The 2006 primer examined drinking on private property and was released in conjunction with Alcohol Awareness month and national Town Hall meetings. Nearly 3,000 primers were distributed throughout the year and were popular in educating communities on the importance of enacting an ordinance to prohibit youth use of alcohol on private property. Since then, we've seen monthly news articles in New Jersey about drinking parties and an increase in New Jersey towns enacting the municipal ordinance. The Stop Youth Alcohol Use Series has been developed in partnership with:

The New Jersey Prevention Network, GCADA and the Childhood Drinking Coalition. If you would like printed copies of the primer, please contact Jackie Gonzalez at 609-689-0121 x 7015. Download your copy now!

Alcohol - Youth's #1 drug of choice!

• 17.8% of NJ's 8th graders used alcohol in the past 30 days.
• 10% of NJ's 7th graders used alcohol in the past 30 days.
• 46.4% of NJ's 7th and 8th graders have used alcohol sometime in their lifetime.
• Of NJ’s 7th graders who used alcohol, they reported first use at age 11.3. 8th graders at 12.
• Of NJ’s 7th graders who used alcohol they reported regular use of alcohol began at age 11.9, 8th graders at 12.8.
• About 4 in 5 (78.5 percent) of NJ's High School students have used alcohol sometime in their lifetime and nearly one-half (48 percent) used alcohol in the past 30 days.
• Nationally, 12% of 8th graders, 22% of 10th graders, and 29% of 12th graders report having consumed five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks.
• A large majority of 8th graders (67 percent), 10th graders (85 percent) and 12th graders (95 percent) say that it is "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get alcohol.

Order other Sobering Facts materials

Consequences of Use

• In 2000, 30 percent of 15-20 year old drivers who were killed in car crashes had been drinking. 21 percent in this group were legally intoxicated.
• 27.9% of NJ's 7th and 8th graders who used alcohol in the past 30 days got F's.
• 28 percent of suicides ages 9-15 can be attributed to alcohol.
• 39 percent of high school boys said it was acceptable to force sex with a girl who was drunk or high.
• Almost 12 percent of adolescent drinkers (about 1.2 million 7th-12th graders) engage in alcohol-related physical fighting.
• Those who start drinking before age 14 are eleven times more likely to have ever been in a fight while drinking or after drinking than adults who began drinking after the age of 21.
• Those who start drinking before age 14 are twelve times more likely to be injured while under the influence of alcohol sometime in their life.
• More than 40 percent of individuals who begin drinking before age 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency at some point in their lives.
  
  Statistics last updated 10/22/04

2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Though the state's 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicates that risky teen behavior is on the decline, it does not mean that adults should cease their efforts on the prevention of suicide, teen drug/alcohol abuse or premarital sex and just hope that things will automatically continue getting better. <<download article>>
<<download summary>> <<download survey>>

Towns Try to Shut Down Teens' Boozy Parties
It's Saturday night and teenagers are drinking alcohol at a friend's house, with no parents in sight. The party gets out of control, neighbors complain about the noise and before the kids know it, the cops are at the door. Whether parents like it or not, that scenario has become exceedingly common. Across the nation, two out of three teenagers say getting alcohol from their homes without their parents' knowledge is easy, according to national studies. <<download article>>

GetSmartNJ.com Educates Parents that they are the Anti Drug
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s Center for Prevention Research found that New Jersey parents lack knowledge of new designer drugs and underestimate the influence of their children’s friends when it comes to trying drugs and alcohol. The Partnership's response: a new Public Service Campaign titled GetSmartNJ.com, which is designed to level the playing field for parents who find themselves in uncharted territory and battling unknown enemies.
<<go to GetSmartNJ.com>>

Underage Drinking - Tips for Parents
Parents worry they have little control over their teens' drinking habits, but experts say that's not true. In fact, many well-intentioned parents are actually driving their kids to drink. <<download article>>

Underage Drinking - A National Epidemic
Underage drinking is a national epidemic. Every day, 5,400 kids under age 16 have their first taste of alcohol. <<download article>>

