Alcohol use is the number one drug problem among young people. It's easy to understand why. For adults, alcohol is legal, widely_1_in American culture and easily._2_. Many kids can get a drink right in their own homes._3_are drinking younger and more frequently than_4_, often beginning around age 13, according to studies. The average number of alcoholic drinks among college students is five on a single_5_, according to a recent survey. Among those younger 21, it is 5.5 drinks, and among_6_21 and older, it is 4.2 drinks.

    Young people almost always begin drinking because of_7_.pressure, in an attempt to be accepted and_8_in the group. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, more than half of junior and senior high school students drink alcoholic_9_. More than 40 percent of those who drink admit to drinking when upset, 31 percent admit to drinking_10_, 25 percent admit to drinking when_11_and 25 percent admit to drinking to get"_12_."

    This is a_13_, serious problem_14_college campuses today. In 1997 Harvard University's School of Public Health surveyed students at 130 colleges for a college_15_study and found about two of every five college students_16_in binge drinking._17_binge drinkers at college were 22 times more_18_than non-binge drinkers to have problems,_19_missed classes, falling behind in school work, getting in trouble or hurt and engaging in_20_sexual activity.