commitment will require participation by multiple individuals and organizations at the national, state, local and community levels who are in a position to affect youth decisions…" (National Academy of Sciences, 2003).
Lower drinking ages, such as those in Europe, are not the answer. With drinking ages varying between 16 and 18, European students, on average, get drunk for the first time at 14 years of age. More than 1 in 6 (18%) of 15-16 year olds report 'bingeing' (5+ drinks on a single occasion) three or more times in the last month (EU Health, 2006).

Citations:

AMA report on alcohol's adverse effects on the brains of children, adolescents and college students
CDC Health Data for All Ages
European Union, 2006 Report: Alcohol in Europe
MMWR, Report 51, 2002 Grunbaum, J.A.; Kann, L.; Kinchen, S.A.; et al. Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States, 2001. MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 51(SS0 4): 1-62, 2002
National Academy of Sciences Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility
New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2005
Hingson, R.W., Heeren, T., and Winter, M.R. "Age at Drinking Onset and Alcohol Dependence," Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 160(7):739-746, 2006.
NIAAA, 1997 Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health
PIRE, 2004 State Underage Drinking Costs Fact Sheets
White AM, Swartzwelder HS. (2005) Age-related effects of alcohol on memory and memory-related brain function in adolescents and adults. Recent Dev Alcohol 17:161-76.