Why Should the Community, Parents, Agencies, and Schools be concerned with Adolescent Binge Drinking?

Most youth do not regularly binge drink. In fact, binge drinking in high school students declined from 28.3% in 2003 to 25.5% in 2005. However, the age of binge drinking initiation is getting younger, especially among boys. Rates of binge drinking for 9th grade boys increased from 18.8% in 2003 to 20.7% in 2005. And 33.9% of 9th graders reported having consumed alcohol before age 13. Research shows that people who begin drinking at an early age face enormous risks of becoming alcoholics.

One question arises from these concerning statistics: Where are young people obtaining their alcohol? As responsible citizens, it is our collective responsibility to curb this alarming trend in youth binge drinking.