Underage drinkers get alcohol from adults

Forty percent of underage drinkers in the US get free alcohol from adults, according to new survey results, and 6% receive it from their parents.

The report, produced by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, surveyed approximately 23,000 Americans ages 12 to 20 from 2002 to 2006.

Survey results showed that of the 11 million underage drinkers in the US, 3.5 million meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence, and 7 million have engaged in binge drinking (five or more drinks on at least one occassion in the previous 30 days).

A seperate study published in the June Alcohol found that children may process alcoholic odors differently according to the emotional why reasons their mothers drink.

In the study, if mothers chose to drink as an escape, their children showwed a greater dislike for the smell of beer relative to unpleasant odors compared to children of mothers who drank for non-escape reasons.