Teenage boy holds a lunch tray with sandwich, fruitcup and can of beer.

Underage Drinking

Most youth between the ages of 12 and 20 do not drink; however, more than 10 million young people use alcohol.

Alcohol use can interfere with your health, academic and workplace performance, and relationships with friends and family. That why it’s important to avoid drinking too early and to learn what the laws are concerning underage drinking in DC.

“There’s a A Reason” is DC’s official underage drinking campaign.

Annually, 4,300 youth deaths are associated with alcohol.

There were approximately 189,000 emergency
room visits in 2010 by persons under age 21
for injuries and other conditions

linked to alcohol.

youth-alcoholism-fact

Youth who start drinking before age 15 are almost

5 times more likely

to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21.