“About 7.7 million Americans between ages 12-20 report current alcohol consumption; this represents nearly 20% of this age group for whom alcohol consumption is illegal. Among 12-20 year olds, reported rates of past month consumption, binge drinking and heavy alcohol all declined between 2006 and 2015” (2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health). Underage drinking is a serious problem in society. Minors think it is “cool” to go to parties and drink with friends. The consequences of doing so do not cross a minor’s mind until it is too late. Peer pressure, modeling parents’ behavior, and curiosity all lead to underage drinking.
Peer pressure is a cause for underage drinking because minors want to fit in with the popular crowd. If someone popular is drinking that minor will possibly mimic those
…show more content…
There are several causes for underage drinking. Something as simple as a friend allowing another friend that has not tried alcohol before to have a taste can turn in to underage drinking. “In the United States, 20% of youth aged 12 to 20 years old drink alcohol” (National Survey on Drug Use and Health). Underage drinking increases the risks for alcohol abuse or dependence increases. “Youth who start drinking before age 15 years old are six times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years old” (Center for Disease Control). Underage drinking is an eerie thing to think about. It is so real in society and has been for a long time. Though underage drinking is an active problem, the numbers have declined in recent years. “54% decrease in underage drinking among 8th graders, 40% decrease in underage drinking among 10th graders, and 25% decrease in underage drinking among 12th graders in the past decade” (2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health). If underage drinking continues to decline, underage drinking could possibly be gone before
The article “Why the Drinking Age Should be Lowered: An Option based upon Research” is about twenty years of research based underage drinking done by Ruth Engs. It talks about the way things were in the past compared to how things are now. The research done for this article shows that binge drinking is mostly found in the age below 21 due to the lack of being taught responsible drinking habits. In this article there are many statistics dealing with drinking at a college level over a long span of
“According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of Binge Drinking, which experts say peaks at the age of nineteen.” (qtd by Listfield). Binge Drinking is the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. The author, Emily Listfield, defines that the standard alcohol consumption over a two hour period is considered to be four beers for women and five beers for men. This has become a great distraction for college students nationwide and a major dilemma on college campuses. Nearly two hundred thousand students visit emergency rooms each year due to the abuse of alcohol, and more than one thousand seven hundred students die. In the article “ The Underage Drinking Epidemic”, Listfield identifies the problems that underage drinking can cause, the dangers that could happen, and four solutions on what parents can do to keep their kids from binge drinking.
“’ Were seeing kids coming in with blood alcohol see levels in the mid-.3s, even .4, which four to five times the legal limit for driving. That’s the level at which 50% of people die,”’ says Dr. Mary Claire O’ Brien, an emergency medicine physician and associate professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Underage drinking has become an issue in young teens. Teens are drinking large amounts of alcohol in short periods of time. The effects of alcohol in adolescents are much more life threating then an adult. In the article “The Underage Drinking “, Emily Listfield acknowledges that binge drinking is common in adolescents, it causes long term effects, physical injury and death.
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.
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%
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
Despite the current legal drinking age being 21, underage drinkers have a virtually unlimited supply to alcohol because parents, siblings, and friends that are of age can easily supply them with booze; 26 percent of underage drinkers receive alcohol from parents or family members. In fact, 40 percent of young adults receive alcoholic beverages from friends and family (2008, Edgar Snyder). “When asked how easy it would be to get alcohol, most 8th, 10th, and 12th graders said ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’” (2008, Edgar Snyder).
kids that drink before the age 21 are more likely to end up damaging their body. At a young age kids can end up getting alcholism which is a serious drinking problem. durning young adulthood someone can become an alcholic.This proves that most colleg students drink to have fun with their roomates and friends. If kids get addicted to alcohol they will most likely binge drink and that is all they will want to do. Its horrible for the school, community and themself. Researchers have came to the conclusion that alcohol kills a large number of people between the ages 18-21. It is killing most people under 18 and 21 because the brain is still fully not developed and people are still maturing. Also people over the age 21 are still not mature enough.
To begin, there are less fatalities when people are between the age of 18 and 20. In addition, there are more fatalities from legal drinkers than there are with underage drinkers. 4,358 people die yearly due to underage drinking. But 88,000 people die in accidents caused by drinkers over the age of 21. However, people under 18 don’t consume as much alcohol as people over the age of 21 do. There are still rule breakers that do steal alcohol from their parents and consume too much. Too much alcohol consumption can lead to a horrible future caused by alcohol addiction. Next, laws reduce the number of underage drinkers in America. Since 1984 the number of underage drinkers has decresed ever since the new legal drinking age came into effect. People
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.
In order to fully understand the threat that underage drinking poses to our country, it is important to realize just how commonplace this sort of inebriation has become. As a result of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a way of monitoring habits among teens, the Center for Disease Control (or CDC) found that nearly thirty-five percent of students had consumed alcohol within one month of taking the questionnaire (Adolescent 1). Statistics revealing widespread intoxication among minors are inherently concerning, since each new drinker is another potential victim of alcohol poisoning, dependence, or one of the many other dangers that drinkers face. Our reaction must be to actively oppose this situation, because although dilemmas of this scale cannot be remedied overnight, and conquering them is no simple task, we are all responsible for leading the charge. Alcohol-related juvenile casualties have plagued this country for too long; in order to save our communities and families from having to face this tragedy, progressive counseling efforts, extensive family outreach and training programs, and a resounding cry for Medical Amnesty laws are the best ways to diminish the death-toll.
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.
Last, around 3 million violent crimes are reported every year that involve alcohol use by the offender. These violent crimes include robberies, rape, sexual assault, and simple assault (Pearce 2009).“Four of every five children and teen arrestees in state juvenile justice systems are under the influence of alcohol or drugs while committing their crimes” (National Council Alcoholism and Drug Dependence [NCADD], 2015). This statistic goes to show that binge drinking among the youth is out of control. Alcohol destroys the body and stunts the full development of the brain. In the case, if one starts heaving drinking as early as 15, he or she could be making decisions with a 15-year-old’s mind for the rest of his or her life (Pearce 2009). According to the NCADD (2015), “95% of all violent crime on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both.” Not only are the ones committing the crimes intoxicated, but also the teens that could possibly stop it are also not in their right mind. This is a problem that America should not have.
Anyone who is below eighteen years of age is considered as underage and laws in many countries prohibit such a person from consuming alcohol. Alcohol happens to be the most commonly abused drug not only among the youth but also among adults. This paper explores underage drinking, its effects on the society and outlines what can be done to curb it.
Every problem has a beginning, where the domino effect starts. In most cases people get started drinking not because they like it, but because it is illegal and it gives them a chance to rebel. The so-called “rebel” becomes bored of drinking alone and eventually seeks “company” when they are drinking. The only catch is that the “rebel” can not be the only one drinking so the “company” has to drink. This is where the problem with peer pressure and teenage drinking begins and the first domino starts the chain reaction. There are two types of peer pressure. There is direct peer pressure where a subject’s peers actually force him into having a drink. There is also indirect peer pressure where the subject enters a setting and his peers are drinking so he decides to have a drink to fit in with the rest of his peers (Articles-Teenage Drinking 2). Surveys show that alcohol abuse is related to teenage activities such as going on dates and going to parties (Teenage Alcohol Misuse 2).