Underage Drinking Campaign: Local Communities Take Active Role
This fall, SAMHSA plans to launch "Talk. They Hear You."—its
third National Underage Drinking Campaign. With the help of a
panel of experts to guide research, objectives, and strategies,
SAMHSA has focused the campaign on engaging parents of youth
ages 9 to 15 in prevention behaviors and motivating them to talk
to their kids before there is a problem. The campaign aims to
provide parents with practical advice, information, and tools to
support their role as influencers on their child's decision not
to drink. Drinking alcohol under the age of 21 is illegal in the
U.S., yet according to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (NSDUH), in 2010, approximately 10 million youth ages 12
to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Underage
drinking increases the risk of academic failure, illicit drug
use, and tobacco use. And as a leading contributor to death from
injuries for people under age 21, underage drinking continues to
be a public