According to an analysis, eliminating underage drinking and excessive drinking by adults (defined as more than two drinks per day) would reduce the amount of alcohol consumed in the U.S. by at least 50.1%. That equates to $56.9 billion in consumer expenditures on alcohol.
Analyzing 2001 data (the last year for which numbers were available), underage drinking represented 17.5% of consumer expenditures on alcohol--roughly $22.5 billion. Adult pathological drinking accounted for another 20.1%--$25.8 billion. As a result, the paper concludes, more should be done to prevent underage drinking, arguing “those who begin drinking prior to age 21 are far likelier to become pathological drinkers…Underage drinking benefits the alcohol industry in two ways: the total amount consumed by teens, and the contribution of underage drinking to maintaining a supply of adult pathological drinkers.”