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Alcohol abuse by teenagers essay
Alcohol abuse by teenagers essay
Underage drinking effects on society
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Teen alcoholism is a problem that has been plaguing the United States for many decades now. The legal age for alcohol consumption is twenty-one years old in every state of the United States, but this law is commonly broken. The fact that it has not been strictly enforced caused an outbreak of alcohol consumption between minors all over, and because of this, we have been accepting teenage drinking more than ever. The problem lies in the lack of law enforcement, the acceptance by parents and guardians, and the overall attitude of teenagers themselves. Although there are many ways to attempt to treat alcoholism, we find few solutions to be effective (Underage Drinking, 2012).
Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. Alcohol is a huge problem in high school and in college. Twenty-one may be the legal drinking age, but some how minors find a way to get a hold of alcohol. People as young as fifteen are able to get their hands on an alcoholic beverage. Alcohol is said to be the chosen drug among high school and college students. Underage drinkers have a tendency to drink more then the general population. It is said that high school students spend approximately $4.2 billion annually on alcohol. This money is spent on 430 gallons of alcoholic beverages, and 4 million cans of beer. The type of school, location, the ethnic and gender makeup plays a role in the amount of drinking that occurs among students (Peterson, 2003).
Studies show that students drink more when they are in a group, which speaks to peer influences. When it comes to drinking at parties there is no legal age so to speak. When someone goes to a party they don't get carded, they get a cup. Studies show that students between the ages of 16-21 drink more then those that are over 21. Statistics show that the younger the person the more he or she drinks. Forty one percent of students report to binge drinking, and nearly four percent drink daily. Binge drinking is defined as four drinks for a women in one sitting, and five drinks for a male in one sitting. Students that binge drink have even more problems then students who don't. Binge drinkers are more likely to have hangovers and engage themselves in unplanned sexual activit...
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...alcoholism. If you are suffering, you can’t hide your problem. Many people want to help, and if you can’t face your problem then it will continue to plague you. Teenage alcoholism is a spreading social problem that needs to be confronted and treated.
Works Cited
“Pennsylvania Laws.” MADD (a), 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
www.madd.org/laws/state.cfm?stateID=PA.
“Stats and Resources.” MADD (b), 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.
www.madd.org/stats.
Peterson, Karen S. “Three Factors Threaten Teens.” USA Today, 2003. Web. 25 May 2015.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/educate/ondcp/lessons/Activity2.pdf
“The High Cost of Excessive Drinking.” National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Feb. 2015. Web. 25 May 2015.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/costsofdrinking/
“Dispel myths, save lives.” USA Today, 2003. Web. 25 May 2015.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/educate/ondcp/lessons/Activity2.pdf
“Underage Drinking On The Rise.” The Huffington Post, 2012. Web. 25 May 2015.
http://www.amazon.com/Teen-drinking-rise-industry-Demography/dp/B0009FRLG2
“Healing Alcoholism.” Steiner, Claude, 2003. Web. 20 May 2015.
http://www.claudesteiner.com/healing.htm
...ormance trend over time relative to the units sold net profit cost of goods sold gross profit, account balance, market share and advertising spending. The positioning map provided us information on the competitive positioning on price and product attributes. Those metrics were useful in the way that they allowed us to figure out how to position our product according to the image we needed to portray in the market.
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college environment, will damage themselves mentally, physically, and socially later in life, because alcohol adversely affects the brain, the liver, and the drinkers behavior.
College student drunkenness is far from new and neither are college and university efforts to control it. What is new, however, is the potential to make real progress on this age-old problem based on scientific research results. New research-based information about the consequences of high-risk college drinking and how to reduce it can empower colleges and universities, communities, and other interested organizations to take effective action. Hazardous drinking among college students is a widespread problem that occurs on campuses of all sizes and geographic locations. A recent survey of college students conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reported that 44 percent of respondents had drunk more than five drinks (four for women) consecutively in the previous two weeks. About 23 percent had had three or more such episodes during that time. The causes of this problem are the fact that students are living by themselves no longer with parents or guardians; they earn their own money; students need to be a part of a group, be accepted; and they have the wrong idea that to feel drunk is “cool.”
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 mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
were drinking to get drunk than their counterparts a decade earlier, and one recent study reported an increase, just since 1994, in the number of students who drink deliberately to get drunk? (Smith 1). I interviewed my friend Shelly Mitchell who recently turned twenty-one and asked her how she felt about finally being legal to drink. She quoted, ?It is not as exciting to drink anymore, I mean I still like to go out with my friends to bars, but the fun is all over, in high school and college it was so exciting trying to get alcohol by using a fake ID.? All of these factors could be changed by lowering the drinking age to eighteen. In a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for boys and four drinks for girls. And when they did a survey they found that 44% of the students attending Harvard binge drink (Jeffrey Kluger 1).
