Alcohol Awareness For Teens

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Recommended: Symptoms, causes and effects of alcoholism

I asked my fifteen year-old brother what he would like to learn about if he could pick anything and I was surprised when he said he wanted to learn about the effects of alcohol on the body. While searching the internet for the perfect site, I came across a government website called TheCoolSpot.gov. This website is designed specifically for teenagers to learn about the effects of alcohol, and it contains facts about abusing alcohol at an early age. It allows them to take quizzes to test their knowledge about alcohol use. Additionally, if a teenager or someone close to them feels that they have a problem, there is a link that directs them to other sites for support, advice about group support such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and even treatment centers for teens who want to quit drinking. The purpose of teaching alcohol awareness to teenagers is to inform them of the short-term and long-term effects that alcohol has on the body, describe how using alcohol at a young age can lead to other self-destructive behaviors, and empower them to resist peer pressure to drink alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, which means that once ingested it slows down your brain function and can actually block messages sent by your body to your brain. “Short term effects include altered perception, vision, emotions, and impaired judgment. Long term health effects from consuming alcohol include cirrhosis (when your liver cannot function like it’s supposed to), vitamin deficiencies, heart damage, and a high risk of overdosing” (Teen Health). These are serious problems that can be greatly reduced by implementing alcohol awareness programs with teenagers. Education about alcohol awareness for teenagers is important now more than ever, because the incidence of ... ... middle of paper ... ...l better, but only hurts you, especially if you start drinking young because of the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic. I’m glad that he wanted to learn about this because he is a freshman at a new high school, so he is in a situation where he is trying to fit in and he is dealing with peer pressure. I feel confident that he will abstain from drinking because he now has a better understanding of the effects of alcohol, what drinking alcohol can lead to and how to say no. References TeenHealth from Nemours. (2009). Alcohol. Retrieved January 27, 2011 from http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/alcohol.html# B.E.(2001). TeenInk. Retrieved January 27, 2011 from http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/all/article/2001/Underage-Drinking/ Hockenberry, M., & Wilson, D. (2007). Wong's nursing care of infants and children. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.

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