The numbers should be going down, not up.

Despite years of high-profile efforts to stop restaurants and bars from selling alcohol to minors, the latest survey from the Honolulu Liquor Commission suggests a worrisome trend in the wrong direction.

Forty-seven percent of the 225 establishments surveyed last year served alcoholic drinks to minors working undercover for the commission. That's an increase of 12 percentage points from 2006.

Clearly, the message isn't getting through.

There's one obvious solution: The commission needs to get tougher, sooner, with businesses who violate the law.

The current risk of a $1,000 to $5,000 fine is most likely too low to motivate businesses to trade profits for principle.

The remedy of a swifter license suspension or revocation would be a better way to get the scofflaws' attention.

Parents and other concerned adults can also ratchet up the pressure by reporting violations on the commission's 24-hour hotline. They can also request alcohol testing strips to see if their kids have been drinking.

Of course, cracking down on bars and restaurants won't be enough. Most minors get their liquor in private homes.

And despite its known risks, alcohol remains the drug of choice among youth.

In Hawai'i, about 24 percent of those between 12 and 20 told a 2006 national survey they consumed alcohol in the previous month. Seventeen percent reported binge drinking. Nationally, about 54 percent of those in the 12-20 age range reported drinking an alcoholic beverage at least once in their lifetime.

The dangers have been documented. Research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has linked early drinking to alcohol-related problems in adulthood and other dangerous behaviors like violence, unsafe sex and suicide attempts.

It's clear that minors — whether they think so or not — need to find alternatives to drinking alcohol. It's up to responsible adults to set the example, be they parents, liquor commissioners or bar owners.