WASHINGTON (AP) -- Many of the nation's estimated 10.8 million underage drinkers are turning to their parents or other adults for free alcohol.

Among younger teens, slightly more girls reported drinking than boys did.

A government survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 said slightly more than half had engaged in underage drinking.

Asked about the source of alcohol, 40 percent they got it from an adult for free over the past month, the survey said. Of those, about one in four said they got it from an unrelated adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from another adult family member.

Roughly 4 percent reported taking the alcohol from their own home.

"In far too many instances parents directly enable their children's underage drinking -- in essence encouraging them to risk their health and well-being," said acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson. "Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem -- but it is a critical part."

About one out of five of those aged 12 to 20 -- or roughly 7.2 million people -- said they had taken part in binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past month, the survey said. Rates were significantly higher if they lived with a parent who engaged in binge drinking.

The study, which uses data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, is based on a scientific random sample of 158,000 people aged 12 to 20 in the United States. Among the other findings:

• Over half of current underage alcohol users were at someone else's home when they had their last drink, while 30.3 percent were in their own home. About 9.4 percent were at a restaurant, bar or club.

• About 3.5 million teens aged 12 to 20 each year meet the diagnostic criteria for having an alcohol use disorder, such as dependence or abuse.

• Among younger teens, slightly more girls reported drinking than boys did. In the middle teens, they drank at roughly the same rate. Among 18 to 20-year-olds, boys outpaced the girls.

• Rates of underage drinking and binge drinking were slightly higher at the opposite ends of the economic spectrum.

• Rates of current and binge alcohol use among 12 to 20 year olds were higher in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South or West.

"This report provides unprecedented insight into the social context of this public health problem and shows that it cuts across many different parts of our community," said Terry Cline, administrator of SAMHSA. "Its findings strongly indicate that parents and other adults can play an important role in helping influence -- for better or for worse -- young people's behavior with regard to underage drinking."

Survey: Underage drinkers get alcohol free from adults - CNN.com

Hmmm... now at the risk of being crucified, I am putting this out there. I think making alcohol the forbidden fruit to teens only makes it that more appealing when they leave the home, ending up with us seeing them in college binge drinking and dying from alcohol poisoning.

I spent my adolescent years in South America, I had my first rum and coke (social drinking) at 15, I drank until I was drunk from 18 to 21 (college) - the height of which were tequila shots straight. I don't drink at all anymore. My hubby (who is South American) drank like a fiend from 16 - 21, and doesn't drink anymore. In my experience, it's a phase most people go through.