Why is Underage Drinking Important to Prevent?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Underage Drinking results in over 4300 deaths per year.
• 90% of youth alcohol use in the US is in the form of binge drinking (4-5 drinks in under 2 hours). In this circumstance, youth consume alcohol faster than their body can process, and can therefore result in alcohol poisoning.
• Someone who begins using alcohol before the age of 15 is 40% more likely to develop addiction to drugs or alcohol. Each year that drinking can be delayed reduces the likelihood of an addiction developing.
• It is estimated that underage drinking cost tax payers more than $249 billion dollars in 2010 alone.

Additionally, in Massachusetts it is estimated that in 2010, youth from 0-19 lost a collective 2,119 years of life due to acute injuries and accidents relating to alcohol use. Moreover, long term effects due to drinking at an early age have started to show up. One study finds that an increase in overall deaths due to liver cirrhosis and cancer in the United States is largely due to a large increase in deaths among young adults.