The War Against Underage Drinking

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Recommended: Impact of lowering the drinking age

A serious epidemic is overtaking this country. Underage drinking is spreading like a virus. It is not just teenagers in college that are drinking; there are numerous kids in high school, middle school, and even elementary school! How have we let it get this far? There is no excuse to be oblivious anymore. Underage drinking is right in front of our faces. It is killing our children. The good news is that this is a problem that can be fixed. There is no way of completely eliminating underage drinking, but it can be greatly reduced. With efforts from the government, parents, and the media, we can diminish underage drinking a great deal. We need to start educating our children that alcohol is a dangerous drug. We need to start setting better examples for our children. The government needs stricter laws for underage drinkers. The government needs to also enforce these laws more effectively. The media needs to quit targeting today's youth. Our society needs a change of mind. Drinking at a young age is happening; it is severe, but it can be prevented. Drinking starts at a young age. One third of fourth graders have been pressured to drink alcohol and more than half have been pressured by sixth grade. By eight grade, nearly fifty percent of all teenagers have had at least one drink. Then by the twelfth grade over eighty percent of all teenagers have had a drink and sixty-four percent have been drunk (Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview). These are shocking and startling facts for some. But the truth is, it?s there. What is the problem with all of these minors drinking? There are quite a few people who do not think that drinking at a young age is bad for you. There have even been advocates for changing the drinking age to eighteen. This is absolutely absurd. Alcohol can cause many problems for anyone but more so in adolescents. By raising the minimum drinking age to twenty one in 1975, an estimated 20,000 lives have been saved (Alcohol Alert). Drinking and driving has a lot to do with that statistic. Even though alcohol is illegal for people under the age of twenty-one, adolescents have twice the number of fatal drunk driving accidents than drivers over the age of twenty one. Everyday three teens die from drinking and driving (Alcohol Alert). These statistics are incredible, considering that alcohol is illegal for these teens. Can you imagine what w... ... middle of paper ... ...e it is too late. Works Cited ?Alcohol Alert.? National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohlism. April 2003. December 9, 2006. http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa59.htm Armstrong, Elizabeth. ?The New Face of Underage Drinking: Teenage Girls.? The Christian Science Monitor. July 8, 2004. December 9, 2006. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0708/p01s01-ussc.html ?Executive Summary.? Alcohol Advertising on Television 2001-2003. 2003. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. December 9, 2006. http://camy.org/research/tv1004/ Nuwer, Hank. Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 1999 ?STOP Underage Drinking Act: An Important First Step.? Alcohol Advertising on Television 2001-2003. July 21, 2004. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. December 9, 2006. http://camy.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=23 ?Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview.? Alcohol and Drug Information. Health.org. December 9, 2006. http://www.health.org/govpubs/rpo990/ ?Youth Statistics.? Stats and Resources. MADD. December 9, 2006. http://madd.org/stats/0,1056,1807,00.html

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