UNDERAGE ALCOHOL USE  

Nebraska’s Number One Youth Drug Problem                               

Deaths…

• Three teens die from drinking and driving every day.

                                             --National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2004

• Nearly one-quarter of all traffic deaths in Nebraska involve at least one driver under the age of 21, placing Nebraska at No. 7 in the nation for young-drive fatalities.

                                                           --National Safety Council, 2006

• Alcohol kills four times more kids under 21 than all illegal drugs combined.

                                     --Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2006

Costs & Problems…

•         Underage drinking cost the citizens of Nebraska $447 million in 2005. Nebraska ranks 10^th highest among the 50 states for the cost per youth of underage drinking.

                                     -- Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2006

•         Nationally, alcohol-related problems cost an average of $4,489 per underage drinker each year. An average harm from a kid’s illegal is $3, compared to the 85 cent price tag those drinks carry; the 10 cents in taxes collected; and the 40 cents in profit the alcohol industry reaps per drink.

                                           --Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2006

High Risk Drinking…

•         In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 21.7% of all alcohol sold in Nebraska, totaling $154 million in sales and providing profits of $75 million to the alcohol industry.

                                                  --Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2006

• In Nebraska, teen drivers 16 to 19 years of age represent 8% of all licensed drivers, yet account for 17% of crashes where alcohol involvement was a factor.

                                                               --Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, 2005

• Every day, 5,400 young people under 16 take their first drink of alcohol.

                                                       --National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2004