Midwestern Underage Drinkers Like To Binge

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jun 26, 2008 8:20PM

A federal study released today says that more than half of 12–20-year-olds have had a drink. Illinois is in the middle when it comes to underage binge drinking: between 19.1 and 21 percent of underage drinkers in Illinois binge drink, which is better than Wisconsin (between 24 and 31 percent) but worse than Utah (14 to 17.2 percent).

Among all underage current drinkers, 31.0 percent paid for the alcohol the last time they drank, including 9.3 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.6 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it. Underage persons who paid for alcohol themselves consumed more drinks on their last drinking occasion (average of 5.9 drinks) than did those who did not pay for the alcohol themselves (average of 3.9 drinks).

More than one in four underage drinkers (25.8 percent) indicated that on their last drinking occasion they were given alcohol for free by an unrelated person aged 21 or older. One in sixteen (6.4 percent) got the alcohol from a parent or guardian, 8.3 percent got it from another family member aged 21 or older, and 3.9 percent took it from their own home.

According to the study, around 5,000 people under 21 die every year "as a result of underage drinking." [Trib, full study]