CHOOSE. BE STRONG. IT'S YOUR CHOICE 

Youth may become addicted to alcohol in as little as 6 to 18 months. A youth's central nervous system and brain are not fully developed and are especially sensitive to alcohol and drugs. Addiction happens much faster.

Recent research by the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated that teens who abuse alcohol have brains that are 10% smaller than teens who don't drink

The risk for alcohol dependency decreases by 14% with each year drinking is delayed after the age of 15. Research showxs the longer you delay the onset of alochol use in youth, the less likely you are to experience problems with use later in life.

Youth who are drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become dependent than those who wait until age 21

Youth who are drinking alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine and 7.5 times more likely to use any illicit drug than youth who never drink alcohol.

The U.S. Surgeon General reports that life expectancy has improved in the U.S. over the past 75 years for every age group except one. The death rate for 15-24 year olds is highe rtoday than it was 20 years ago. The leading cause of death is drunk and drugged driving.

2.6 million teenagers do not know a person can die from an alcohol overdose.

During a typical weekend, an average of one teenage dies per hour in an automobile crash. Nearly 50% of those crashes involve alcohol.

Special thanks to Ohio Parents for Drug Free Youth and MADD Alabama for providing some of this information.