Preventing and Reducing Underage Drinking

Abstract

In 2007, former Acting Surgeon General RADM Ken neth Moritsugu released The Surgeon Generals Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking1 to let the American people know about the nature and extent of underage drinking and its consequences, defined in this article as alcohol consumption by people younger than the minimum legal drinking age of 21. Dr. Moritsugu also wanted to alert the public to recent scientific evi dence indicating that the developing adolescent brain might be particularly susceptible to long-term negative consequences from alcohol use. He also focused on emerging developmental research that explains why adolescents use alcohol differently from adults, why they react uniquely to it, and why alcohol can pose such a powerful attraction to them with unpredictable and potentially devastating outcomes. Following publication of the report, my office has worked closely with the spouses of governors who are members of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to encourage states and communities across the country to work together to prevent and reduce underage drinking. As part of this effort, I have visited 13 states and helped to launch town hall meetings in more than 1,800 communities in all 50 states. My colleagues and I have undertaken this educational effort because under