Alcohol-related car crashes are the number one killer of teens. Alcohol use is also associated with homicides, suicides, and drowning the other leading causes of death among youths. Youths who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. The average age when youths first try alcohol is 11 years old for boys and 13 years old for girls. Youths who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use other illicit drugs and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drink.
Alcoholism runs in families.
Sons of alcoholics are four times more likely than other men to beome alcoholics. Daughters of alcoholics are three times more likely than other women to become alcoholics. Women from alcoholic families are also more likely to marry alcoholic men, perpetuating the cycle of the disease. Not only do abusers tend to be heavy drinkers, but those who have abused stand a higher probability of abusing other drugs over the course of their lifetime. It is the leading cause of mental retardation in newborns.