We could pretend that youth don't drink*.

We could also pretend that heavy drinking is harmless. That it doesn't harm friendships and reputations. That it doesn't put you at risk for injury or sexual assault. That there isn't evidence the alcohol industry targets youth with their advertising. We could pretend a lot of things.

Or we could face the facts.

This is the place to start. Read up about the keep control campaign. Check out the FAQs for some truth about risky drinking. Go in-depth with reports, studies and statistics about alcohol. Expand your information base with our library of links. Get the facts.

* Fact: in a 2005 survey, 62% of Ontario students in grades 7 through 12 reported drinking. Of them, 23% reported binge drinking at least once in the month before the survey. That's about 220,100 students. For the same period, another 205,300 students reported being drunk at least once; about 9% of all students reported binge drinking 2 to 3 times; and another 5% reported binge drinking 4 times or more. And those were just the ones that admitted it. (Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: http://www.camh.net/Research/osdus.html#2005osdusdrugusereport )