Effects of Underage Drinking on Society

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Underage Drinking

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.

Young people are considered to constitute the largest number of alcohol consumers and they account for a large portion of alcohol sales. This is despite the strict drinking laws that govern many countries as regards alcohol purchase and consumption. Underage drinking, which has been on the increase, is allegedly the major cause of alcohol-related problems facing the modern society. The most severe effects of adolescent drinking include drunk driving that leads to accidents and even death, violence, poor performance in school, addiction, poor relationships and damage on adolescent brain development among others (Bonnie and O’Connell 58). The society is to a great extent affected by these effects through deaths and lost productivity among the youth. This has become a challenge to the society and government, which has been accused of doing nothing about this menace. Weak personal character, bad social states and poor cultural settings are some of the major factors that are believed to be behind underage drinking.

Bad character among adolescents is a major factor behind underage drinking and it is caused by the personal beliefs and attitudes of the young adults towards alcohol, defiance, low commitment towards personal objectives and undue interpretation of freedom (Komro and Toomey 2). The lack of principles and autonomy, which help the youth to say no to illicit beh...

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...wn to a personal decision on whether one should or should not consume it as others will still do even if all these interventions were to be put in place. The strategies above can therefore not guarantee an end to underage drinking but they can give significant and sustained reduction in adolescent drinking if efficiently implemented.

Works Cited

Bonnie, Richard J., Mary Ellen O’Connell, and National Research Council (U.S). Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. Washington, DC: National Academic Press, 2004. Print.

Ellul, Duncan Aaron Borg. Risk Perception, Awareness and Prevention Measures to Reduce Underage Drinking and the Illegal Purchase of Alcohol in Malta. Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publishers, 2005. Print.

Komro, Kelli A., and Traci L. Toomey. “Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking.” The News. 19 Jan. 2011: 1-29. Print.

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