Delaying the age of drinking as late as possible protects brain development
Rethink Your Drinking provides information for parents including strategies for reducing your child’s risks. Youth are recommended to delay alcohol use as long as possible. There are many reasons for this:
- A person’s brain does not stop developing until after age 25, and it is important to recognize that drugs of any sort have an impact on brain development.
- Alcohol use is a leading behavioural risk factor for death and social problems among youth and young adults.
- A high proportion of alcohol consumed by youth is in the form of binge drinking with its related risks of injuries, aggression, violence and other age-important consequences such as dating violence and worsening academic performance.
- Even for the same number of drinks consumed per drinking occasion, the risk of adverse outcomes from alcohol consumption is greater for youth than for adults.
Learn more about youth and drinking through this poster from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
Want to learn more about alcohol and health? Visit our main alcohol page at www.swpublichealth.ca/alcohol.