""Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life."
--U.S. Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, quoted in this piece (via Fark).
There might be a selection bias effect here: if you were going to become an alcoholic, why wait so long to begin? A much better study would distinguish people who start drinking before age 15 from people who start binge-drinking before age 15.
Either way, hear me now: I'm hosting parties for my teenage kids, and yes I'm going to serve liquor. (You'll know where to find me.)
(Ironically, this morning someone on Facebook tried to invite me to join the "charity" Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. I took a deep breath, acknowledge that life is short, and calmly clicked the "Ignore" button.)
Posted by Matt Bruce at March 19, 2008 03:29 PM