The Negative Effects Of Underage Drinking

The drinking age was moved from 18 to 21 for a reason. The higher drinking age of 21 has saved many lives, helped reduce the amount of underage drinking, and therefore should not be lowered. Many studies from a large variety of sources have proven higher drinking ages have a positive effect on society.

But they are not smart enough to see what alcohol can do to their brain and their decisions. There is a reason why we have the law set at age twenty one. A human?s brain is not done developing until the age of twenty-one. Drinking before this age can contribute to alcohol-induced brain damage which can hinder a teenager?s performance in academics (Alcohol Alert). There is also a risk that teenagers that drink are four times more likely to develop an alcohol dependency sometime in their lives. Risks in sexual assault also plague underage drinkers. Sexual assault is already more prevalent during adolescent ages. By introducing alcohol, sexual assault cases are much more likely to happen. It has also been shown that when alcohol is involved, the more likely sex will result in unwanted pregnancies and STD?s. There is also a much higher risk of suicide. In one study, thirty seven percent of females that drank heavily had reported attempting suicide compared to only eleven percent that did not report drinking (Armstrong, Elizabeth). ?Smart? college students will even tell you that alcohol affects them. According to Hank Nuwer in Wrongs of Passage, four out of every five students in the collegiate Greek system are binge drinkers. These drinkers will tell you that this has caused them to engage in risky sexual behaviors, act irresponsibly, and hurt their academic standings. From elementary schoolers to college students, alcohol has detrimental effects

The use of alcohol will have a significant impact on a person’s brain which causes other parts of the body to be affected. As an adolescent, alcohol can have a much more negative effect on the brain, since it is not fully developed.

There has been a debate on lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. There are many reasons why this policy should not be passed. At the age of eighteen in the United States one is considered as an adult to make there own decisions, vote, and are allowed to buy Tabaco. Drinking is not one of them. Studies have shown that there are scientific reasons this should not happen. First drinking can be very harmful to the body, causing severe symptoms. Second the drinking and driving rate would increase. Finally, eighteen year olds are not as mature as twenty-one year olds. They are not as fully developed as twenty-one year olds. All of these are factors that contribute to why the drinking age should not be lowered.

While alcohol may not be the most dangerous of drugs, it is harmful nonetheless. There have been many research studies done by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that prove this to be true. Binge drinking is drinking with the purpose of getting drunk, and is the most common form of alcohol consumption while it is also the most dangerous. There have been numerous researches by other organizations and scientists that have demonstrated just how dangerous underage drinking can be. These facts cannot be denied and further the belief that underage drinking is very serious and dangerous. Not only does a person run the risk of being arrested for illegal activity, a person can also be harmed.

Drinking among teenagers is prone to cause long term damages in their life. At the adolescent stage, teenagers brain are still developing up until the they are in the 20’s. It is a fact that alcohol causes brain damages to anyone who consumes it but because of this occurrence in adolescent’s body,they are more affected by this. According to Saner in the article Health: Drunk young things: Teenage drinkers don 't just risk making fools of

There has been a large amount of research regarding underage drinking and the long-term effect that it can have on a person’s body and their mental state. The public is often informed of phases and activities that underage students are partaking in that can be extremely harmful to themselves that they are not aware of. In the journal article “The Use of Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages Among Underage Drinkers: Results of a National Survey” they examine the relationship between the tendencies underage drinkers who drink non-traditional caffeinated alcoholic beverages and traditionally caffeinated alcoholic beverages. The study defines non-traditional CABs as Pre-Mixed Sodas or Energy Drinks with Liquor added and defined traditional CABs as Liquor with soda, coffee, or tea added by the beverage consumer.

Intaking alcohol can be very risky and harmful to the brain. During the teen years or in early adulthood the human brain undergoes a large amount of time of development that is very important. If alcohol is present, it only takes thirty seconds for it to effect the brain and thus it begins to decreases that important development (Shannon). "Alcohol can effect parts of the

It could cause permanent damage on the brain too. The next argument in this section is that the drunk driving number went down when it was changed from 18 to 21 in the 1970’s. The author states “Across the country, alcohol-related car crashes among drivers aged 16 to 20 declined by 61% from 1982 to 1998, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).” The author then says “It has prevented scores of negative alcohol-related incidents in addition to car crashes, such as fights, alcohol overdoses and other types of accidents, they say, many of which never get reported and therefore are not reliably tracked.” Meaning that many of the statistics are not properly getting tracked so some are just not accounted for. The final argument he makes is about “the trickle down effect.” It states that if 18 high school students can purchase alcohol than they would be buying it for a bunch of younger kids in high school so they can drink. While it’s at 21 it’s a lot harder for a younger high school student to get alcohol from a 21 year

Some may think that teenagers are grown up enough and are mature enough to drink alcoholic beverages at the age of eighteen. However, research indicates otherwise. To start off, alcohol is very harmful to the brain. It kills brain cells, and it affects the cerebellum, medulla, hippocampus and many other parts of the brain. It can be seen why alcohol is so dangerous in the article “Alcohol and Developing Brain”. The author says, “Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. Alcohol can appear to be a stimulant because, initially, it depresses the part of the brain that controls inhibitions” (toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov). Since

First reason to why I think the drinking age should be changed is because by drinking before the age of 25 you kill many brain cells. Your brain only finishes developing when you reach 25 years of age. By drinking before that age you are killing many brain cells that you will never be able to get back. When

Studies have shown that the developing adolescent frontal cortex is much more sensitive to damage than the adult frontal cortex, even with the same amount of alcohol” (Binge Drinking in Adolescence Can Hinder Adjustment to Adulthood). Crew’s explained that: “brain scans performed on rats showed that adolescent binge drinking in rats led to a smaller forebrain volume and size. The animals also showed significantly less behavioral flexibility compared to those that weren’t exposed to alcohol” (Dangers of College Binge Drinking)The study also found “reductions in the activity of neurotransmitter genes 24 hours after binge-drinking in adolescent animals. As adults, the animals showed even greater reductions, averaging 73 percent” (Dangers of College Binge Drinking). Dr. Crews said that their findings suggest that people who drink heavily during adolescence could be more likely to have “difficulty adapting successfully to changing life situations as adults, possibly because of changes to the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that is associated with predicting consequences, impulse control, reasoning, and long- and short-term rewards” (Dangers of College Binge Drinking). When a person is 21 or older their body and brain are completely

Alcohol can really affect the growing and developmental process for teens. It can stop the brain from developing really hurting them for the future. It can also hinder the maturation of new brain constituents. This means that the connectors between the brain and nerve cells can stop developing and old ones can be torn apart (Spear). This can lead to a change in the brains thinking making teens more inclined to try risky behaviors. Also the prefrontal cortex is altered from drinking. This makes memory and rule

Alcohol has been severely damaging young individuals health both mentally and physically. Even though alcohol can be harmful at any age it is especially dangerous for teens as their brains are still developing and cannot cope with alcohol the same way as an adult can. When consumed

Most teens don’t drink alcohol because teen bodies are still growing; therefore alcohol affects them more them more severely than adults. Alcohol slows down the brain and body, and the effects may include loss of coordination, poor judgement, memory loss, loss of self control, and slow reflexes. Alcohol weakens the heart muscle and reduces the amount of blood pumped to and from the heart. If you drink too much alcohol, it can slow down the body and lead to coma and death. Alcohol can damage every organ in your body because the alcohol goes directly into your