Did You Know?

Underage Drinking

• In 2005, underage drinking cost the nation $60.3 billion; Texas is accountable for 8.6 percent ($5.2 billion) of this total.
• According to a survey of Texas college students conducted by Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), alcohol was the most commonly used substance among college students. Eighty-four percent of students had drunk an alcoholic beverage at least once during their lifetimes, 78 percent had drunk alcohol in the past year, and 66 percent had drunk alcohol in the past month.
• Sixteen percent of college students reported getting drunk often. Getting drunk often is defined here as becoming drunk on three or more occasions within the past month.
• Although the legal drinking age in Texas is 21, about 58 percent of college students aged 18 to 20 reported drinking an alcoholic beverage within the past month. The majority (81 percent) of underage past-year drinkers reported obtaining alcohol from someone age 21 or older.
• According to the Texas School Survey on Substance Abuse among Students Grades 7-12 (2010) 61.8% of students report that they have used alcohol at least once in their life.
• According to the Texas School Survey on Substance Abuse among Students Grades 7-12 (2010) 29% of students report that they have used alcohol in the past month.
• In 2010, 62.7% of secondary school females and 60.9% of males reported that they have ever used alcohol.

Binge Drinking

• Twenty-five percent of college students reported binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks for men or four drinks for women in one setting.
• Binge drinking at least once in the past month was reported by 20.6 percent of Texas' students in grades 7-12 who participated in a DSHS survey.
• Of the Texas students who reported binge drinking, over one-fifth, almost one in twenty secondary students were frequent binge drinkers; that is, they binged six or more days in the past month.
• Over 11 percent of college students were frequent binge drinkers, that is, they binged on six or more occasions within the last month.

Texas Youth

• Alcohol is the most widely used substance among Texas 7-12 grade youth.
• According to the 2008 report Adolescent Substance Use in Texas, 50.5 percent of students in grades 7-12 reported first using alcohol before age 13.
• DPS reported 43,973 Texas minors were arrested in 2009 for alcohol related violations.

DUI/DWI

• In 2009, 185 persons under the age of 21 were killed in Texas during an alcohol related traffic accident.
• The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported 9,668 persons under 21 were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2009.
• In 2008, about 19 percent of Texas' high school seniors that participated in a DSHS survey acknowledged that they had operated a motor vehicle at least once in the past year after having "a good bit to drink."
• In 2009, 1,235 Texans died in alcohol related traffic accidents, more than any other state.

Nationwide

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA):

• 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
• 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol.
• 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
• 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assult or date rape.
• 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex.
• About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.
• More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem, and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use.
• 3,360,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 drive under the influence of alcohol.
• About 11 percent of college student drinkers report that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol.
• More than 25 percent of administrators from schools with relatively low drinking levels and over 50 percent from schools with high drinking levels say their campuses have a "moderate" or "major" problem with alcohol-related property damage.
• About 5 percent of 4-year college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking, and 110,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence.
• 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking.

Sources:

1. Texas Department of State Health Service. 2008 Adolescent Substance Use in Texas.
2. Texas Department of Public Safety. Texas Crime Report 2009, Chapter 8 Texas Arrest Data.
3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Report Query 2009.
4. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.
5. Texas Department of State Health Services. 2005 Texas Survey of Substance Use Among College Students.
6. Texas Department of State Health Services. 2006 Texas School Survey on Substance Use Among Students: Grades 7-12.
7. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism