HHS HealthBeat (October 14, 2009)

Who’s buying the alcohol

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ted Pestorius with HHS HealthBeat.

Underage drinking is illegal and everybody knows it. So how do underage drinkers get the alcohol?

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Paul Melstrom says the leading way was from a peer who already had alcohol. He says underage drinkers also got alcohol by having someone over 21 – or who had a fake ID – buy it. And he says young people got alcohol by taking it from a store or drinking what was in the home.

Drinking what’s at home, as Dr. Melstrom points out, is something parents can prevent:

[Dr. Paul Melstrom speaks] "They want to secure their alcohol that they have at their home, talk to their kids about the dangers of alcohol, and – most importantly – do not provide alcohol to their kids."

This includes parties.

The study is in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ted Pestorius.

Last revised: October, 26 2009