"Young U.S. people ages 18 to 25 have the highest prevalence of binge drinking (38.7 percent) and heavy drinking (13.6 percent), with a peak rate (48.2 percent for binge and 17.8 percent or heavy drinking) occurring at age 21, according to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse."

"The view that the personality of an alcoholic exists before the onset of the disease is most strongly articulated by those who advocate a concept known as the "addictive personality." According to supporters of this theory, the addictive personality is a distinct psychological trait that predisposes particular people to addictions."

"According to the research literature, American adolescents between the ages of twelve and seventeen who use alcohol are more likely to report more behavioral problems, especially criminal, delinquent, or aggressive behaviors than 12 to 17-year olds who do not drink alcohol."

"According to U.S. research scientists, long-term excessive drinking can lead to pancreatitis (that is, an inflammation of the pancreas). Pancreatitis is associated with severe abdominal pain and excessive weight loss and can result in death."

"Researchers have discovered that children learn their attitudes about drinking from those around them, especially from their friends, their parents, and from other adults."

"In 1999, the average American drank 32 gallons of beer compared to 51 gallons of soft drinks, 24 gallons of milk, and 26 gallons of coffee."

"In the United States, males are more likely to be dependent on illicit drugs and alcohol than females. The opposite is true of dependency on prescription medication."

"The great difficulty lies in the fact that denial plays a large part in alcoholism. Consequently, alcoholics rarely seek professional help voluntarily."

"Psychological addiction occurs when the cravings for a drug are emotional or psychological. People who are psychologically addicted typically feel overcome by the desire to have the drug in question."

"Because alcohol is not found easily in nature, genetic mechanisms to protect against excessive consumption may not have evolved in humans as they frequently have for protection against natural threats. Some evidence, then, suggests that a natural lack of genetic protection plays a major role in alcoholism. Such studies have found that people with a family history of alcoholism tend to "hold their liquor" better than those without such history."

"An excessive amount of alcohol over an extended period of time can cause it own set of health problems, including everything from stomach ulcers to life-threatening liver ailments."

"The short and long term consequences that arise from underage alcohol consumption are astonishing in their range and magnitude, affecting adolescents, the people around them, and society as a whole."

"In the United States, 20% of alcoholics who try to quit drinking on their own without medical management die of alcohol withdrawal delirium."

"Alcoholism research demonstrates that besides the long-term health problems that can develop, a prolonged use of alcohol can lead to a chemical dependency on alcohol itself, which can bring about a whole set of problems of its own."

"According to a growing group of substance abuse experts, behavioral and biological explanations of drug abuse need to be given equal weight and integrated with each other if a deeper understanding of the root causes of drug addiction are to be found and more effective treatments are to be developed."

"Alcoholism researchers in one study found that the largest group of alcoholics in the U.S. are young adults. Twenty percent are highly functional and more than half do not have a family history of alcoholism."

"A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report shows one-fourth of all traffic deaths among children (under age 15) involved alcohol."

"In one U.S. study, the intoxication rate (.08+ BAC) for male drivers involved in fatal crashes was 25%, compared to 12% for female drivers."

"One study of U.S. emergency room patients found that having had more than one drink doubled the risk of injury, and more than four drinks increased the risk eleven times."

"Although they use alcohol in an unhealthy way, people who suffer from alcohol abuse do not necessarily develop a physical dependence upon alcohol."

"According to U.S. alcoholism statistics, 65 people each day die on American highways due to alcohol abuse."

"In the United States during 2004, 16,694 deaths occurred as a result of alcohol-related motor-vehicle accidents."

"Millions of people are affected by the excessive drinking of someone close. Many times people who are close to alcoholics do not even realize how much they have been affected by someone else's drinking."

"Alcohol is a problem if it causes problems in any part of your life. This includes your health, your work and your life at home. You may have a problem with alcohol if you think about drinking all the time, if you keep trying to quit on your own but can't, or if you often drink more than you plan to."

"If talking with your teenager about alcohol or drugs is difficult, consulting with your family doctor may be able to help open the lines of communication between you and your teens."

"One U.S. study found that binge drinkers had a risk for a cardiac emergency that was two and a half times that of nondrinkers."

"Fetal alcohol syndrome is a combination of physical and mental birth defects that affects about 6% of the babies born to U.S. women who are alcohol abusers or alcoholics."