DESPITE THE HIGH rate of alcohol usage among teens, prevention programs throughout the United States are working to create significant changes in teen drinking behaviors. At the federal and state government levels, for example, new laws have been passed to enforce stiffer penalties for underage drinking offenses and drunk driving accidents involving teens. Local law enforcement officers in many communities have also supported prevention efforts by cracking down on establishments that sell alcohol to minors.

Statistics show that prevention also works at home and through educational efforts of schools and communitybased programs that urge parents to talk to their teens about drinking. Numerous resources have been made available to parents to help them teach teens abstinence, or to help parents model "sensible drinking." In the schools, teens receive more information about the effects of drinking and alcohol abuse than ever...