Toys Encouraging Alcohol Use By Children

This graphic illustrates what happens to a teenager's brain when they consume alcohol. MRIs show the areas of a teens brain being used when reading a list of words aloud. The brain on the left is of a teenager who had consumed a lot of alcohol but was not drunk at the time. The one on the right is a teenager who has never drank alcohol. The red areas indicate the portions of their brains being used to complete the task. On average, teens who drink alcohol see a 10% loss in their brain's functioning.

Please visit Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free to learn more.
http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org/

• One-fifth of eighth graders and 42 percent of tenth graders have been drunk at least once. 1
• Forty percent of ninth-grade students reported having consumed alcohol before they were age 13. Forty-one percent of ninth-grade students reported drinking in the past month. 2
• Almost one-fourth of ninth graders reported binge drinking (having had five or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month. 2
• More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. 3
• If drinking is delayed until age 21, a child's risk of serious alcohol problems is decreased by 70 percent. 4