Drinking alcohol can harm the growing body and brain. That’s why it’s important for young people
to grow up alcohol-free. And it takes every adult in the community to help young people choose not
to drink alcohol. It takes you.
When anyone under age 21 drinks alcohol, we call it underage drinking. And underage drinking
is against the law, except in special cases, such as when it is part of a religious ceremony. Underage
drinking is also dangerous. It can harm the mind and body of a growing teen in ways many people
don’t realize.
“More teens drink than smoke or use drugs.”
Yet, children and teens still drink, even though it can harm them. Underage drinking is a serious
problem, with roots deep in our culture. It is time to change that picture. It’s time to take action. It’s
time to stop looking the other way. It’s time to tell children and teens that underage drinking is not
okay. It will take a lot of work over time to change how people think about underage drinking. It’s a
long-term project for parents, schools, local groups, community leaders, and other concerned adults.
And it’s a project that should start when children are young and continue through the teen years.
In any month, more youth are drinking than are smoking cigarettes or using marijuana .
Drinking alcohol can harm the growing body and brain. That’s why it’s important for young people
to grow up alcohol-free. And it takes every adult in the community to help young people choose not
to drink alcohol. It takes you.