Alcohol consumption among youth is considered a public health problem in the United States and Canada. In order to describe the pattern of alcohol abuse among young people in each country, the authors examined data from two national surveys: the 1999 College Alcohol Study and the 1998 Canadian Campus Survey. Randomly selected students under the age of 25 answered questionnaires concerning demographic background and drug and alcohol use. Results of self-reported alcohol use and heavy alcohol use indicate that the prevalence of life-time and past year drinking was greater among the Canadian students, however, the prevalence of heavy alcohol use was significantly greater among students in the United States. Students from both countries reported less heavy alcohol consumption if they lived with their parents. However, those students who reported heavy drinking before the age of 16 were more likely to be heavy drinkers in college. The implications of this research are that programs should be designed to educate freshman students about the dangers of alcohol abuse. References