And you thought it was aspirin. Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people. According to a national survay, nearly one-third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting) during the 30 days preceding the survey.

Who picks up this tab?  Underage drinking costs the United States more than $58 billion every year – enough to buy every public school student a state-of-the-art computer.

Beer buddies.  65% of the youth surveyed said that they got the alcohol they drink from family and friends.

Dangerous liaisons.  Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as 2/3 of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students.

Undesirable consequences.  Teens who drink alcohol are seven times more likely to have sex than teens who avoid alcohol.

Booze. Cruise. Lose.  Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes -- the leading cause of deaths among teens.

The Duh Factor.  Drinking alcohol before the brain is finished developing (around the age of 21) causes damage to the areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

Tie this one on. Repeated binge drinking can cause long-term brain damage. A single episode of binge drinking can cause death.

Future drunks. People who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives (compared to those who have 1st drink  20 or older).

Cruisin’ and boozin’. During a typical weekend, one teen dies each hour in an auto accident. Of these crashes 50% involved alcohol.

Disturbing trend.  Alcohol has been tried by 44 percent of eighth graders, 64 percent of tenth graders, and 77 percent of twelfth graders; active use is also widespread.

Who’s in denial?  Only 31 percent of parents of 15- to 16-year-olds believe their child had a drink in the past year, compared to the 60 percent of teens in that age group who reported drinking.

Disappearing students.  High school students who use alcohol or other substances are five times more likely than other students to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is not important.

Parent power.  Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't, yet only 1 in 4 teens reports having these conversations.

Shock the monkey! In both animal and human studies, alcohol, more than any other drug, has been linked with a high incidence of violence and aggression.

It’s that easy?  Approximately 2/3 of teenagers who drink report that they can buy their own alcohol.

Shocking sex story.  A survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39% of males say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex if the girl is stoned or drunk.

Alcohol with a Herpes chaser. Adolescents who use alcohol are more likely to become sexually active at an earlier age, to have sex more often, and to engage in unprotected sex, which places them at greater risk of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.