Study documents underage, problem drinking as nearly half of revenue

March 24, 2003

Study documents underage, problem
drinking as nearly half of revenue
___NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A recent study concludes that underage drinkers and adult excessive drinkers are responsible for 50.1 percent of alcohol consumption and 48.9 percent of consumer expenditure on alcohol in the United States.
___The study reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association was conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse and is being contested by the liquor industry.
___Drinking habits of more than 200,000 people age 12 and older were studied for the report. The proportion of 12- to 20-year-olds who consume alcohol was estimated to be 50.0 percent, using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The proportion of adults age 21 or older who consume alcohol was estimated to be 52.8 percent, using data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System.
___The estimated total number of drinks consumed per month was 4.21 billion, and underage drinkers consumed 19.7 percent of the total.
___The amount of excessive adult drinking (more than two drinks per day) was 30.4 percent.
___Consumer expenditure on alcohol in the United States in 1999 was $116.2 billion. Of that amount, $22.5 billion was attributed to underage drinking and $34.4 billion was attributed to adult excessive drinking.
___The study also noted that underage drinking is beginning earlier, with the proportion of children who started drinking by the eighth grade increasing 33 percent from 1975 to 2001. The report said a child who begins drinking before age 15 is four times more likely to become an alcoholic than someone who starts at 21 or later.
___The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse's definition of "excessive drinking" has been questioned by the liquor industry. A liquor industry lobbying group has vigorously attacked the study and accused its authors of "manipulating data for sensational headlines."

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