Drug use by people in New Zealand In New Zealand, drug use by young people is a major health issue. A drug is defined as any substance that affects your body and changes the way you feel. Alcohol is a drug that is frequently used in New Zealand by many people. The focus of this report is the use and effects of alcohol on people, and going into detail with people between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. In the 2004 survey, “New Zealand Health Behaviours Survey – Alcohol Use”, 6.8 percent of young people aged 12 to 17 and 29.6 percent aged 18 to 24 reported drinking at least six standard drinks (men) or four standard drinks (women) one or more times a week. Young people aged 18 to 24 years were more than twice as likely as those in any other age group to engage in weekly heavy drinking. Alcohol consumption is a major issue in New Zealand because it has many major health and social consequences that come from abusing the use of alcohol. Drinking problems and dependence on alcohol affect people’s lives personally, interpersonally, and also in society. Alcohol is especially bad for young people, as they often don’t know their limits and their bodies are still developing. There are many major determinants of health which influence the use of alcohol of people between the ages of 18 and 24. Factor one: Social Exclusion One factor that influences the consumption of alcohol is the need for social acceptance. Many people drink alcohol to fit in, as it helps people to gain confidence in social situations. People between the ages of 18 and 24 may feel pressured to go to parties and drink a lot of alcohol because it is the social norm. “Young people binge drink for fun, to relieve depression, to fit in, to look cool, because of ... ... middle of paper ... ...ink and are away from their parents supervision. This means that the 18 year olds are likely to drink more because they are now able to do what they like, and not have to worry about being in trouble from their parents. This factor affects people personally because……. This factor affects people interpersonally because….. This factor affects people in society because…….. Factor four: Media Movies, television, music videos and advertising are all factors which can influence the use of alcohol. Movies and television programmes show people drinking, going to parties and having a good time, and this can have a big influence on people watching, making them want to do the same. People watch the movies and want to be like the people on them, and this can lead them wanting to imitate the movie stars, and also see binge drinking as socially acceptable. Factor five:
One of the world’s leading health risks is the he harmful side using of alcohol known as binge drinking (WHO,2011:5). Binge drinking is the activity of drinking amount of alcohol in a short period of time, usually in order to become drunk (longmandictionariesonline.com). And it is becoming increasingly recognized that it is a pattern young adults tend to have (Hermens at el.,2012:4). According to the research, binge drinking can be a major threat to public health. This essay looks deeply in to the binge drinking problem. It will first discuss the situation and major health issues caused by binge drinking. Then it will evaluate two current campaigns in the UK that aim to address this issue.
Frey and Schonbeck explain that it is estimated that over 76 million people worldwide are affected by alcohol abuse or dependence. The chance of having an alcoholic in one’s life is very high. Children that grow up in an environment with an alcoholic may increase that child’s chance of becoming an alcoholic themselves. In the United States, the most commonly abused drug among youth is alcohol. Even though the legal drinking age is 21, nearly 20% of all alcohol consumed in the United States is by people under the legal age (83). In fact, when youth start drinking at social events in their teenage years, they are greatly increasing their risk of developing alcohol problems (85). Alcoholism can affect people of all ages. Furthermore, some experts try to differentiate between alcoholics and social drinkers. Typically, they base this off of five categories. Social drinkers do not drink alone. They consume minimal amounts of alcohol during social functions. Situational drinkers may not ever drink unless they are stressed out. These drinkers are more likely to drink by themselves. Problem drinkers can be described as a drinker that alcohol has caused problems in their life. However, they usually respond to advice given by others. Binge drinkers are out of control in their alcohol consumption. They may drink until they pass out or worse. Alcoholic drinkers have found that their lives have become unmanageable and that they are completely powerless over alcohol (84). Alcoholics should be cautious of their surroundings to prevent
Kremer and Levy (2008) analyze to what degree college students who consume alcohol influence their peers. College students could affect their peers’ alcohol consumption, which in turn may lead to damaging effects. For example, peers could potentially disrupt classrooms, be exposed to disease, and lower their grade point average, start binge drinking, abuse illegal drugs, and even die. These affects may generate multiplier effects in the future.
The use of alcohol by adolescents is widely viewed as disobedience in American society. Although, alcohol use is technically illegal until the age of twenty-one (in 19 states the consumption of alcohol in not specifically illegal for people under the age of twenty-one), there is still an excessive use of dinking in teenagers today. Since alcohol is associated with all three leading causes of death among teens, it can also have less life-altering consequences such as a drop in academic performances and a decline of friend and family relationships. Also, mental disorders like anxiety, depression and behavioral issues as in loss of temper, an argumentative personality, being easily angered, and blaming others for mistakes. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in teenagers and society contributes to abuse by linking drinking to sophistication and good times. (“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1)
“Alcoholism” is a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally (“Alcoholism”). Teens have dealt with alcohol and alcoholism for a long time. There are many reasons why teens get addicted to alcohol and many things that happen because of it. There are ways to get treatment. There are many things that teens can do themselves to avoid alcohol and there are many things we and our society can do to prevent teen’s access to alcohol. Peer pressure and teens access to alcohol can lead to the destruction of their lives, the lives of the people around them, and their relationships with the people around them. We need to take measures to prevent this from happening so that they have a chance to better our society, not worsen it.
