According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Increasing the age at which people can legally purchase and drink alcohol has been the most successful intervention to date in reducing drinking and alcohol-related crashes among people under the age of 21.”(Nakaya) Among teens and young adults, alcohol is the drug of choice. Many are not aware that they are harming their bodies when drinking. Teens may come intoxicated and make harmful decisions that they would not normally make when not under the influence. Many young people are experiencing the consequences of drinking too much, at too early an age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country (Ojeda). According to the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. Some are crash related, homicide, suicide, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings.…
Overall, any benefit or joy alcohol can bring is minimal compared to the greater harms alcohol causes. Although alcohol is harmful to everyone, alcohol harms adolescents much more than older adults. One's brain does not complete development until the age of 25. This time marks a critical period for neurodevelopment. The mind has not fully formed its critical and rational thinking abilities. [1] Studies show that alcohol is deterrent to the process [2] Not only does alcohol consumption affect the brain, it also affects female maturation and reproduction abilities during adolescents [3]. Not only that, but because of an adolescents inability to rationally think or make good judgments, they are more likely to binge drink or engage in heavy alcohol consumption than any other group[4], an action that has obvious negative health effects include liver and brain problems. Many suicides, homicides, motor vehicle accidents and accidental falls are alcohol related [5]. Homicide suicide and accidents are the three leading causes of death among teens. [6] It is unnecessary that alcohol causes the deaths and harmful effects of hundreds of thousands of…
Underage drinking can cause multiple issues with the body's and brain's development. The brain plays a very important role in everyday life. This causes issues since the brain is not fully developed until a person reaches their early twenties ("Teen Brain."). The brain provides basic functions like picking up a pencil or even telling the body what to do. Alcohol consumption can interfere with development of the young adult brain's frontal lobes, essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization ("Drinking Age ProCon.org."). Also, alcohol consumption interferes with this early adult brain development, the potential for chronic problems such as greater…
I believe alcohol is a depressant that alters perceptions, emotions, and senses. Alcohol first acts as a stimulant, and then it makes people feel relaxed and a bit sleepy. High doses of alcohol seriously affect judgment and coordination. Drinkers may have slurred speech, confusion, depression, short-term memory loss, and slow reaction times. I believe a vast amount of alcohol drunk in a short period of time may cause alcohol poisoning. Teens who uses alcohol can become psychologically dependent upon it to feel good dealing with life, or handle stressful situation. I believe, their bodies may demand more and more to achieve the same kind of high experienced in the beginning and . Some teens are also at risk of becoming physically addicted to alcohol. Withdrawal from alcohol can be painful and even life threatening. Symptoms can range from shaking, sweating, nausea, anxiety, and depression to hallucinations, fever, as well as convulsions. Alcoholism may start innocuously, due to the acceptability of social drinking, but over time, can lead to serious health problems, including brain, kidney and liver damage. I believe although alcoholics seem to be doing the most damage to themselves, they are hurting their families even more.…
The minimum drinking should be raised to twenty-five because alcohol has greater effects on immature bodies, young people are more likely to harm and/or even kill themselves or others by drinking prior to 21, and with age comes wisdom. About 2 billion people worldwide consume alcoholic drinks, which can have immediate and long term consequences on health and social life. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol use disorders, such as alcohol dependence and abuse. Depending on the amount of alcohol consumed and the pattern of drinking, alcohol consumption can lead to drunkenness and alcohol dependence. It can result in disablement or death from accidents or contribute to depression and suicide.…
Accidents can have a huge effect on adolescents and it can likewise be lethal. Minors drinking liquor can make them drink and drive which can bring about a car crash. Underage drinking can expand the rate of auto crashes quickly. Then again, auto collisions are by all account not the only mischances that can influence young people. Different mischances that can be brought on by underage drinking are falling or getting run over. The lopsidedness that liquor has among adolescents can bring about these mishaps to be life undermining. The outcomes from underage drinking can have numerous negative impacts among teenagers and our communities.…
It is no surprise that there are underage people trying to score booze, it’s practically a weekend ritual in many colleges across the United States. A big problem with underage drinking is that many of those that are underage and are engaged in heavy drinking do not understand the affects of what alcohol can do to them. The damage of excessive alcohol drinking to the brain and body can…