Underage Drinking - Anecdotal Stories
By the time police waded through the empty Budweiser cans and Jack Daniel's bottles, most of the kids had fled. Left behind was a floor awash in alcohol and cellphones that no teenager would ordinarily abandon. <<download article>>

Underage Drinking - Policy Considerations
Clearly, solutions to underage drinking don't lie solely within the family. There's plenty government and private industry can do. Some recommendations from public health experts. <<download article>>

Teenage Parties (With or Without Parents) Get Out of Hand
New York Times journalist, Terry Golway reports that students in New Jersey are increasingly getting their introduction to alcohol in their own homes or those of their friends. <<download article>>

GET THE FACTS ABOUT YOUTH USE OF ALCOHOL. Download, print and display our youth use of alcohol awareness ads or purchase posters and GET THE FACTS to your friends, co-workers and family.

<<star ledger ad 1>>
<<star ledger ad 2>> 

<<Keep Kids Alcohol Free: Strategies for Action [Printer-ready PDF>> -- a 17-page brochure that describes three basic strategies for preventing alcohol use by children ages 9 to 15.

<<2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health>> --State Estimates of Underage Drinking. This report presents State estimates of past month and binge alcohol use among persons aged 12 to 20.

<<NJ 2003 statewide middle school report>>
<<monitoring the future>>

A Reflection on Societal Attitudes

Youth

"There's nothing to do here. When kids have a weekend free, there's nothing to do but drink and do drugs."

West Windsor teen, explaining to the township council why he's against a new ordinance banning underage drinking on private property. "W. Windsor Council adopts drinking law" Trenton Times, Nov. 11 2003.

Parents

"Parents striving to impress teens with cool behavior, such as buying alcohol for their children and their children's friends, is relatively common" - Detective Kelly Godley

"Woman Charged with giving alcohol to teens; Two boys treated at hospital for alcohol poisoning" Independent, Dec. 31, 2003.

Media

War against teen drinking is overkill

"…anecdotal outbreaks of youthful exuberance hardly constitute an epidemic."
Princeton Packet Editorial, Nov 14, 2003

Confronting New Jersey's Underage Drinking Problem: Increase the State Alcohol Excise Tax
This paper outlines a proposal to have New Jersey increase its excise tax on alcohol to create a price barrier to underage drinking and to use a portion of the additional revenue for a comprehensive underage drinking program. The paper documents how many adolescents drink and how much they consume, one the most alarming facts being that they account for 20 percent of all alcohol purchased in the United States.

Confronting New Jersey's Underage Drinking Problem: Policy Recommendations
This document is a continuation of NCADD-NJ's April 2003 white paper on underage drinking. It proposes policy recommendations beyond an alcohol tax increase that the agency believes should be considered in New Jersey to further address this wide-spread public health problem.

Become a Member and Take Action!

THINK YOU CAN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
THINK AGAIN.

Support An Increase in the Alcohol Excise Tax to Fund Comprehensive Underage Drinking Effort
An increase in the excise tax on alcohol is a natural complement to the governor's plan to once again increase the tax on cigarettes. But while the cigarette tax revenue is to bolster the general fund, a portion of the alcohol tax increase should be dedicated to funding a comprehensive underage drinking program and to expanding addiction treatment that has dramatically diminished over the past decade. Like increased cigarette taxes, increased alcohol taxes are an effective means of deterring and reducing youth alcohol use because younger people are generally more price sensitive which helps delay and reduce drinking among youths.

Support Keg Registration
Beer kegs are often a main source of alcohol at youth parties. When law enforcement officers arrive at these parties, people quickly disperse, and the police have no way of knowing who purchased the keg if it isn't tagged. Beer keg registration laws require retailers to place an identifying tag on each beer keg sold at retail and collect information on the purchaser's identity. This allows police to identify the purchaser of any keg that may be used to provide beer to underage drinkers.

Join Efforts to Curb Youth Use of Alcohol
By becoming a member of Think Advocacy, you will participate in encouraging legislators and State officials to support critical issues like the ongoing efforts to reduce use of alcohol by New Jersey's youth.