What do you want to be remembered for?

Looking fantastic in your prom dress or tux
Being honored for your grades
Seeing the pride in your parents' eyes

OR

Being drunk
Being sick
Being arrested

For many students, prom night and graduation are two of the most memorable events of their teen years. But these traditional right-of-passage events are becoming dangerous times for teens.

"Alcohol is the number one drug problem in America," says Lowell Yoder, UI Hospitals and Clinics social worker who deals with alcohol abuse problems. "More young people drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or use drugs." Underage drinking costs the U.S. an estimated $53 billion annually in losses stemming from traffic fatalities, violent crime, unsafe sex, educational failure, and other behaviors that threaten the future success of today's

It doesn't take much

With a blood alcohol level as low as .02 percent, your ability to drive will be affected and increase the likelihood of a crash.

If you weigh 160 pounds and have one 12-ounce beer, your blood alcohol level would be .02. The probability of a crash increases significantly at .05 percent (three beers in one hour) and climbs rapidly after about 0.08 percent (five beers in two hours).

"The faster you drink, the higher the levels of alcohol in your blood because your body doesn't have time to process or eliminate the alcohol," Yoder says. It accumulates in your body, leading to higher and higher levels of blood alcohol.

How much you drink makes more of a difference than what you drink. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 72-proof distilled spirits. They all contain the same amount of alcohol.

It takes two to three hours for a single drink to leave your body's system. Yoder says nothing can speed up this process, including drinking coffee, taking a cold shower, or "walking it off."

What happens if you drink?

• You might not remember the event.
• You could be asked to leave the prom, or worse—you could be suspended from school
• You might be arrested for drinking at graduation or worse— you could be arrested for drunk driving
• You could be involved in a traffic accident. During the weekends surrounding prom and graduation, 47 percent of traffic crash fatalities of 15- to 20-year-olds were alcoholrelated.

Of these alcohol-related fatalities, 69 percent involved a 15- to 20-year-old driver with alcohol in his/her system (2004—Mothers Against Drunk Driving).

Parents make a difference

Talk with your teens regularly—don't wait for the afternoon of the prom or graduation to talk about alcohol and its effects on their actions.

Give your teen clear messages about not using alcohol, drugs, or tobacco.

Establish appropriate consequences for breaking the rules.

Ask your teen for specifics—where will he be, who will he be with, when will he be home?