When they first start drinking, most youth get alcohol from home, with or without their parents permission. As they get older, teens are more likely to get alcohol from friends and siblings over age 21 and at parties. Older teens are also more likely to report buying alcohol from licensed alcohol outlets. Minimum legal drinking age laws, which set the legal drinking age at 21, exist in every state. The CDC estimates that at least two thirds of alcohol outlets sell to underage purchasers without asking for identification.
Many more employees drink to a lesser degree.
A common misconception among employers is that alcoholics are responsible for most of the workplace problems related to alcohol. However, according to the 1998 Corporate Alcohol Study by the Harvard School of Public Health, light and moderate drinkers cause 60 percent of alcohol related incidents of absenteeism, tardiness and poor quality of work, while dependent drinkers cause 40 percent. At least 11 million of the nation s children live in households with an alcoholic parent. Families of alcoholics are characterized by marital instability, lack of emotional support, poor discipline and family conflict. 1998 Johns Hopkins University study.