1. Abstain from Underage Drinking
By JaNey Carrothers

2. Underage Drinking
Alcohol use by persons under age 21 years is a major public health problem.
Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,700 annual deaths among underage youth.

3. Drinking Levels Among Youth
The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey6 found that among high school students, during the past 30 days:
39% drank some amount of alcohol.
22% binge drank.
8% drove after drinking alcohol.
24% rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.

4. Youth and Alcohol
Approximately 11 million American youth under the age of 21 drink alcohol. Nearly half of them drink to excess, consuming five or more drinks in a row, one or more times in a two week period.
Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by high school seniors, and its use is increasing. Boys usually try alcohol for the first time at just 11 years old, while the average age for American girls' first drink is 13. In short, our nation's youth are flirting with disaster.

5. Facts
Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes, the leading cause of death among teenagers.
Alcohol use contributes to youth suicides, homicides and fatal injuries – the leading cause of death among youth after auto crashes. 
Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students.
Alcohol is a major factor in unprotected sex among youth, increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other transmitted diseases.

6. Prevention
Researcher are continuing to identify the most important characteristics of different intervention strategies that contribute to the strategies' effectiveness which can be put into 4 categories:
School Strategies
Extracurricular Strategies
Family Strategies
Policy and Community Strategies

7. School Strategies
Developmentally appropriate information about alcohol and other drugs
Development of personal, social, and resistance skills
Emphasis on normative education
Teacher training and support
Active family and community involvement
Cultural sensitivity

8. Extracurricular Strategies
Supervision by positive adult role models
Youth leadership
Intensive programs
Incorporation of skills building

9. Families Strategies
Improvement of parent-child relations using positive reinforcement, listening and communication skills, and problem solving
Monitoring of children’s activities during adolescence
Strengthening of family bonding
Development of skills
Involvement of child and parents

10. Policy and Community Strategies
Excise taxes
Minimum legal drinking age of 21
Citizen action to reduce commercial and social availability of alcohol

11. Student Awareness Students in high school who are trying to promote
Students in high schools can team up with local alcoholic beverage stores and ask them to help them from preventing teens from buying alcohol
Students should aware parents and friends about not buying or providing alcohol for students.

12. Student Participation
Students can conduct a social experiment that signifies the amount of deaths that occur with underage drinking.
Each day of the week, students that are participating in experiment, with the permission of the school will dress up in either all black or white to signify they died in an alcohol related death.
At the end of the week, students are asked questions such as “Have you ever had an alcoholic beverage?” and debrief of the students that they saw that had “died”.

13. Student Participation
Students can hold a play that centers around a group of students who are coming home from a party and a few students had a drink and a few did not. They get in a car accident and most of the passengers die except the driver.
People to also be involved in play would be:
Police
EMT
Firefighters

14. Student Participation
The students that are watching will get the message that underage drinking is a serious problem and the importance of avoiding peer pressure.

15. Works Cited
"Fact Sheets Underage Drinking." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Oct Web. 25 Feb
"Facts About Youth and Alcohol." Facts About Youth and Alcohol. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb
Komro, Kelli A., and Traci L. Toomey. "Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking." Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking. N.p., Aug Web. 25 Feb