Underage drinking has become one of the largest social issues among teenagers in America today. Although more than half of high schoolers drink on a regular basis, the problem is that they’re not aware of how dangerous alcohol can actually be. The reality is that alcohol is often the cause of many issues among many teenagers today. Simply saying alcohol is what’s ruining many young adults’ lives. Drunk driving, clubs losing their licenses, and the individual losing control of their own actions. Have you lost a close friend or family member from alcohol? The number of drunk driving accidents from underage minors is rising. Another issue of alcohol is that it slows down the reaction time and resulting in less control of the individuals’ actions in accidents that occur when under the influence of alcohol. The accidents range from motor vehicles, suicide, sexual assault, to as simply as losing your balance and causing harm to yourself or others. Not only is this an argument for minors but as …show more content…
Many owners think with the economy sinking, that it would be a wise financial decision to allow eighteen to twenty-year olds in their clubs. Some bars have tried to put restrictions on the eighteen to twenty-year olds, by making them wear armbands so they know who is who. When an underage minor goes up to the bar, they will see the band and not let them order alcohol. While not thinking about the possibility of selling alcohol to a minor with a fake ID. The main thing that the club owners see is more people which means more money in their pocket. Although many club owners are worried about losing their revenue, they should also consider the cost of just one teen getting caught drinking in their club or the individual getting into an accident and then the club getting held responsible for selling alcohol to a
Simply remarking that such a decision is dangerous fails to suffice as concrete evidence of the negative effects of underage alcohol consumption, and so statistical evidence must be given. Approximately five thousand underage drinkers die each year; the most prevalent cause is, not surprisingly, motor vehicle accidents. What many do not understand is what other factors constitute the other approximately three thousand; sixteen hundred to homicides, that is, murders and other deliberate killings, as well as 300 to suicide, usually caused by an exacerbation of underlying depression or other psychological difficulties. The remaining thousand are usually caused by such grisly circumstances as falling, burning, and drowning. While this may seem a relatively small number in the vast amounts of the twelve to twenty year old age group, estimates are that within the past month one-quarter of underage persons used alcohol, while two-thirds of those were binge drinkers. Not only does underage drinking increase the chance of dying in related incidents it encourages other destructive behaviors: engage in sexual activities, carry a plethora of illegal substances, and correlations have even been found that links underage drinking to poor performance in school. Other observations have been made that negatively link underage drinking with mental
A serious epidemic is overtaking this country. Underage drinking is spreading like a virus. It is not just teenagers in college that are drinking; there are numerous kids in high school, middle school, and even elementary school! How have we let it get this far? There is no excuse to be oblivious anymore. Underage drinking is right in front of our faces. It is killing our children. The good news is that this is a problem that can be fixed. There is no way of completely eliminating underage drinking, but it can be greatly reduced. With efforts from the government, parents, and the media, we can diminish underage drinking a great deal. We need to start educating our children that alcohol is a dangerous drug. We need to start setting better
Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations.
Fake IDs are often very effective because they are not always taken seriously in the bouncer world. There are approximately more fake IDs than real that are used on college campuses. A Her Campus survey found that “54.5% of readers surveyed had or currently have a fake ID” (Collins, 2012, p. 2). The people guarding the doors at clubs and bars aren’t always equipped to spot fake IDs. In an interview, FIRST NAME Shubaly, a New York bouncer, quoted “I never received any formal how-to-spot-a-fake-ID training” (Goldberg, 2009, p. 5). The rate that underaged people are getting into clubs factors into how easy it is for teens to get alcohol, which only increases the risk of a teen to get behind the wheel while under the influence, even if they were not planning on drinking that night.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not
The underage consumption of alcohol is a major obstacle in America. Current statistics show 35 percent of all wine coolers and 1.1 billion cans of beer are consumed each year by underage, illegal drinkers (Novello 455). Possibly the hardest fact to stomach is that children "believe drinking is the thing to do" (Benenson 38). Parents, educators, legislators, and lawmakers previously thought that peer pressure was to blame, however, that is no longer the issue. Underage drinking in America is primarily the cause of children trying to fit in (also known as social drinking), advertising that is aimed at underage drinkers, and inherited traits/genetics. We must understand that alcohol abuse is no longer 'just
Almost everyone can agree that alcohol should not be given or allowed to children or young adults under a certain age. Alcohol is a substance that is very dangerous and if you used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be great danger to the users or the ones around them. The topic of lowering the drinking age has been in discussion for many decades. “Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their age for drinking alcohol. The results were catastrophic. Highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed. Almost immediately, states began raising the minimum drinking age again.” “In 1984, Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to have a minimum drinking age of 21 for all types of alcohol
An effective measure universities can pursue to not promote binge drinking is to schedule numerous activities around campus. One of the major problems of college students, as explained in an informational video is that students have too much free time. The video shows that college students are only in class for 15 hours a week compared to high school students who are at school for over 30 hours per week. Consequently, students who are poor at managing their time well, tend to binge drink repeatedly leading to unsatisfactory academic performances, and developing a drinking habit (CirclesofSA). Providing students with a busy schedule will physically exhaust them, which will give them less motivation to drink. Contrarily, universities who have events too much may not see great participation, which could discourage them from continuing to host activities. If balanced properly, then a university will host enough events for students to not be overwhelmed; rather they will be excited for upcoming events. In doing so, it would promote a positive social media filled with students having fun without alcohol present. Since fellow students are the major source of social media debauchery, a great example of why binge drinking leads to poor choices is from college students.
