By 1984, only three states allowed eighteen year olds to drink.

Underage drinking cost the citizens of Pennsylvania $2.2 billion in 2007

This translates to a cost of $1,759 per year for each youth in the State

In 2007, underage drinkers consumed 11.1% of all alcohol sold in Pennsylvania, totaling $743 million in sales

78% of 12th graders and 70% of 10th graders reported having used alcohol at some time in their lifetimes 45% of 12th graders and 32% of 10th graders reported the use of alcohol in the past 30 days 26% of 12th graders and 17% of 10th graders reported having five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the past 30 days

On average 1,100 a year die from alcohol-related traffic crashes and another 300 die in nontraffic alcohol-related deaths.

DO YOU BELIEVE UNDERAGE DRINKING IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN SPRINGFIELD? Same as in every other jurisdiction. WHY DO YOU THINK SO MANY TEENS DRINK? Two reasons, the first is boredom. Springfield is a small community with not a lot to do. The other is rebellion, and doing something illegal and something not supposed to be done. DO YOU THINK THE DRINKING AGE WILL EVER BE LOWERED? No. WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BE DONE TO STOP UNDERAGE DRINKING? A couple things, parents talking to their kids for one. Another is teens brains are not fully developed so they do not understand what they are doing and the cause and effect of their actions. They need time to mature to make better decisions.

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