Teenage Drinking Can Spell Lasting Trouble

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Parents should work with their schools and other programs to prevent and reduce underage drinking, the Surgeon General's office suggested. They should also ask their underage children if they are drinking and discuss the problem frankly, Hingson said.

And parents should not shrug off underage drinking as "a phase," added David Rosenbloom, professor of public health at Boston University's School of Public Health and director of Join Together, an organization that supports drug and alcohol prevention and treatment programs in communities.

The Hingson research, he said, "shows very clearly that the earlier someone starts drinking, the more likely that person is to develop alcohol dependence and the more likely he is to have adverse consequences."

"Someone who doesn't start drinking until age 19 or 20 almost never becomes an alcoholic," noted Rosenbloom, citing research.

When teens starting drinking, their judgment is clearly lacking, Rosenbloom said. "We know now the adolescent brain goes through rapid growth, and the last part [to develop is] judgment and restraint."

"The thinking is also that early alcohol use may have long-lasting effects on how the brain actually develops," Rosenbloom said. "That's not set in stone yet," he noted, but parents may want to mention it as they talk to their kids.

More information

To learn more about the Surgeon General's Call to Action, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.