According to the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, alcohol is the drug most frequently used by
12 - 17 year olds and the one that causes the most negative consequences. Young people who drink alcohol are dying, getting pregnant, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, experiencing violence, and failing school. The facts are clear...alcohol is harmful to young people.

 

Why focus on youth ACCESS to alcohol?

Youth live in a society that encourages them to drink. Teens can easily get alcohol from adults in both social and commercial settings. One of the most effective ways to reduce health problems among young people is to reduce the flow of alcohol to youth.

 

What is AAT's approach to reducing youth access to alcohol?

Research has shown that simply educating people about the dangers of alcohol doesn't mean they will drink less. AAT's approach to reducing underage drinking is to change those factors in the teens' environment (city and state) that make it appealing to drink and easy for them to obtain alcohol.

 

What Specific Strategies does AAT support to reduce youth access to alcohol?

Enforce our existing laws by:

• conducting complaince checks to ensure that youth can't buy alcohol;
• holding managers and owners accountable for underage sales through fines;
• holding adults responsible for providing alcohol to underage youth;
• ensuring that retail clerks are trained to understand and enforce the current age of sale laws.

Create new policies to:

• make sure beer kegs are registered when they are sold so they can be traced back to the purchasers;
• place restrictions on alcohol deliveries to private residences;
• increase excise taxes on beer and wine sales (youth alcohol use decreases when the price goes up!).