Drinking at a young age leads to alcoholism if one is not careful. Alcoholism is a disease that is hard for someone to overcome. Studies have been done that have shown people who have alcohol related relatives are four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves. Alcoholism can be broken down into two categories, acute and long term. Acute alcohol use is when someone drinks occasionally. Long term use of alcohol is when someone has to have a drink every day, or when you can’t go a day without drinking, which is considered alcohol dependence another word for alcoholism. Alcoholism causes a variety of social problems that include loss of work productivity and violence. Studies have shown that fewer adolescents are drinking but when they do drink they tend to binge drink. Binge drinking leads to alcoholism. Another study has shown that when people are told not to do something they are more than likely going to do the opposite. There should not be more laws against drinking, but instead more programs to teach to teach teens how to drink responsibly. Dr. Dale Archer says, “This would focus, not only on drunk driving, but also binge drinking, brain damage, the deleterious health effects of alcohol abuse and how to drink in a responsible manner.”(2/3) There are two ways to treat alcoholism, detox or rehab. Most treatment for young adults who have a drinking problem is mainly an intervention, instead of the more
There are an estimated 3.3 million teen-age alcoholics in the United States. Adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin drinking at age 21. Youth who drink alcohol are five times more likely to smoke cigarettes, four times more likely to smoke marijuana and three times more likely to use an illicit drug. Teens that use alcohol tend to become sexually active at earlier ages. Teens who use alcohol are more likely to be victims of violent crimes such as aggravated assault, robbery or rape.
...them when they take just one drink of alcohol, even if it is just one shot or one beer, it affect you. Most college student drink to socialize and that is not a good thing to do. When a students, or anyone, drink to be social there are more likely to have more then what they intended. Alcohol will affect the way that students think, feel, act, and socialize with others. Drink is a dangers action to participate in but that is a choice that one needs to make on their own. It is always fun at the time, but at that same time one does not think that they are permanently arming to their bodies. Whether children and teens drink 15,25 or even 30 percent of the alcohol consumed, the reality is that America has an underage drinking epidemic and alcohol is by far the drug most used by children and teens and poses the greatest threat to their well-being” (Underage, CNN.com pg2).
Alcoholism comes with many problems and consequences that are dangerous for young teens. In America the average age for a girl’s first drink is thirteen, and for a boy it’s eleven. Young teens that drink are more likely to do with or
According to a national survey conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “almost 60 percent of college students ages 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month, 1 and almost 2 out of 3 of them engaged in binge drinking during that same timeframe” (NIH). Binge drinking culture refers to the recent rise and normalization of college age students drinking excessively. The CDC describes binge drinking as “a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol level to 0.08grams within two hours” (CDC). For many young adults, college is one of the first times they will experience complete freedom. This freedom often leads to partying, which goes hand in hand with the consumption of alcohol. However, since the age at which
Although alcoholism is not necessarily constrained to one demographic, the prevalence of alcoholism, especially in underage drinkers, seems to be of growing concern. In the last five years alone, underage age drinking has seen a startling and rather significant increase. For example, in 2009, about 59.3% of high school seniors had consumed alcohol. The same poll, taken in 2014, showed that 65.7% had now participated in the consumption of alcohol, despite being underage (Whillenburg 3).
Alcohol is often served at social gatherings and is a normal part of the setting at places such as clubs or bars where people go to hang out with others. Many people believe that alcohol can give an individual social confidence and promotes relaxation in the company of others. People enjoy the psychoactive effects of alcohol for various reasons. It provides a sense of relief and disassociation from reality. A sense of adventure or perhaps a spiritual search is often given as the causative reason for alcohol consumption “(Why people drink).” Most of the reasons for alcohol use are because of peer pressure. Many adolescents and college students find themselves in situations where alcohol is present. Because younger people often lack self-confidence or the refusal skills to handle the pressures of such situations, they often begin to experiment with alcohol because they want to fit in and not made fun of so they take the challenge of drinking
1995). Recent epidemiological findings have shown that young adults who consume alcohol at daily basis are at the higher level depression as compared to adults who don’t drink. However, there is very little research in examining the social and psychological characteristics of non alcoholic young adults. The sample being choose for this study was of 2404 young adults (aged 20-24) living in the Canberra region, According to recent studies, higher level of depression psychological distress and anxiety was examined in both non-drinkers and hazardous/harmful drinkers as compared to moderate drinkers (Lipton 1994: Lyons et al.1995: Peele &Brodsky 2000). Overall, this research study has lead alcohol use disorder and heavy consumption with poor mental health (Caldwell et al.,
Alcohol abuse is the most common problem, nowadays. In fact, majority of people drink alcohol repeatedly to the point where they have difficulty to stop. Statistics show that, as much as, “40% of college students report drinking five or more drinks in one episode” (Walters & Baer, 2006). Alcohol has become more popular over the years as advertisements, simultaneously with commercials of it, filled the media. It also is easily accessible and cheap in comparison to other psychoactive substances. On the other hand, alcohol safety awareness programs are barely noticeable. My research will present how alcohol and its abuse gets into people’s lives and how it influences their physical and mental health, as well as, social existence.
Alcohol is, unfortunately, one of the most easily obtainable and most dangerous substances on the market. Although the legal purchasing and consuming age for alcoholic products is twenty-one, that does not stop younger people from abusing it. Not only is this illegal, but also quite dangerous. A common misconception about alcohol for children is that the legal, mental, and physical consequences of using alcohol “end” once a person becomes of the legal drinking age. The truth of the matter is that the dangers of alcohol consumption extend far beyond the age of twenty-one and into adulthood. Alcohol can have devastating effects for people of all ages. “Alcohol causes the most severe and widespread adverse health consequences of all drugs of abuse, affecting virtually every organ system. Fortunately, many of these require many years of drinking so they are not commonly found in adolescents” (Milhorn). Not only can alcohol destroy the life of the consumer, but can ...