CITIZENS RALLYING FOR CHANGE ON ALCOHOL

 At what age do kids start drinking?

 Although there will be regional and local variations, national surveys show that across adolescence, the average age at first drink is about 14, according to national surveys of 12- to 20-year-olds (Chen et al., 2011). The more we can help kids delay when they begin drinking, the better; the younger the age of drinking onset, the greater the chance for alcohol dependence later in life (Hingson et al., 2006; Grant & Dawson, 1997).

 Do boys and girls differ in drinking patterns?

Up to about 10th grade, the percentage of boys and girls who drink is about the same. By 12th grade, however, boys surpass girls, not only in terms of any use, but also in binge drinking and having been drunk in the past month (Johnston et al., 2010).

How many kids seen in their physician's office are likely to screen positive for past-year drinking?

As the patients get older, you’re likely to see a dramatic climb in the number who drink.  Again, although there will be regional and local variations, national surveys show that across adolescence, we can expect a tenfold rise in any past-year drinking.

How much do kids drink?

As kids get older, more drink and more drink heavily. In fact, you may find that dangerous binge drinking is quite common among youth. National estimates for youth binge drinking currently use the binge definition for adult males, that is, five or more drinks per occasion. By that definition, among youth who drink, about half of those ages 12 to 15 and two-thirds of those ages 16 to 20 binge drank in the past 30 days (SAMHSA, 2010).

These are likely underestimates, however, because the definition of binge drinking for most youth should be fewer drinks than for full-grown adult males (see next question).

What’s a "child-sized" or "teen-sized" binge?

Compared with adults, children and teens are likely to have higher blood alcohol concentrations after drinking similar amounts of alcohol. Because we ethically cannot conduct clinical studies of youth drinking, we rely on mathematically derived estimates of blood alcohol levels for youth.

Extrapolating from what is known about alcohol metabolism in adults, a recent study accounted for differences between adults and kids in body composition and alcohol elimination to estimate blood alcohol and binge levels for youth. The study concluded that binge drinking for youth should be defined as follows (Donovan, 2009):

 Estimated binge drinking levels for youth

                     Boys                                                 Girls
Ages   9–13         3 drinks
Ages 14–15         4 drinks                  Ages 9–17            3 drinks
Ages 16+             5 drinks

What kinds of alcohol are kids drinking these days?

 All kinds: beer, malt liquor, liquor, wine, and "flavored alcohol beverages." Generally similar to beer in percent alcohol, flavored alcohol beverages include wine coolers and sweetened malt-based drinks that often derive their alcohol content from spirits.

Although we don’t yet have a comprehensive, nationwide study on youth beverage choices, a few limited studies show that hard liquor is gaining on or overtaking beer and flavored alcohol beverages in popularity with youth and that wine is less preferred (Siegel et al., 2011; Johnston et al., 2010; CDC, 2007).

Young people are also drinking alcohol mixed with caffeine, either in premixed drinks or by adding liquor to energy drinks. With this dangerous combination, drinkers may feel somewhat less drunk than if they’d had alcohol alone, but they are just as impaired in motor coordination and visual reaction time(Ferreira et al., 2006).  They are more likely to drink heavily, to be injured or taken advantage of sexually, and to ride with an intoxicated driver (O’Brien et al., 2008).