Measures for curbing youth drinking suggested

? Underage drinking is such a dangerous and costly threat to society that the nation should impose higher taxes on alcohol and place tough restrictions on advertising to curb the problem, a new report said Wednesday.

The federal Institute of Medicine report estimates that underage drinking costs the United States about $53 billion a year from traffic accidents, fatalities and violence.

Yet the government spent $71 million to prevent underage drinking in 2000 — a paltry amount compared to the $1.8 billion spent to deter youths from illegal drugs.

All the while, alcohol is the most abused drug in the country, and the number of children trying alcoholic beverages before they reach age 18 has doubled in the past decade. About 4.1 million children under 18 tried alcohol in 2000.

At the federal level, the institute is calling on the government to impose new taxes on alcohol, particularly beer because it’s the beverage most chosen by youth.

The federal government currently levies $2.14 in taxes on every 750-milliliter bottle of 80-proof spirits, 33 cents on a six-pack of beer and 21 cents per bottle of wine. Medical groups such as the American Medical Assn. have long advocated higher taxes as a way to reduce youth drinking.

The report also calls for a reduction in alcohol advertising in magazines or during television programs with heavy youth audiences. Jim O’Hara, executive director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, which monitors alcohol advertising, said the alcohol industry had voluntarily decided to target its advertising to media with an adult audience of at least 70 percent — up from the 50 percent standard it had been following.

The institute said the United States needed to launch a national education campaign about the dangers of underage drinking, which contributes to suicides, violence, educational failure, traffic fatalities and problems into adulthood.