Teen drinking hits new all-time low in US
Teenage drinking and binge drinking have dropped to a 40-year low in the US, a new federal study of youth behaviour has discovered.
A new survey has found that teenage drinking is at its lowest levels since 1975The 2014 Monitoring the Future Survey, compiled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan, found that such teenage and excessive drinking were at their lowest levels in 2014 since the survey’s inception in 1975.
Alcohol consumption among teenagers aged between 13 and 18 continued its long-term decline, falling 12% this year.
The University of Michigan said that peer disapproval of binge drinking had been rising since 2000 among teens, while declines in availability may have also contributed to a reduction in drinking.
“This is excellent news and underscores the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in producing real programs that have produced significant, tangible and historic results,” said Peter Cressy, president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS)
“This is a societal problem that is trending in the right direction and it should be recognized. Key to this success is educating parents and other adults about the seriousness of providing alcohol to teens.”
According to the survey results, 8th (13 to 14-year-olds), 10th (15 to 16-year-olds) and 12th (17 to 18-year-olds) graders reported past month alcohol consumption rates of 9%, 23.5% and 37.4% respectively, compared to 10.2%, 25.7% and 39.2% last year, when consumption previously dropped to lowest levels since 1975.
The survey also found that the same age group reported binge drinking rates (five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks) of 4.1%, 12.6% and 19.4% respectively, compared to 5.1%, 13.7% and 22.1% in 2013.
Researchers surveyed more than 41,000 students from 377 public and private schools through the US.
