The following statistics are from a survey of more than 158,000 students in the spring of 1998 by the Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. 10 percent of secondary students regularly go to school drunk.
Alcohol is the substance most widely used by Texas students.
The average age for drinking the first beer is 12.3 years. Young people at an average age of 12.7 tried wine coolers and hard liquor by 13.3 years of age. 55 percent of seventh-graders and 83 percent of seniors have drunk alcohol. 12 percent of Texas students in fourth through sixth grade reported drinking alcohol during the past school year. Students who participated in extracurricular activities reported lower levels of alcohol use between 1994 and 1998.