UNDERAGE DRINKING PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Multiple studies have already shown the hazards of underage drinking and its profound consequences for underage drinkers themselves, their families and their communities. For this reason, the U.S. government has developed and implemented multiple policies to curtail the access underage youths have to alcohol and its use and these efforts have yielded some result. For example, since 1982, alcohol-related traffic deaths among youth aged 16–20 years have declined by 79%.

To consolidate these efforts, strategies that include public awareness and education, action by community coalitions, and early brief alcohol intervention and referral programs are paramount to curbing this challenge. Therefore, this paper focuses on underage drinking laws, their enforcement over the years and strides made in this regard.