Essay On Binge Drinking

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Adolescents (ages 10-19) and young adults (ages 20-24) comprise 21% of the American population (HealthyPeople). Despite these age groups being at the peak of great health, they experience various public health problems that include: substance use and abuse, vehicular accidents, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), unplanned pregnancies, homelessness, suicide, and homicide. As adolescents transition from childhood to adulthood, the behavioural and lifestyle decisions they make affect their current and future health. Most adolescents struggle to adopt behaviours that could positively influence their overall health, and this could be attributed to influences at the individual, peer, family, school, community, and societal levels.
One public health issue that poses great concern among adolescents across America is alcohol use and abuse. Each year at least 5,000 young adults under the age of 21 die as a consequence of underage drinking, counting intentional and unintentional deaths – suicides, vehicular crashes, and homicides (Alcohol Alert, 2006). National and smaller population surveys show that drinking continues to grow among high scholars, with most of them engaging in binge drinking. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) delineates binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above (Alcohol Alert, 2006). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds that binge drinking can also be defined by the number of drinks consumed by an individual – 5 or more drinks in men, 4 or more in women, in about 2 hours (CDC, 2014). Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug more than any other drug (tobacco included) among undera...

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...ol outlets in areas could aid in this war against underage drinking.
Youth drinking requires serious attention, not only because of what it may engender, but also of the pervasive human and economic repercussions of alcohol use by this susceptible population. Current funding for alcohol use and abuse prevention among underage youth is lacking compared to that on tobacco and illegal drug use prevention, yet the former kills way more youth than the latter. Adequate funding and community participation are necessary for these implementations to effectively prevent underage drinking. Screening for alcoholicism during doctor’s visits in medical settings maybe beneficial to binging youth. Clinicians should be encouraged to include guidance for substance abuse prevention in routine office visits, and encourage parents and communities to prevent underage drinking.

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