The Problem Of Underage Drinking

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

Underage drinking is becoming a very problematic issue. Teens are at risk for many health issues,when it comes to their irresponsible drinking. Teenagers today believe drinking is cool and the best way to enjoy a night. Nonetheless do teens know the problems that alcohol can cause. Alcohol consumption for girls leads to unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sex and pregnancy. In general underage drinking could either ruin a teens life or cause life threatening injuries.

Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. A dangerous issue facing society today is the problem of teen drinking and driving. Currently an approximate of 10,076 people die in drunk driving crashes per year. If positive progress to ceasing this act does not happen, teens will continue to drink and drive putting everybody on the road at risk. Teens who drink and drive put everyone on the road at risk, causing serious crashes that could be preventable.

Underage drinking is very common in the United States. Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States, even more so than illicit drugs (Marijuana, Cocaine, etc…) and tobacco. “In 2012 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 24% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink alcohol and 15% reported binge drinking. In 2013, the Monitoring the Future Survey reported that 28% of 8th graders and 68%

“With such compelling information, the question is why haven 't we been able to do more to prevent the crisis of underage drinking? The answer is: rising the age to 25” is what Lucille Roybal-Allard once said, a U.S. Representative for serving in Congress since 1993. This statement has brought many to speculate of issues and debates. This expression opened the eyes of American people that often struggled to make this truth into a reality. It might be easy to believe that age laws lowered the deaths of the underage but there are still signs of its dreadful company in many pieces of American life. Families who choose to educate their children about underage drinking and driving, seem to have a higher chance of getting through with the child. These underage teens can face jail or death when they give drinking a chance and even attempt to drive, having a sexual intercourse or just plain out doing something out of the teen’s element.

An obvious outcome of underage drinking is drunk driving, which we know kills thousands every year. But an effect of lowering the drinking age that escapes the minds of many is the easy access that younger teens and tweens will have to alcohol when their senior friends are allowed to partake of alcohol freely. When 18 year olds are still in high school, they can have legal alcohol at their social events and house parties. There’s no doubt that underclassmen will be allowed in to these events to enjoy the privilege of the older peers. The danger in young drinking makes itself clear in a CDC Fact Sheet: “About 2 in 3 high school students who drink do so to the point of intoxication, that is, they binge drink (defined as having five or more drinks in a row), typically on multiple occasions.”

“Eighty percent of twenty-one year olds admit to purchasing alcohol for younger friends (Bonnie 5). If twenty-one year olds give alcohol to their younger friend, what makes people think that eighteen year olds wouldn’t do it too. If the legal drinking age is lowered to eighteen, eighteen year olds in high school might have sibling that is in middle school so those middle schools will also have access to alcohol. Surveys show that the most common source for alcohol among eighteen to twenty year olds is their twenty-one to twenty-four-year-old peers (Clark). Teen drinking can cause suicides. There is more pressure on teen than adults and when alcohol is added to the mix is only increases those effect (Arguments). Alcohol an affect you being a good student and it can also increase the risk of depression, violence and suicide. “Drinking and drug use may begin very early for young Americans. A new study has shown that by the time a teen reaches late adolescents, most of them have drank alcohol and use illicit substances”(National Institute). The younger you start can increase the risk of alcoholism at a young age. This can eventually lead to death.

“Every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries” ( “11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse”). That is 5,000 more teens or young adults that could be saved from this plague in this society (11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse). Underage drinking and alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States, and as a society need to make a change with how everyone sees this problem. Adults and young teens take this topic too lightly, and it should not be taken lightly because of how many deaths there have been from poor decision making. There are many programs or events that could help this problem by fundraising, however people think this is not a very important problem. Underage Drinking and Alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States because it causes major health issues that can be very costly, personal life problems that can lead to more problems later in life, and major risks that have no benefit, but can put someone else’s life in danger.

Underage drinking has been occurring since laws were set in place for age qualifications, but it is better serving American society by continuing it because we can’t accept lowering the national age? Ruth C. Engs, a professor for Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University, finds that the mandated drinking age should be lowered to 18 or 19. If young adults were legally allowed to drink in controlled environments, then responsible drinking methods could be taught, resulting in mature behavior when consuming alcohol (Engs, 1). By keeping the drinking age so high, students or young adults are forced to hide drinking and more often than not, turn to binge drinking, an unhealthy, addictive, and extremely dangerous form of drinking that often results in blackouts and alcohol poisoning. Engs states, “For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers.” This is not the only issue that arises from underage drinking. Newsweek writer, Jeffrey A. Tucker, sees that this law is only causing “over-indulgence, anti-social behavior, disrespect for the law, secrecy and sneaking and a massive diversion of human energy.” To diminish these issues, people are turning towards the examples of other nations that have managed to maintain low drinking age laws, with low risk results. In other countries, alcohol is seen as a cultural norm and are taught at young age how to responsibly consume. However, it is treated the opposite in America, instead, it is seen as how Wil Fulton from the Huffington Post sees it, “forbidden fruit”. Fulton states through a claim made by the World Health Organization, that while Europeans tend to consume more alcohol, Americans still die from more alcohol-related causes. In efforts to change this law and hopefully encourage safe and responsible drinking, many are turning towards the Amethyst Initiative, a movement created by John

In the article “Underage Drinking” the author highlights the effects and dangers of consuming alcohol before it is legal. While it is true that “In most countries around the world where alcohol is legal, the legal drinking age is eighteen”, the author states that alcohol can still have more negative effects on those under the age of twenty one than adults. The author provides many statistics, such as “research showed a correlation between the lowered drinking age and increased car accidents” to back up these statements. It is clear that the author’s main goal in the article is to inform the public about the negative outcomes of underage drinking, but it seems that their ulterior motive is to persuade against it. This is obvious, as the author shows no positives or even opinions from the opposing side.

The applicant was informed of the following reasons: He has been involved in two alcohol related events within the past year, in which, he had been drinking underage; On or about 30 October 2012, wrongfully consumed alcohol under the legal drinking age of 21 and was found drunk on duty; On or about 30 June 2013, found underage drinking and LBAT results returned

The issue of underage drinking has been constant for many years. The law for the minimum drinking age allows people 21 and older to legally drink alcoholic beverages. It is hard to enforce this law especially on college campuses where lots of underage drinking takes place. Someone that is 18 and older can get into some clubs where they are getting drinks even though they are not supposed to. There is a level of responsibility they needs to be taken when people are drinking. They should know how to handle themselves when alcohol is in their system. Consuming too many alcoholic beverages can cause health issues, behavior issues, and have other harmful effects on a person. The issues that come along with drinking alcohol will affect teenagers and college students more than it would affect someone that is 21 or older. The minimum drinking age law should remain at 21 to keep more young adults from encountering issues associated with drinking.

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.

Underage drinking is becoming more of a noticeable problem in society, not only with high school students, but also with younger generations. Drinking is all over the television, the radio, and talked about in schools, public places, etc. Alcohol advertisements are more and more appealing to younger generations. If our youth is educated at a younger age, if school policies were stricter, and if clubs and bars cracked down on underage drinking the problem would not be as serious.