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StopAlcoholAbuse.Gov is a comprehensive portal of Federal resources for information on underage drinking and ideas for combating this issue. People interested in underage drinking prevention—including parents, educators, community-based organizations, and youth—will find a wealth of valuable information here.

There are three action guides--specifically for families, communities, and educators--based on The Surgeon General’s Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking (PDF 1MB). These guides highlight what each group can do to reduce underage alcohol use in America and help prevent the problems underage drinking causes.

Follow these links to locate information on each publication:

 
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Back to School: The ABCs of Resisting Peer Pressure To Drink

It’s back to school time—time to think about skills and tools for academic success. Studies show that underage drinking is associated with academic failure. Make your school a safe place where students can thrive academically, grow personally, and mature socially. Help youth learn skills to resist the pressure to drink and give them reasons not to drink.

For more information, visit:


College Drinking – Help Change the Culture

With the back-to-school season fast approaching, more and more colleges, universities, and their students are taking steps to prevent underage drinking and its harmful consequences. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s College Drinking: Changing the Culture Web site provides a one-stop resource for parents and others who need comprehensive research-based information and valuable resources on alcohol abuse and binge drinking among college students—and what to do about it. Links to underage drinking prevention resources for campuses and communities are included. To learn more, go to: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/parentBrochure.aspx.


Parents Hold the Key To Preventing Underage Drinking

Parental disapproval is the key reason children who do not drink give for their decision to avoid alcohol. Even so, a recent national study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that 1 in 16 underage drinkers was given alcoholic beverages by their parents in the past month. To learn more about underage drinking and what you can do to prevent it, select the “Parents” tab from the red navigational bar at the top of this page—or go to www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/parents.aspx—for free materials and online resources to start talking with your children about the consequences of underage alcohol use.


New Nationwide Report Estimates that 40 Percent of Underage Drinkers Received Free Alcohol from Adults Over 21

More than 40 percent of the nation’s estimated 10.8 million underage current drinkers (persons aged 12 to 20 who drank in the past 30 days) were provided free alcohol by adults 21 or older, according to a nationwide report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released on June 26, 2008. The study also indicates that one in 16 underage drinkers (6.4 percent or 650,000) was given alcoholic beverages by their parents in the past month.

For the SAMHSA News Release containing the report's key findings and quotes from Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H, and SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. go to:  http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/0806250013.aspx.

The complete SAMHSA report is available at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/underage2k8/toc.htm.


Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2007

A new report summarizes results from the 2007 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey and trends between 1991–2007 in selected risk behaviors, including underage drinking. The report is published as part of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepares. It focuses on priority health-risk behaviors, which are behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults and often are established during childhood and adolescence, extend into adulthood, are interrelated, and are preventable. Click on the following link to access the report: www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/yrbss07_mmwr.pdf.  Please see underage drinking information on pages 14, 15, 23, and 33. See underage drinking tables on pages 42, 71, 72, 73, 74, 87, 88, 93, and 94.


 
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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Office of the Surgeon General
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
U.S. Department of Treasury
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Federal Trade Commission
Last Reviewed on 8/27/2008