Prohibiting nightclubs from admitting people under age twenty-one will take some weight off of parents, club owners, drivers and innocent bystanders. With the economy sinking, many owners are making what they believe a wise financial decision by allowing eighteen to twenty year olds in their clubs. They are mixing eighteen to twenty in with the twenty-one and up crowd, as failing clubs owners only see more people more money. Every night thousands of young adults eighteen to twenty years old are let into nightclubs and everyone is at a great risk. Fewer and fewer clubs are now allowing those under the drinking age into their establishment. To eliminate a cause leading to more underage drinking, young adults eighteen to twenty should not be
Pops of luminous hues light up the night sky while the smell of hot dogs, hamburgers and firecrackers waft through the humid, sticky air. Lawn chairs are placed periodically throughout the tufts of grass, as individuals lounge in them, enjoying conversation with friends and family. Gazing up at the lights in the sky, lighting off fireworks or enjoying a laidback barbecue with buddies, many individuals across the United States celebrate their independence on one of the most popular holidays of the year, some by drinking beer and contributing to a memorable statistic: most cases of beer sold in one day.
Nearly 25 percent of teens drink alcohol because they think it is fun; however the problems it may bring are not so fun (Hyde 22). There over six times more teen deaths per year from alcohol than any other drug (O’Malley 30). Alcohol affects the body of teens as well as all of the developmental processes. A major issue of teens drinking is that it increases the chance of becoming an alcoholic in the future; which leads to lowered self-control, impaired judgment, and lowered inhibition (Heath 12). Alcohol can completely change the life of a teen from the time they start drinking till death. Alcohol affects so many aspects of a person’s life and once it does, it is so hard to get life back to normal. Alcohol effects teens by harming them
Underage alcohol drinking can have devastating effects on teenagers. It can affect teens' grades, health and many other things as well. The reasons why teenagers consume alcohol are pretty clear. What aren’t clear are the solutions to eliminating, or at least reducing the number of underage drinkers. It is vital that we do something to at least suppress this problem. By taking action, we can greatly reduce the number of underage drinkers and it could also save not only their lives, but also someone else's life as well. Underage drinking can cause many health problems as well as educational problems in a teen’s life; therefore our country needs to decrease the number of underage drinkers by increasing both the price of alcohol as well as the legal drinking age.
First off, alcohol addiction and abuse among teenagers today is a bigger problem than ever before. The root of the problem lies in the fact that the teens are so exposed to the culture of this day and age, leading them to where they have easy access to alcohol. For example, their parents may already be alcoholics, and it's merely a few bad decisions later which could cause the child to have a few drinks and cloud their judgement. This is a big problem because their young bodies have never encountered anything like alcohol before, so in turn, the body does not know how to process it, and therefore leads to their downfall. A publication released by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAA) suggests that by age 18, an astounding 60% of US teens would have had at least one drink. Moreover, according to the NIAA, youth between the ages of 12 and 20 will often binge drink as well.
Do you know someone who drinks under the circumstance of being too young? Do they know what causes can come about from such thing? Drinking under the age of what is said on the law is not only illegal but it is what we call underage drinking. Maybe you are going to school and everyone their is telling you that you aren't cool unless you drink. Will you listen to them? Will you drink because you want to be cool? If you are someone who drinks because it is “cool”, then do you feel any “cooler” drinking something you shouldn't be? This is what I believe people should ask themselves if they are drinking too young. Drinking uderage is dreadful and can lead to, drunk driving, other dreadful outcomes, may have you thinking you are “cooler”, a solution needs to come about and as a nation we can find many, and not everyone may be affected, but those who are know why it's unjust!
Teenagers are America’s greatest natural resource, and they need to be protected from some of the evils that lurk in the world. A subject that needs special attention is the abuse of alcohol by teens. Statistics show that there is a problem currently between teens and alcohol. There are many causes of teenage drinking and effects that prove that drinking is an important issue that needs to be dealt with to preserve American teenagers. Teenage drinking will become worse of a problem if it continues unchecked on its current path to destruction. Alcohol abuse among teenagers in the United States is a plague that is destroying the structure of American society.