1998 Data on the specific brands that underage persons use are limited. Information from the special reports suggests that brand preferences may vary among regions and that underage consumers tend to drink a few well-known brands. More information about underage brand use would be useful in assessing the effectiveness of self-regulatory efforts by individual companies. The costs of alcohol abuse are tremendous in both human and economic terms. Perhaps the most familiar risks have to do with driving.
Young drinkers are over-represented in drinking driver deaths.
Even when their blood alcohol concentrations are low to moderate, teen drinkers are involved in automobile accidents at higher rates than older drinkers. Indeed, a recent study shows an increase in the willingness of college students to drive after drinking. That, in turn, increases their risk of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy. Moreover, although no long-term data are available on underage drinking death rates, in the last few years the media have reported numerous deaths due to binge drinking, including deaths from alcohol poisoning and accidents resulting from significant intoxication. The risks of binge and other heavy drinking are not limited to the drinker.