Sorry to sound offensive but you must be living in a very quiet part of the countryside (is there such a place) if you've never seen a 17 year old drunk. Go to any city centre on a weekend evening and they're everywhere. Try a city A&E if you really want to be shocked! And who can blame kids when the increasingly most alcohol abusive group are middle aged women - the only difference is that they buy it at the supermarket and drink it at home!