The Butte Youth Now Coalition, Butte County Department of Behavioral Health-Prevention Unit, and Butte County Friday Night Live Partnership work to reduce youth access to alcohol, reduce the saturation of pro-use alcohol messages and ultimately reduce underage drinking. Wasted-The Truth of Underage Drinking documents the realities of youth access to and use of alcohol, as well as community approaches to solve alcohol related problems and create healthier communities.

Butte County Truth:

73% of young people report drinking alcohol

30% of 11th graders report binge drinking in the past 30 days

Butte County is home to 450 alcohol retail outlets-15% above the state average

58% of youth report that adults are present at social celebrations where youth are drinking alcohol

63% of youth report that adults do not step in to stop them from drinking

45% of youth report they most often see other young people drinking at parties in homes

Butte county youth report liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations are most often the points of access to purchase alcohol

34% of youth report that young people get alcohol from somebody going into a store to buy it for them

National Truth:

In the US, alcohol alone kills more youth than all illegal drugs combined

Each day more than 7,000 kids in the US under the age of 16 take their first drink

Underage drinking costs the US $53 billion a year in medical care and lost productivity

Each year approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This statistic includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle incidents, 1,600 homicides, 300 suicides, and hundred s of others stemming from injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning.

Alcohol Facts:

Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by high school seniors

Young people who begin drinking before the age of 15 are 5x more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21

Implementing environmental prevention strategies that aim to change community norms, change how alcohol is packaged and advertised, enforce or create effective policy, and decrease access and availability are the most effective strategies for reducing underage and binge drinking.