Alcohol

Alcohol use is a serious problem facing Texas youth. The average age young Texans have their first drink of alcohol is 13 years old, and more than half of Texas middle and high school students have used alcohol at some point in their lives. Research clearly shows that people who start drinking under the age of 15 are 4 times more likely to have issues with alcohol dependence or misuse at some point in their lives. And that’s just scratching the surface of the dangerous consequences that underage drinking can have on our youth.

Alcohol and youth don’t mix. Period. In fact, the science shows that alcohol use under the legal age of 21 can lead to serious health, behavioral, and legal consequences. Specifically,

  • Youth are significantly more likely to be the victim of a sexual assault after drinking than those their age who do not drink,
  • Youth are more likely to carry out or be the victim of physical assault after drinking,
  • Alcohol use has been identified as a leading contributing factor to teenage suicide,
  • There is strong evidence that alcohol causes mouth, throat, liver, colon, stomach, and female breast cancer,
  • Every year, more than 180,000 people under the age of 21 visit an ER for alcohol-related injuries and more than 4,000 people under the age of 21 died due to accidental deaths related to alcohol, and
  • Alcohol use impairs youth’s judgment and decision-making processes, which can lead to risky behaviors including driving while intoxicated and unprotected sexual activity.

What We’re Doing

Alcohol has no place in the lives of Texas youth.

  • By 12th grade, 72% of youth in Texas have tried alcohol.
  • Underage alcohol use has been linked to other dangerous behaviors including sexual assault, impaired driving, and suicide.
  • The science is clear – zero tolerance is the only way.

Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth believes community-wide approaches are the best way to create healthy and safe futures for our children. Using the latest data and evidence-based practices, we fight our cause on a number of fronts.

Social Access Laws

Most Underage Drinkers Get Alcohol Socially

How can we stop Texas youth from using alcohol? Part of the answer is restricting access to alcohol in social settings. Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth fights for laws that reduce youth access to this harmful substance.

Social Harm

Alcohol is the most commonly used substance among youth, and most underage drinkers get alcohol socially from parties and friends. Limited or no supervision, combined with heavy drinking, creates an unsafe environment where problems beyond drinking and driving occur, such as:

  • Violence and assaults
  • Binge drinking and alcohol poisoning
  • Sexual assault
  • Unplanned sexual activity
  • Combination drug use
  • Property damage and vandalism

A local social host ordinance is a law that holds adults liable for underage drinking on their property and/or for providing alcohol to minors. Communities across the country pass such ordinances to ensure the health and safety of youth to reduce underage and risky drinking.

Learn more about social host ordinances and what you can do for your community.

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Alcopops

Alcopops are becoming increasingly available in our communities — we are working to better understand how accessible these sweet, easy-to-drink alcoholic beverages are throughout the state. You can help us collect information.

The Alcopops Monitoring Tool follows the 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion) to help us gather information about what you’re seeing in your community. Typically, you can capture all of the requested information by taking a really good photo.

However, if you have to pick the item up for any reason, please only do so if you are 21 or older.

HELP US MONITOR ALCOPOPS
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Alcohol-To-Go

Texas’s “alcohol-to-go” law, enacted in 2021, permits restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption. While this measure was initially introduced to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has since become a permanent fixture in the state’s alcohol regulations.

Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth has been actively addressing concerns related to the “alcohol-to-go” law, particularly its potential impact on underage drinking.

In a 2023 report, TxSDY highlighted that approximately 30% of San Antonio businesses were not properly verifying IDs during alcohol-to-go transactions, raising concerns about increased access to alcohol for minors.

“What we know is that when we make it easier for a young person to gain access to a substance, they are more likely to use that substance.” ~Nicole Holt, CEO of TxSDY 

To address these issues, we have been involved in several initiatives:

  • Advocacy for Improved Compliance: They have called for stricter enforcement of ID checks and better training for businesses involved in alcohol-to-go sales.

