AWARE (All Wisconsin Alcohol Risk Education): Decreasing Underage Drinking
AWARE (All Wisconsin Alcohol Risk Education) is a UW Health-led coalition to improve the health and safety of Wisconsin residents in the fight against alcohol abuse.
One of the four pillars of the AWARE agenda is to reduce the number of underage drinkers in the state. Why? The statistics tell the story.
Underage Drinking Statistics
- Underage drinking cost the citizens of Wisconsin $1.2 billion in 2005.
- Almost 40 percent of 12- to 20-year-olds in Wisconsin reported drinking alcohol within the past month, the highest rate in the nation, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- Current Wisconsin law follows a discretionary policy that may suspend an underage driver's license if the driver possesses or consumes alcohol. Thirty-one states currently follow a mandatory policy.
- An AMA study of two decades of research reveals how harmful drinking is to the brains of children and adolescents.
Action Steps
- Prohibit minors from drinking with parents in bars or restaurants.
- Make mandatory the license suspension for underage consumption or possession of alcohol.
- Increase alcohol education for underage drinkers.
- Uniformly enforce all laws against underage alcohol use and widely publicize these efforts.