The Facts on Teen Drinking

The Facts on Teen Drinking

Eighteen-year of Scott Krueger of Orchard Park, N.Y. was a bright student, graduating near the top of his high school class. In 1997, he was admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. Mass., one of the country’s most prestigious colleges. Like many other college freshman. Krueger pledged into a fraternity where drinking massive amounts of alcohol was considered a rite of passage. During a party in late September 1997, he passed out from an alcohol overdose, which prevented oxygen from getting to his brain, and slipped into a coma. Krueger never regain consciousness and died three days later.(2facts)

Alcohol abuse among teens has grown over the past several years. However this is not a reason to lower the legal drinking age. A cause of tragic overdoses is due to binge drinking. Binge drinking is consuming large amounts of alcohol quickly. This may cause damage to the body. This is very popular among college fraternities.

Tragically teen drinking leads to many problems. On average 80.4% of teenagers have tried an alcoholic beverage, this is a very large portion of the teen age population. (dianedew.com) Also about 17,000 people die each year from alcohol related traffic accidents. Over 1,000,000 others are injured. (2 Facts) That is a large number of individuals who suffer from the effects of alcohol.

Many individuals have tried alcohol before they turn 18. This is why many people feel that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Many of them also feel that since you are able to enlist in the military and serve our country in war, is a reason to lower the drinking age also. However many don’t understand the complications that maybe involved with the lower drinking age. Many peoples' digestion system is not able to break down as much alcohol in their system when they are under the age of 21. This can cause liver problems in a teenager or a young adult. (apa.org) Liver problems are very serious problems that may cause great damage to the rest of your body.

Alcohol causes many negative effects. It slows down your reaction time. This means that it will take you longer to respond to a problem or anything around you. It also causes behavioral problems in some individuals, younger teenagers in specific. (nynews.com) It may also lead to a bad health over time. This is because over use of alcohol can damage the kidneys and liver of an individual. The younger the individual begins to use alcohol, the greater the chances of bodily harm. (starbreeze.com)

Many teens have had some experience with alcohol. Over 80% of teens have tried its some time in their lifetime. Over 32% of teens drink regularly. (StatewideInteractive) this is a very large number of the teen population who drink. State Wide Interactive also states that 36% of the male teenage population and 28% of the female teenage population drink alcohol. This is an unacceptable amount of the teenage population that drinks alcoholic beverages.

There are many laws that have been cracking down on underage alcohol use. For instance the zero tolerance laws have been put into effect. This law provides strict punishments for underage use. If a minor is caught driving under the influence of alcohol or with a measurable amount of alcohol in his or her system they license is immediately suspended. (about.com) Under these laws an adult over 21 years of age who gives alcohol to a minor may serve jail time for doing so. These laws have been implemented to cut down on underage use of alcohol.

Many colleges have also been cracking down on use of alcohol. Many