Research shows that parents are the leading influence on their child’s decisions about alcohol. Although it may not seem like it, when parents talk about underage drinking, their children do hear them. To prevent young people from starting to drink, the campaign focuses on ages 9–15. Around 9, children begin thinking alcohol may not be just for adults. By 15, many young people are drinking. Young people who start drinking before age 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol problems as adults than those who begin drinking at 21 or older.

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