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Responsibility for underage drinking is not limited to America's youth. Adults who provide alcohol to youth play a large part in the problem. Effective solutions include a community-based approach holding adults accountable for their actions.

Many adults condone underage drinking, making it easy for minors to obtain alcohol through social connections such as parents, older siblings and friends.

Did You Know???

Teens say that the majority of the time it is easy to obtain alcohol from adult relatives or siblings.
Youth who attempt to purchase alcohol employ the "shoulder tap" - method by loitering outside of a store and soliciting adults to purchase alcohol.

Communities can provide deterrents and change norms by holding adults accountable for their role in contributing to the epidemic of underage drinking.

Social host laws impose penalties on adults who provide alcohol to a person under the age of 21 or allow for the adult to be held liable for any injuries and damages that occur as a result of underage drinking.

Shoulder tapping can be effectively combated and reduced through enforcement programs.

Key registration statutes require that kegs of beer be formally registered and tagged at purchase so that law enforcement officers who confiscate the beer from underage drinkers can track the keg back to the original buyer.

Policies that hold adults accountable enjoy strong public support. Help fight the battle of underage drinking and save lives.

Parents LEAD Program Office, PO Box 527, Dickinson, ND 58602-0527

Telephone: 701-225-4677 Fax: 701-225-8162 Web Site: www.ParentsLEAD.org

This Web site is disseminated under the sponsorship of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety in the interest of information exchange. The state of North Dakota assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.

Information Sources: 2005 North Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey; Dr. Paul Griffin Jones; Health Alliance on Alcohol; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Phoenix House; Sociology Department of State University of New York, Professor David J. Hanson, Ph.D.; Students Against Destructive Decisions; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; US Department of Health & Human Services; Washington State Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse; collegedrinkingprevention.gov; connectingwithkids.com and ourdrink.com.