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Too Smart to Start is a public education initiative that provides research-based strategies and materials to professinals and volunteers at the community level to help them conduct an underage alcohol use prevention initiative. The goal of Too Smart to Start is to decrease the risk of underage alcohol use by increasing the knowledge and skills of 9- to 13-year-olds and of their parents and caregivers so they can positively address underage alcohol use issues. In order to help communities reach this goal, Too Smart to Start was created with three objectives:

1. Increase the number of conversations that parents/caregivers and their 9- to 13-year-olds have about the harms of underage alcohol use.
2. Increase the percentage of 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers who see underage alcohol use as harmful.
3. Increase public disapproval of underage alcohol use.
Even though national research shows that most of these youth have not begun using alcohol, most expect to use alcohol in the future. Evidence of this expectation can be found in national data that show the average age of first use is declining and that nearly 10.5 million 12- 20-year-olds are current users.