Underage alcohol use is one of the most serious public health issues facing youths in the United States. Every year, underage drinking undermines the well-being of America’s youths, causing a wide range of costly health and social problems.¹ Underage alcohol initiation increases a youth’s risk of developing an alcohol use disorder later in life and increases the likelihood of driving after drinking too much at some point in their lives.¹ However, alcohol remains the most widely used substance of abuse among America’s youths. For example, a higher percentage of youths aged 12 to 20 in 2013 used alcohol in the past month (22.7 percent) than tobacco (16.9 percent) or illicit drugs (13.6 percent). 

In 2013, about 8.7 million people aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Approximately 5.4 million (14.2 percent) were current (e.g., past month) binge drinkers. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.² Underage drinking declined from 28.8 percent in 2002 to 22.7 percent in 2013. Underage binge drinking also decreased between 2002 and 2013. Despite these declines over time, about 1 in 5 people aged 12 to 20 were past month underage drinkers in 2013, and about 1 in 7 were binge drinkers.