More Than a Quarter of U.S. Youth Report Underage Drinking

According to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2006 to 2008, 27.6 percent of U.S. youth aged 12 to 20 reported that they drank alcohol in the prior 30 days. Underage drinking was rarest in Utah (13.7 percent) and the most common in North Dakota (40.6 percent). About 8.6 percent of the underage drinkers said they bought the alcohol themselves, which is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.