Underage Drinking

Underage Drinking

T Today, alcohol is widely available and aggressively promoted throughout society, and young people like to drink. Underage drinking is a significant problem that needs to be resolved. “Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings”(Alcohol Alert Number 67, 2006). To resolve this problem, we need to find out the consequences of underage drinking, the reasons of why adolescents drink, and the prevention of underage drinking.

Why is underage drinking a significant problem? It is not only a personal health problem, but also a society problem. Obviously, alcohol is harmful to our health. Besides health problem, underage drinking leads to more social problems, such as more traffic accidents and more crimes.

Underage drinking leads to a health problem. It is harmful to adolescents’ brain, liver and their growth. Once adolescents start to drink, they put themselves into a potential health risk, especially those who drink heavily, the risk is higher. Adolescence is the changing period from childhood to adulthood. During this time, there are some significant changes in our body. Alcohol will interrupt the key process of body development.

“New research on adolescent brain development suggests that early heavy alcohol use may also have negative effects on the actual physical development of brain structure” (Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility). it includes cognitive impairment and memory impairment. “Sophisticated imaging techniques revealed structural differences in the brains of 17–year–old adolescents who displayed alcohol–induced intellectual and behavioral impairment. Specifically, the hippocampus—a part of the brain important for learning and memory—was smaller in alcohol–dependent study participants than it was in nondependent participants. Adolescents who began drinking at an earlier age had proportionately smaller hippocampal volumes compared with those who began later, suggesting that the differences in size were alcohol induced” (Alcohol Alert Number 67, 2006).

Drinking also has an effect on the liver. Alcohol “Elevated liver enzymes, indicating some degree of liver damage, has been found in some adolescents who drink alcohol. Young drinkers who are overweight or obese showed elevated liver enzymes even with only moderate levels of drinking” (Alcohol Alert Number 67, 2006).

According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2006), “In both males and females, puberty is a period associated with marked hormonal changes, including increases in the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone. These hormones, in turn, increase production of other hormones and growth factors, which are vital for normal organ development. Drinking alcohol during this period of rapid growth and development may upset the critical hormonal balance necessary for normal development of organs, muscles, and bones” (Alcohol Alert Number 67, 2006).

Underage drinking brings potential health risks to our body; moreover, it creates some social problems. It leads more traffic accidents and more crimes.

Drinking and driving is a frequent tragedy we can see from news. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20”, and “The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol–involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol–involved drivers 21 and older” (Alcohol Alert Number 59, 2003). With the effect of alcohol, driving is more dangerous because alcohol will influence judgment and reaction when drive.

Alcohol will change a person’s mood and thinking. It may make a person happy or depressed and stressed. Suicide is “the third leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 and 25.” “In one study, 37 percent of eighth grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11 percent who did not drink” (Alcohol Alert Number 59, 2003).

Alcohol may lead to other crimes, such as fights, homicide, and other sex-related crimes. “Alcohol has been reported to be involved in 36 percent of homicides, 12 percent of male suicides, and 8 percent of female suicides involving people under 21—a total of about 1,500 homicides and 300 suicides in 2000. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds” (Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility). With the effect of alcohol, some adolescents later regret with the sex intercourse, especially within the context