Teenage alcohol abuse is fast becoming a serious social problem in America. Studies have shown that the age at which American teenagers first try alcohol is becoming younger, making it more likely that they will develop an alcohol dependency.

On the average, girls first drink at 13 and boys at eleven; a study of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has shown that teens who begin drinking before they reach 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who start to drink at the legal age of twenty-one. A 1998 study further estimated the dollar cost of underage drinking to reach over $58 billion a year. (more…)

Tags: substance abuse