Washington

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, which are both parts of the National Academies, unveiled a broad plan on Tuesday to reduce underage drinking by enlisting the help of lawmakers, alcohol manufacturers, retail businesses, the entertainment industry, and parents.

"The nation's societal response has not been commensurate with the magnitude and seriousness of this problem," said Richard J. Bonnie, chairman of a committee that wrote a report describing the plan. He is director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. "To create and sustain a strong societal commitment to reduce underage drinking, focusing on youth alone, will not have much impact on the problem," he said. "Underage drinking is everybody's business."

The report, which was requested by Congress, recommends that the federal and state lawmakers raise excise taxes on alcohol, particularly on beer, the most popular alcoholic beverage among young people. Alcohol is much cheaper today, after adjusting for inflation, than it was 30 to 40 years ago, according to the report, which notes that raising the price of alcohol will deter underage drinkers.

The report also recommends:

That states increase the frequency of compliance checks, in which authorities monitor whether businesses are adhering to drinking-age laws.

That states require all sellers and servers of alcohol to complete state-approved training as a condition of employment, and achieve specified statewide rates of retailer compliance with youth-access laws in order to receive federal funds.

That states bolster their efforts to prevent and detect the use of false identification by minors by issuing driver's licenses and state ID cards that can be scanned electronically.

That the federal government finance and actively support the development of a national media campaign to help parents discourage underage drinking.

That trade associations in the alcohol industry and individual companies change their advertising codes to prohibit the placement of commercial messages in venues where a large portion of the audience is under age.

That officials in the music, television, and film industries use rating systems and codes to reduce the likelihood that young listeners and viewers would encounter messages about alcohol consumption.

The text of the report, titled "Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility," is available on the Web site of the National Academies Press.