7 million teens drink to get drunk
The acting surgeon general has released a sobering report about underage binge drinking.
A survey says more than 7 million teens drink to get drunk and alcohol can harm brain development in young people.
This week thousands of students will hit the beaches and the bars on spring break.
But Elise Lopez isn't one of them.
"I generally started at the age of 13. Most of my friends were smoking weed and cigarettes around that time," she says.
The 19-year-old quit drinking and experimenting with drugs three years ago.
"I saw people drop out of school, people who lost their lives, and I really decided it wasn't what I wanted," she says.
And it's not just college kids.
A 2006 Arizona youth survey shows 30 percent of high school seniors in Pima County admitted to binge drinking.
Experts define binge drinking as drinking to get drunk: having five or more drinks in one setting.
So what's the big deal?
The Pima Prevention Partnership says it's more than just kids being kids.
It says underage drinking can contribute to rape and assault, and other crimes.
"We think a lot about drinking and driving, maybe just getting in trouble with the law, but we don't think about these other things because we don't want to think about them," says Chuck Palm with Pima Prevention Partnership.
Elise now talks to teens about peer pressure, and where they can go for help.
"For a lot of teenagers I would tell them they're not alone with their issues," she says.
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