Increased Risk for Alcoholism &
Drug Addiction

• A major offers scientific validation that young people who began drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who began drinking at age 21 or later.
  
  
• Current research explains that areas of an adolescent’s brain that control impulsive behavior are not fully developed, yet circuits that reinforce the effect of chemical use are already operating in high gear.
  
  This puts young people who experiment even briefly with alcohol, drugs and tobacco at greater risk of becoming addicted.

Every day that teenagers choose not to use illegal substances improves their chances of avoiding alcohol, drug or tobacco addiction and helps to prevent many irreversible consequences of using chemical substances.