* Contrary to what you may hear or see, most teens aren’t drinking. 81% of adolescents age 12 to 17 have chosen NOT to drink in the past year. [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminitration (SAMHSA), 1999]
* 65% of 12th graders disapprove of consuming five or more drinks once or twice each weekend. [National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 1996]
* You may be alive today because the legal drinking age is 21. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates these laws have saved over 18,820 lives from 1975-1999 [NHTSA, 1999]
* Females process alcohol differently than males; smaller amounts of alcohol are more intoxicating for females regardless of their size. [NHTSA, 1990]
* The same amount of alcohol is in a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a 12-ounce wine cooler, and a 5-ounce glass of wine.
* Among male high school students, 39% say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex with a girl who is drunk or high. [US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), 1992]
* Even though youth are less likely than adults to drive after drinking, their crash rates are substantially higher. [National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 1996]
* Alcohol is the #1 youth drug problem [Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), 1996]; it kills six times more people under 21 than all other illicit drugs combined. [Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), Ted Miller, Ph,D.]
* 70% of teens killed on prom weekends are not wearing seatbelts. [NHTSA]
* Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury in teenagers nationwide. [Centers for Disease Control (CDC)]
* High school students who drink are seven times more likely to have had sexual intercourse and are less likely to use condoms increasing their risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.