Teenage Alcoholism Statistics 

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image: young man with headache from excessive drinking According to alcohol abuse statistics and facts, even though alcohol has been used in a variety of different ways throughout history that can be called "beneficial," it was, however, realized thousands of years ago that excessive drinking and abuse resulted in negative consequences and unhealthy alcohol side effects such as alcohol-related social and personal problems.

Studying current teenage alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics, it is asserted, is an informative way to observe the social and the personal problems that are associated with adolescent alcohol abuse and the drinking problems exhibited by U.S. teenagers.

Why Teenage Alcoholism Statistics are Needed

image: young man suffering from alcoholism Regrettably, the full extent of the damaging and pervasive alcohol side effects of teenage alcoholism and adolescent alcohol abuse are not entirely comprehended until relevant adolescent alcohol abuse and teenage alcoholism statistics are explicitly stated.

As a consequence, the following teenage alcoholism statistics and adolescent alcohol abuse statistics, obtained via different surveys and research studies online, will be outlined below:

  • United States alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics show that people who start using alcohol before the age of 15 are 4 times more likely to manifest serious alcohol side effects such as alcohol dependency at some time in their lives, compared to those who start drinking at the legal age of 21.

  • According to recent research, 62% of U.S. high school seniors reported that they have been drunk recently.

  • Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school.

  • Alcohol is the #1 drug of choice among American youth.

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  • Those who are most vulnerable to excessive alcohol and drug abuse are young adults between the ages of 18-25.

  • In one study, almost one-fourth of ninth graders reported binge drinking (having had five or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month.  In another study, the 25% of underage drinkers in the United States who are alcohol dependent drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is consumed by all underage drinkers.
According to alcoholism statistics and alcohol abuse statistics, about 43% of U.S. adults -- 76 million people -- have been exposed to hazardous alcohol side effects such as alcoholism in the family. That is, they grew up with or married an alcoholic or a problem drinker or had a blood relative who was an alcoholic or problem drinker.
  • Alcohol is by far the most used and abused drug among America’s teenagers.  According to a national survey, nearly one third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting) during the 30 days preceding the survey.

  • Research has shown that people who start drinking at an early age, for instance at 13 years old or younger, significantly increases the likelihood that they will experience alcohol problems later in life.

  • 3.1 million Americans -- approximately 1.4% of the population 12 and older -- received addiction treatment for alcoholism and alcohol-related problems in 1997; treatment peaked among people 26-34.

  • In the United States, more than 40% of those who start drinking at age 14 or younger become alcoholic.

  • Approximately one in four children is exposed to family alcoholism, addiction, or alcohol abuse some time before the age of 18.


  • More than 67% of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug. Children who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use any illicit drug, more than 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than children who never drank
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  • Research has shown that U.S. teens who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume alcohol.

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  • More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.

  • If drinking is delayed until age 21, a child's risk of serious alcohol problems is decreased by 70 percent.

  • Approximately 9.7 million current drinkers in the United States are between the ages of 12-20. Of these young drinkers, 18.7% are binge drinking and 6% are heavy drinkers.

  • Children of alcoholics are significantly more likely to engage in underage alcohol use and to develop addiction and other alcohol-use disorders.

  • Underage drinking costs the United States more than $58 billion every year - enough to buy every public school student a state-of-the-art computer.

  • It is estimated that more than 3 million teenagers in the U.S. between the ages of 14 to 17 are problem drinkers.

  • According to one study, almost 11% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 27% of 12th-graders report binge drinking (five drinks in a row in the last two weeks).

  • According to a 1995 Weekly Reader survey, more than half (54%) of fourth through sixth graders reported learning about the dangers of illicit drugs at school, but fewer than a third (30%) learned about the dangers of drinking and smoking at school.
Alcohol abuse statistics and facts and statistics on alcoholism show that an overwhelming number of Americans (96%) are concerned about underage drinking; and a majority support measures that would help reduce teen drinking and adolescent alcohol abuse via stricter controls on alcohol sales, advertising, and promotion.

Teenage Alcoholism Statistics:  Conclusion

Statistics on Alcoholism.  Paradoxically, in spite of the fact that alcohol information such as the negative alcohol side effects of excessive and abusive drinking have been known for centuries, adolescent alcohol abuse and teenage alcoholism continue to destroy and truncate the lives of many young people in our "aware" and "enlightened" society.  Indeed, to substantiate this assertion, one merely has to review some of the appalling teenage alcoholism statistics and adolescent alcohol abuse statistics described above.

image: male ad for alcohol and drug therapy

According to the facts and statistics on alcoholism, like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms (i.e., alcohol side effects). According to alcoholism statistics and facts and alcohol abuse statistics, the risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle.

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According to alcoholism statistics and facts and alcohol abuse statistics, continual use of alcohol can lead to unhealthy alcohol side effects such as erosive gastritis.  Unfortunately, erosive gastritis can limit the absorption of nutrients and vitamins associated with several serious neurological and mental disorders, including brain damage, memory loss, loss of sexual responsiveness, sleep disturbances and psychosis such as Wernike’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome.

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