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Families

Welcome to Too Smart To Start, your Web site on helping young people avoid underage alcohol use and its consequences.

Most young people ages 12 to 20 do not drink. However, about 9.7 million young people do use alcohol. Alcohol use can interfere with their health, academic and workplace performance, and relationships with friends and family.

Talk with young people early and often about the dangers of underage drinking. With your help, we can make sure that young people understand that they do not need to drink to fit in, have fun, or deal with the pressures of growing up. Use the resources on this site to help young people be too smart to start.

Families

While many teens drink alcohol, underage alcohol use is not inevitable. Families are not helpless to prevent it. Families can focus efforts on the factors that protect teens from alcohol use. At the same time, you can work to reduce the factors that increase the chance that teens will drink.

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