Drugs And Alcohol In Schools Essay

Alcohol has long been a problem for society, and college students are no exception to this problem, especially when it comes to binge drinking. Binge drinking is classified at 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women within 2 hours. According to a study by Ikes, “more than 40% of college students have engaged in heavy episodic drinking (HED)” or binge drinking (find pg number) and “19% engage in frequent binge drinking” (Iconis 243). There are very large implications for college students drinking this much alcohol. First of all, there is a huge health risk when drinking at such an alarming rate and a young age. According to a study done by the Office of the Surgeon General, when exposed to large amounts of alcohol, college students run the risk of developing long term biological change. Sustained binge drinking can affect both the brain’s and body’s biology. Young college students can develop adverse mental symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. Sustained binge drinking can also “affect memory, alters sensitivity to motor impairment, and damages frontal­anterior cortical regions” (25). There is also evidence that sustained binge drinking has detrimental effects on the liver, endocrine system and bones (Office of the Surgeon General 26). Not only is this a health issue, it has become a social issue as well. Students who regularly engage in binge drinking have increases in risky behavior as a result of their impaired judgement, and this risky behavior has many

Underage drinking is a problem within the US and has been for some time. No matter how hard many businesses try it still goes on because of the kid’s lucrative ways to obtain it. Many kids use fake IDs or have a person of age purchase it for them. This problem of alcohol abuse is most prominently seen it college. One college it often occurs at is Indiana University in Bloomington. The early habit of drinking alcohol can have many bad effects on one’s body at a young age and causes habits, decrease in grades, and other negative outcomes.

When parents send their children off to college, they worry about many different things from their safety and health to their grades and prospects after college. A huge part of that worry likely stems from the possibility of their child being exposed to drinking and parties for the first time. Parents are not nearby to keep an eye on their child or as a lifeline if they run into trouble. Heavy drinking or “binge drinking” can lead to a variety of problems for any person, but college students are especially susceptible due to their inexperience. From driving while intoxicated to serious health consequences or even death, binge drinking is not something to be taken lightly. While I was aware of the risks of heavy drinking in college, reading the information provided on the website for this assignment was eye opening.

In my opinion, student alcohol abuse is fairly self-explanatory. Students drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. However, I may elaborate and say that I am focusing more on why college and university students abuse alcohol. Excessive alcohol abuse can also be called “binge drinking”. This seems to be the closest type of drinking for college students. “binge drinking” according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism binge drinking is defined as the pattern of the blood alcohol content higher than 0.08%. “binge drinking” means 5 or more drinks at a single occasion for males, and 4 or more drinks for females. Generally, this happens within 2 hours. Alcohol affects every organ in the body. It

techprogram/paper_40822.htm)." Some other effects that can happen from drinking is that students get in trouble with police, vandalism, get injured, or even worse, death. Over 1,400 students are killed annually because of their alcohol use, according to researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health. This survey also claims that over 600,000 students a year are assaulted by other students who have been drinking. Additionally, over 70,000 are the victims of sex assaults or date rapes in similar circumstances. These are very disturbing figures. Thirty-one percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking. Drinking heavily seems to bring out more difficulties in a person's life and can only continue the same way as an adult. One starts to rely on alcohol to solve problems and may continue throughout their life because their body becomes dependent on alcohol to make them feel good again.

The health assessment in which I focused on is underage drinking. It is a huge problem in the United States amongst the youths. According to the L.A. Health report “Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers in the United States, and underage alcohol use is a significant national concern.” (Underage Drinking, 2004). “Of underage adult drinkers, 76%obtained alcohol from a home or a private residence, 64% from someone ages 21 years or older, 24% from a restaurant/bar, and 18% from a store.” (Underage Drinking, 2004). I can assume that underage drinking is due to the lack of responsibility of the youth

“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.

“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.

For the most part, all of the articles mention how alcohol is continuing to become a major problem in college and universities, but they do not all appeal to everyone in the same way. White and Hingson’s article states mostly facts and figures of what the consequences of binge drinking in college will buy based on various surveys they’ve taken. For example they state “Consequences of college drinking include missed classes and lower grades, injuries, sexual assaults, overdoses, memory blackouts, changes in brain function, lingering cognitive deficits, and death. This article examines recent findings about the causes and consequences of excessive drinking among

As many teenagers enter college, they begin to experiment with many things. Although not all students participate in underage drinking, it is evident that a vast majority do. Drinking is not the problem. The main problem occurs when students resort to binge drinking. In the

Alcohol use among college students has always been a popular subject among teachers, parents, researchers, and even students. The actual act of drinking alcohol is not necessarily the problem, whether legal or not. The main problem is the act of binge drinking of college students, of age or not. Drinking modest amounts of alcohol may have some consequences, but binge drinking has more negative consequences than normal modest drinking. There are many examples as to the consequences that binge drinking can cause to college student’s lives, but one of the main consequences that students face as a result of frequent drinking is poor academic final grades.

According to Skidmore, Kaufman and Crowell (2016), “substance use in college students is associated with poor academic performance, unintentional injuries, health problems, heightened rates of engagement in other risky behaviors, legal problems, increased risk of substance use and abuse in adulthood, and mortality” (p. 736). When analyzing higher education substance abuse programs, it is essential to have an understanding of the facts about college student substance abuse, including the dangers of substance abuse, the types of

“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college

Many eighteen and nineteen-year-old students have been told by their parents, like myself, what to do and what not to do as well. “The drinking age is 21 for a reason, and that is when you will drink!” my mom reminded me as we were buying a small refrigerator for my dorm. Sure enough, I was already making comments in my head, “Well I am mature so a few drinks will not do any bad.” As college students are told the same things, how to avoid going to parties and stay focused in school, most will have the eagerness to do the opposite as what they are told and to also decide from own experience if drinking alcohol and partying will do them bad or not after. Unfortunately, when college students try to learn from life experience and test their limits with alcohol, many negative outcomes can be created from this. This is why a factual presentation done by second or third year undergraduate college students to incoming freshmen on the seriousness of alcohol consumption can be a solution. College freshman hear from students that have recently gone through what they are going through than what their parents went through when they were their age, having the fact that things can be much different from then until now. Also, with

Low graduation rate can be problem due to alcohol abuse in high school teenagers . Teens can get stressed about school turn to alcohol and drop out of school. According to national survey data, 66% of students surveyed report alcohol use by the end of high school (Doumas 1). National survey data indicate alcohol use increases substantially from the 10th to 12th grade , including increases in lifetime prevalence of alcohol use and drunkenness, past 30- day alcohol use, and binge drinking in the past 2 weeks (Doumas 1). One explanation for the high rates of alcohol use and heavy drinking in high school juniors and seniors is that this period is associated with a high level of risky decision making and greater autonomy (Doumas