Fact Sheets - Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age Age 21 Minimum
Legal Drinking Age Public Health Problem - Excessive alcohol
consumption contributes to more than 4,700 deaths among underage
youth, that is, persons less than 21 years of age, in the United
States each year.1 - Underage drinking is strongly associated
with many health and social problems among youth including
alcohol-impaired driving, physical fighting, poor school
performance, sexual activity, and smoking.2 - About 2 in 3 high
school students who drink do so to the point of intoxication,
that is, they binge drink (defined as having five or more drinks
in a row), typically on multiple occasions.2,3 - Current
drinking during the previous month among persons aged 18 to 20
years declined significantly from 59% in 1985 to 40% in 1991,
coincident with states’ adopting an age 21 minimum legal
drinking age, but increased to 47% by 1999.4 - The prevalence of
current drinking among persons aged 21 to 25 also declined
significantly from 70% in 1985 to 56%