Underage Drinking

Background

Underage drinking is when anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 engages in the consumption of any product containing alcohol.

Quick Facts

Youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience:

School problems, such as higher rates of absences or lower grades.
Social problems, such as fighting or lack of participation in youth activities.
Legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting someone while drunk.
Physical problems, such as hangovers or illnesses.
Unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity.
Disruption of normal growth or sexual development.
Physical and sexual violence.
Increased risk of suicide and homicide.
Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and other unintentional injuries, such as burns, falls, or drowning.
Memory problems.
Misuse of other substances.
Changes in brain development that may have life-long effects.
Alcohol poisoning.

What POP is doing about it:

POP works directly with retailers by providing supplies such as We ID signage and Quick Reference Guides for ID'ing properly
We also offer training videos specifically made for retailers to empower local vendors and support them.

Resources

CDC Underage Drinking Resource Page

Alcohol

Quick Facts

Excessive alcohol use can have immediate and long-term effects.
Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking during pregnancy or by people younger than 21.
Drinking less is better for your health than drinking more.
Your liver can only process small amounts of alcohol. The rest of the alcohol can harm your liver and other organs as it moves through the body.
Using alcohol excessively on occasion or over time can have immediate and long-term health risks.

Excessive alcohol use

Excessive alcohol use is a term used to describe four ways that people drink alcohol that can negatively impact health. Excessive drinking can also be deadly.

Excessive alcohol use includes:

Binge drinking—Four or more drinks for women, or five or more drinks for men during an occasion.
Heavy drinking—Eight or more drinks for women, or 15 or more drinks for men during a week.
Underage drinking—any alcohol use by people younger than 21.
Drinking while pregnant—any alcohol use during pregnancy.

Effects of short-term alcohol use

Drinking excessively on an occasion can lead to these harmful health effects:

Injuries—motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings, and burns.
Violence—homicide, suicide, sexual violence, and intimate partner violence.
Alcohol poisoning—high blood alcohol levels that affect body functions like breathing and heart rate.
Overdose—from alcohol use with other drugs, like opioids.
Sexually transmitted infections or unplanned pregnancy—alcohol use can lead to sex without protection, which can cause these conditions.
Miscarriage, stillbirth, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)—from any alcohol use during pregnancy.

Effects of long-term alcohol use
Over time, drinking alcohol can have these effects:

Alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer: throat cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer (in women), liver cancer, and more.
Drinking alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer.
Other chronic diseases

Excessive alcohol use can lead to: