Alcohol Argument Essay

Alcohol Addiction
An Argument Essay

Have you ever been pressured into doing something you would rather not do? Many people have been in many different ways. It seems that teens are pressured more and more into drinking than anything else. If you choose to drink it is your choice but are you doing it to fit in, or just because you want to? There are many different ways an adolescent might take a drink even if they know it is wrong. Some reasons are the risk-taking, the expectancies, how sensitive and how they tolerate the alcohol, hereditary factors, personality characteristics, and psychological thought. Some people say that we should change our drinking ages to 16 like many countries in Europe because they don’t have the problem we do with underage drinking. I have known some foreign exchange students in the past who were from Europe, one of my friends was from France and another was from Denmark. In both France and Denmark the drinking age is 16 but people don’t really care how old you are and laws are not enforced like here in the United States. Because of this reason there has been many people thinking that the United States should change the drinking age to 16. In some aspects yes but in many other aspects not so much. If the United States decided to just up and change the drinking age to 16 everyone would go crazy the bars would be overflowing and it would be a wreck. I think that the reason drinking in the other countries is not a big deal because at the ages 16-21 the average teen or adolescent is taking many risks in this risk taking they want to do things that are illegal to see what they may or may not get away with. There are many alcohol addictions in the United States because of how young people start drinking. This is a problem because a big part of adolescents drink at a young age for many different reasons such as risk taking and just fitting in with everyone else, because, “drinking is the cool thing to do.” There are many people who are pressured into drinking they may want to try it but deep down they know that it is not the right thing to do, bad things may happen if I take that one sip. With this being said there are many aspects that adolescents may drink under the age of 21. Many adolescents are still developing into their twenties, during then their communication connections are very important to them. Drinking is a good way for someone to get out, get to know other people, and experience other things. Some people think that there is no other way to get out to know people if alcohol is not involved. There are also some people who go out and drink because if they are not they are very shy and believe they will never get to know anyone. Many people believe that once they are a certain age they are expected to drink and if they don’t they won’t fit in. An adolescent who believes that drinking is a fun situation they are more likely to continue and maybe in the future develop a problem. Beliefs about alcohol are known very early in life, some people believe that when you are younger and you think that drinking is bad and know some facts about it you are more likely not to be a drinker by the age of seventeen. I don’t believe with this assumption because I think that once you experience high school drinking is expected and even if you use to be a hater of it you still may try it and like the effects and later have a problem. Some younger people who are into drinking are less sensitive and can tolerate much more alcohol then the older people or even people in their mid-twenties. The younger person’s brain is still maturing; this is the reason why they are able to consume more alcohol before experiencing drowsiness, lack of coordination, and withdrawal or hangover effects.
One of the bigger risks of alcohol problems is when people are depressed, withdrawn, anxious, disruptive, hyperactive, or aggressive. Many people think that drinking will solve all of their problems and help them much more than hurt them. In reality the use of alcohol is just making the situation worse. Some other problems to do with behavior are people who are rebellious, people who find it difficult to avoid harm or harmful situations, and also people who don’t care much about other people’s feelings and disregard any rules applied.
Behavior and psychological factors along with tolerance of alcohol’s effects may be linked by genetics. A person’s problem with drinking may be hereditary for many reasons and the person may never know. There has been a test shown about how the children of alcoholics are more likely to become an alcoholic than someone who comes from a family that doesn’t drink as much or at all. Other hereditary factors are that the genes pass on addiction.
Alcohol addiction is simply defined as a compulsive need for an intoxicating liquid that is obtained from fermented grain or fruit. These liquids include beer, wine, and other hard liquors. (All about life challenges, 2000-2007) Alcoholism occurs when a person is craving alcohol and cannot limit themselves or contain their own drinking. If someone has had withdrawal symptoms like nausea, sweating, shakiness, or anxiety when drinking alcohol is occurring, or if there is a need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to feel a high, that person is probably an alcoholic.