  • Community Engagement: TxSDY has encouraged community members, including patrol officers, to participate in surveys and share observations regarding alcohol-to-go practices, aiming to gather data and promote accountability .

  • Policy Recommendations: The organization has suggested enhancements to the alcohol-to-go law to prevent underage access, such as mandatory ID verification protocols and tamper-proof packaging for takeout alcohol orders.

Through these efforts, Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth continues to advocate for policies and practices that protect youth from the risks associated with underage drinking.

Alcohol Excise Tax

A Dime Saves Lives

At a time when “increasing taxes” would seem to be an unpopular idea, voters approve of increasing the alcohol excise tax, which has seen no change since 1984. Voters are especially supportive when they learn that those funds can be used to help supplement the high costs of public education and public safety in our state.

Excessive drinking costs Texas $19 billion per year – that’s $695 per Texan annually – and other states have proven that even slightly higher excise taxes on alcohol reduce these costs. Increasing the alcohol excise tax is smart economics and unites Texans around a public health and safety issue affecting every community in our state. It keeps our citizens healthier, our roads safer, and protects our kids.

A Lifesaving Option

By next session, a dime today could:

Save 1,000

Texas Lives

Prevent 100

Cancer Deaths

Stop 10,000

Sexual Assaults

We can achieve this with a simple ten cent per drink increase to the alcohol excise tax. While the benefits are immense, the impact on Texans’ wallets would be minimal. In fact, polling by Baselice & Associates shows 65% of Texas voters support this option as a way to improve public education and safety.

By passing this increase, Texas would raise $1.4 billion every two years. More than $350 million (25%) would be dedicated to public education, and the rest available to support key legislative priorities.

It’s very simple and comes down to this: A dime for a life.

texas alcohol excise tax

 “A substantial body of research has shown that higher prices or taxes on alcoholic beverages are associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, especially in young people.” ~National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 

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a dime saves lives

College Campuses

Prevention is Power

College can be a time of newfound growth and independence for young Texans, which makes it even more important to create healthy and safe campus environments in which they can thrive. Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth partners with schools and works with community members to help support campus prevention efforts.

Did You Know?

35% of Texas college students reported binge drinking in the past month.
58% of Texas college students used alcohol in the past month
18% of Texas college students drive after drinking at least once per month.
37% of 18 to 24 year olds said that alcohol or other drugs influenced their decision to do something sexual that they later regretted
83% of sexual assault perpetrators used alcohol or other drugs at the time of victimization.

SBI is key.

Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for alcohol use is an evidence-based intervention to reduce risky drinking behaviors and related consequences.

What sets Texans Standing Tall’s approach apart is that our implementation plan is a preventive measure. Most other interventions follow an alcohol-related incident, injury or violation of the law.

By equipping campuses with this tool, we’re able to reduce risky drinking behavior among college students in Texas.

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Creating and enforcing a strong campus alcohol policy is a critical step in addressing underage and binge drinking among college students. To help you gain a better understanding of campus alcohol policies in Texas, we analyzed the policies of colleges and universities in the state and created an online tool that allows you to explore different schools’ policies and identify areas for strengthening existing policies.

Zero Alcohol for Youth

None. Nada. Zero.

That’s exactly how much alcohol is okay for our youth. Underage drinking has immediate and indirect consequences.

Underage Drinking Is Harmful

The effects of underage drinking are enormous.

Underage alcohol use has been linked to other dangerous behaviors, including sexual assault, impaired driving, and suicide. Not to mention additional indirect health and safety consequences on society. While adults have the responsibility to create healthy and safe environments for youth, young people are not only passionate about these issues, they are an essential part to creating change.”

Our Zero Alcohol for Youth Academies are opportunities for youth and adults to collaborate to tackle youth alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. These day-long events provide:

  • Meaningful activities that support effective youth and adult partnerships,
  • Leadership and community engagement skills, and
  • Tools to effectively create change.

What You Can Do

RESOURCES

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P.O. Box 40365
Austin, TX 78704
512.442.7501

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