The article "Alcohol Abuse is a Serious Problem for Teenagers," was written by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The article states, "Nearly four million young people suffer from alcohol dependence," and the average age at which children begin to drink is as early as 13. The article goes on to say that the number of children who experiment with alcohol has been rising steadily over the years. The article points out the unfortunate effects of drinking which range from an array of physical illnesses like liver problems and cancer. From the article we learn that because teenagers tend to indulge in binge drinking, they are at higher risk to suffer the consequences of alcohol consumption. According to the article these consequences include developmental problems like lack of growth, a reduced ability to learn, and to psychological problems like depression and suicidal tendencies. Alcohol abuse in turn leads to social problems which include dropping out of school, robbery, and "risky sexual behavior." We learn that alcohol serves as a "gateway-drug," leading to more addictive drugs like cocaine. The article substantiates this claim by citing a study conducted by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The article also touches on the problem of alcohol used by parents though the primary focus of this piece is about teenage drinking. The purpose of the article is to jolt readers into an awareness of the magnitude of the problem of teenage drinkiing. Most people know that teenagers like to experiment, try the new and forbidden, but the Center assumes that no one is fully aware of how serious this problem can be if it is not addressed.
As a high school student, I worked with a thirteen-year-old boy named Ricky as a sign language tutor. Ricky had autism and did not acquire speech other than the word “ma”. A high population of children with autism does not acquire speech, and intervention is needed. Other methods of intervention exist, but teaching signs is one of the most useful ways of giving nonverbal children the power of communication. Although researchers often seek to solve problems, I approach this topic from the perspective of a teacher. Teachers must grapple with educating a higher percentage of children with communicative challenges due to a growing diagnosis of autism. Special education policy must work to support the needs of these students while giving teachers opportunities to practice appropriate interventions. The success of sign language instruction will vary among children, but invested parents and teachers may be able to help a child realize his or her communicative potential.
Teenage alcohol abuse is one of the major problems that affect academic performance, cause health problems and is responsible for the death of teenage drivers and sometime their passengers. Many teens drink because they think it is cool and do not understand the dangers of drinking alcohol. In 2008 a survey on the students views on alcohol was conducted in the Atlanta Public School System of 4,241 students surveyed results showed 74% of sixth graders felt there was a health risk while 25% felt there was no health risk; 81% of eighth graders felt there was a health risk, while 19% felt there was none; 82% of tenth graders felt there was a health risk, while 18% felt there was none, and 84% of twelve graders felt there was a health risk, while 15% felt there was none. Given these results on average of all grades, 20% of the students surveyed were unaware of the dangers of alcohol use. If one calculates, using the formular of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003), “three teens are killed each day when they drink alcohol and drive. At least six more die every day from other alcohol-related causes” (table 79). The impact of this student population’s lack of knowledge equates to 49 of those students per week who most likely will die because they do not understand the dangers of alcohol.2
One of the main reasons students feel the need to binge drink is peer pressure. They do this because their peers are doing it and they want to fit in better. College dorm rooms offer many different places for students to drink. Dorm rooms give a great place for a few people to get together, and before you know it “everybody’s doing it”.
Alcohol is the most abused drug in the United States. There are more than 5,000 deaths of people below the age of 21 every year due to underage drinking. Many teens drink due to stress or difficult home life. Underage drinking can affect all aspects of life, including physical, psychological, and even your social life.
Binge or excessive drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, health, and education on college campuses today. Binge or excessive drinking by college students has become a social phenomena in which college students do not acknowledge the health risks that are involved with their excessive drinking habits. Furthermore college students do not know enough about alcohol in general and what exactly it does to the body or they do not pay attention to the information given to them. There needs to be a complete saturation on the campus and surrounding areas, including businesses and the media, expressing how excessive drinking is not attractive and not socially accepted.
Nature, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is a literary work about natural world and its properties. Nature is divided into an introduction and eight chapters. Emerson defines nature as everything separate from the inner individual. The inner individual meaning the soul. The titles of the eight chapters are: Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit, and Prospects. In chapter three, Emerson introduces the idea of beauty. Beauty is a part of the natural world and it serves our needs and desires. He makes it clear that beauty is a nobler want of humanity (Emerson, 944). Beauty is not absolutely necessary for the survival of man, but it is beneficial and extremely useful.
The first important influence upon the mind of human is nature. As per (Manjari,A) “ Nature has a great impact in our mind. It helps individual to find new innovative ways to live life.” Nature teaches people with ways to live life in a harmonious way. Emerson also says that nature and the mind of human are similar like a circular power which returns again like the everyday sun and the sunset, night and her stars. When the nature is being destroyed however with some circular power it begins to grow again and even the human mind once diverted comes back to sense one day. Emerson in the American Scholar says that the nature...
As the current legal drinking age remains to be 21, adolescents today are increasingly drinking large amounts of alcohol behind the backs of others. Along with this being illegal, alcohol-related dangers within our youth like dependency, disease, and irresponsible behaviors are problems that many are finding ways to prevent by increasing awareness; some people have even suggested that raising the drinking age would be the ultimate solution. However, is the constant routine of warning adolescents and preventing them from drinking really working? Based on the vast number of anti-alcohol programs in schools and existing laws forbidding the use of underaged drinking, today, there are still increasing reports. Instead of repeatedly preventing our