Alcohol on American campuses has become a serious issue. In 2001, the total number of alcohol related deaths on college campuses was over 1700, while in 1998 the total was just less than 1600, and the number of students who reported that they had driven while intoxicated rose from 2.3 million to 2.8 million (Hingson 260). This statistic includes all college students, ages 18-24. That means some of the people involved in these incidents were underage. 1 out of every 4 students drinks at a binge level (Simons 24). This reflects the direction that the youth of America, as a whole, has taken. Part of the reason for this is that many college students do not know about the harmful effects of alcohol. They just don't know all the facts. Binge drinking has many harmful effects, both long term and short term, that all college students should know.…
People might think that alcohol is something that helps you cut loose and makes you full of energy, but reality check-alcohol is actually a depressant that damages your body in the long run. Alcohol is a problem that affects multiple people and families, but in today’s society it’s affecting teenagers. The horrible facts that I will present to you will prove that underage drinking needs to come to end before it’s too late for some.…
Despite years of research, alcohol abuse continues to be a threat to society. Alcohol abuse is a big problem in the United States, especially for young adults who are of ages around the minimum legal drinking age. As of right now, the current minimum legal drinking age is 21 years of age in the United States. There is a lot of debate on whether the drinking age should be lowered, raised, or stay the same due to the problems alcohol abuse is causing, particularly at colleges. According to Beth McMurthie of The Chronicle of Higher Education, “More than 1800 students die every year of alcohol-related causes. An additional 600,000 are injured while drunk, and nearly 100,000 become victims of alcohol-influenced sexual assaults” (McMurthie). Clearly…
Particularly worrisome among adolescents is the high prevalence of binge drinking... Underage drinkers consume, on average, 4 to 5 drinks per occasion about 5 times a month. By comparison, drinkers age 26 and older consume 2 to 3 drinks per occasion, about 9 times a month. Underage drinking is a leading contributor to death from injuries, which are the main cause of death for people under age 21. Each year, approximately 5,000 persons under the age of 21 die from causes related to underage drinking. These deaths include about 1,600 homicides and 300 suicides…
To start off, the consumption of alcohol can and will cause significant physical damage to the body and mind. This is in the interest of alcohol being absorbed into the bloodstream, which affects the central nervous system and has such an immense control over all body functions. A human brain has not fully developed until the age of 25, which is why the legal drinking age should not be at the age of 21. It gives off harmful alterations in the functions of the development of the brain and therefore doesn’t give the brain the full amount of time that it needs to grow. While the brain is still developing, drinking a heavy amount may cause damages to certain brain functions and have lasting health effects. Some examples to body functions that can…
An estimated 5,000 teens under the age of 21 die each year as a result of underage drinking. Teens who consume alcohol introduce themselves to the risk of severe, life changing health risks. Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all homicides, suicides, and motor vehicle crashes for teens (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). Almost 80% of high school students that have tried alcohol are not following the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age, of 21 years old. Underage drinking should be discouraged because there are serious health risks associated with it, it causes thousands of deaths each year, and it is illegal.…
It is a serious risk to the brain, which is still developing until twenty-one. In 2014, over 1.6 million people reported driving while drunk, or under the influence, that were between the ages of twelve and twenty (Underage Drinking). Although young adults tend to drink less frequently than adults, they often binge drink more (Underage Drinking). In fact, over 1.3 million people ages twelve through twenty reported binge drinking (Underage Drinking). Underage drinking is also responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths, and is linked to 189,000 emergency room visits for people under age twenty-one for injuries and other conditions (Underage Drinking). Underage drinking increases the risk of physical or sexual assault, suicide or homicide, memory problems, the misuse of other drugs, and heavy drinking later on in life (Underage…
The number of drinkers has been on the increase over the past two decades and continues to rise. Consumption of alcohol is common among the underage population with at least 30% of underage drinkers engaging in risky behavior during and after drinking. This behavior reaches its peak between ages 18/19-24 in what can be attributed to the abuse of drinking when a person reaches the legal drinking age and doesn’t have to be accountable to anymore but self. These risky drinking habits reduce from the age of 25 years onwards because of the level of responsibility and maturity that comes with this age. Additionally, young people in this age group tend to drink more than five bottles of alcohol in one sitting during events like parties and when adults are absent. Peer pressure and the need for a person to feel “cool” pushes this group into risky behaviors that predisposes them to a number of harms. Risks include alcohol poisoning, injury, violence, and unprotected sex among others. If, at this age, they prolong drinking, long term risks like cancer, liver, and heart diseases become realities later on in life. Though preventable, alcohol related trauma causes significant number of deaths among the…