Underage Drinking: The Consequences

Underage drinking is a serious problem. The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was more than $53 billion per year in 1998 dollars. Drinking before the age of 21 is associated with:

• Damage to growing brains

• Violence

• Alcohol dependence

• Drinking and driving

• Riding with drunk drivers

• Dropping out of school

• Unplanned and unsafe sex

• Fatalities and injuries from drowning, burns, falls,

homicides, suicides, and crashes.