Abusing Alcohol Declining Among Teens, Binge Drinking is Declining Too

Alcohol abuse, it seems to be everywhere, whether it is at a party, at a restaurant, on a television show, or in the news. We simply cannot escape the ever present facet of alcohol abuse. There is hope though. Abusing alcohol declining among teens is adding new hope for the future. Too often you hear of teens and even college students dying from alcohol poisoning or other factors that involve alcohol abuse.

In fact, alcohol abuse accounts for close to 4,300 deaths of underage drinkers each year, according to the CDC. You might be asking what the CDC, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, have to do with alcohol abuse. Well, simply put, alcohol abuse is seen not only as a disease, but an epidemic. Millions of lives have been taken from this disease, both innocent and guilty parties, when you consider car accidents and other harmful events driven by alcohol abuse.

So why is abusing alcohol declining among teens? Could it be that are social norms are changing? Are all of the anti drinking campaigns finally paying off? Or has our society been so damaged by alcohol abuse that our younger generations are learning from past generation’s mistakes? A new government study found that not only did underage drinking decline, but underage binge drinking also declined significantly from 2002 and 2013.

This study was based on surveying 30,000 people across the county, in the age group of 12 years old to 20 years old. The study found that of around 8.7 million underage drinkers in the United States, around 5.4 million were considered binge drinkers. This staggering statics points to over half of underage drinkers are binge drinkers, which is why we hear of so many reports on underage drinkers dying or being hospitalized from alcohol poisoning. While this number may seem large, it is slowly, but surely declining.

The study done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, showed the percentage of underage drinkers declined from 28.8 percent to 22.7 percent, in an 11 year span. The percentage of underage binge declined from 19.3 percent to 14.2 percent. Just think of what the numbers will look like in another 11 years if abusing alcohol declining among teens continues. Will alcohol be a thing of the past? Now, even though underage drinking is declining, it is still the number one drug of choice among teens. This is partly due to alcohol being so present and available almost everywhere you look. With our society becoming more health conscious, maybe drinking will be viewed as not worth the risk or even the calories.

While the studies continue, we can only hope that this number will keep decreasing. Hopefully, we will not have to hear or see any further tragic events happen among our younger generation. If you have a teen or even an adult that needs help with abusing alcohol, please do not hesitate to call us now.