Free Essays on Teens And Alcohol

Teens and Alcohol Did you know that in America we have a growing underage drinking epidemic? Will according to a research investigation we do. The research conducted by Columbia’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), underage drinking has become an epidemic in America and alcohol is the number one drug used by teens. It has shown that teens begin drinking as early as middle school and by high school graduation 80% of teens have tried alcohol. Also according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, teens who start drinking by the age of 15 are four more times likely to develop alcohol dependency. They have shown that over 3 million teenagers are out right alcoholics and that several million more have a serious drinking problem. Both research groups agree that alcohol causes health problems and it is also a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide. In order to stop this epidemic, as a society we need to teach teens what alcohol is and what alcohol does to them. They need to know what harm alcohol does to them physically and mentally. They need to know that, not only does alcohol cause harm to themselves, but when they are drinking they can cause harm to others as well. That alcohol is a dangerous and can lead them into trouble. Alcohol is a drug made when fruits, grains and vegetables are fermented. This is when a process using bacteria and yeast causes the sugars in the original food to change chemically into alcohol. Fermenting is an everyday useful process that enables us to make medicines, cheeses, vitamins and citric acids. These things help us get better when sick and gives us some of the foods we eat. Alcohol is also used in everyday life as an antiseptic, sedative and even as a cleaning product, but when consumed it can be dangerous to our health. Alcohol is an addicting drug that impairs one’s ability signif... Free Essays on Teens And Alcohol Free Essays on Teens And Alcohol Teens and Alcohol Somewhere a mother waits up for her sixteen-year-old daughter who went to a â€Å"birthday† party with her new boyfriend. The girl’s curfew was ten o’clock and it is now twelve-thirty. There comes a knocking on the door, the mother opens it to find a police officer, hat in hand, trying to find the right words to break the news gently to the worried mother. The â€Å"birthday† party was really a beer bash and at ten o’clock when the girl finally made it clear that she had to go home, the young man who had already had far too much to drink, decided to drive her home, and passed out while driving, on the train track. The locomotive was traveling about 80mph carrying the car about two miles down the tracks. The girl never had a chance to get out of the car before the train hit. The girl died on impact and the boy was pronounced DOA at the local hospital. There is a worried mother pacing the floor†¦. How many mothers have to have their families shattered by the unexpected death of their children? It is hard enough for teenagers today to grow-up. The pressures of being young are, in some cases, overwhelming. However these pressures are doubled when these young people go out and get drunk every night. Teens who consume alcohol run the risk of not growing up mentally, damaging their internal organs, and they even risk their very life. Teenagers are dying way too young due to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Young minds must be protected whether they want to be or not the legal age for the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages should be raised to twenty-five. Alcohol clouds the mind and numbs the brain. Heavy drinking causes the reflexes to be sluggish. When minors get drunk, their mental processes get messed up. Some teenagers think he/she really needs a drink in order to deal with school and homework. The scribbles they call penmanship would make a newborn baby’s scribbles... Free Essays on Teens And Alcohol Teens and Alcohol Did you know that in America we have a growing underage drinking epidemic? Will according to a research investigation we do. The research conducted by Columbia’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), underage drinking has become an epidemic in America and alcohol is the number one drug used by teens. It has shown that teens begin drinking as early as middle school and by high school graduation 80% of teens have tried alcohol. Also according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, teens who start drinking by the age of 15 are four more times likely to develop alcohol dependency. They have shown that over 3 million teenagers are out right alcoholics and that several million more have a serious drinking problem. Both research groups agree that alcohol causes health problems and it is also a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide. In order to stop this epidemic, as a society we need to teach teens what alcohol is and what alcohol does to them. They need to know what harm alcohol does to them physically and mentally. They need to know that, not only does alcohol cause harm to themselves, but when they are drinking they can cause harm to others as well. That alcohol is a dangerous and can lead them into trouble. Alcohol is a drug made when fruits, grains and vegetables are fermented. This is when a process using bacteria and yeast causes the sugars in the original food to change chemically into alcohol. Fermenting is an everyday useful process that enables us to make medicines, cheeses, vitamins and citric acids. These things help us get better when sick and gives us some of the foods we eat. Alcohol is also used in everyday life as an antiseptic, sedative and even as a cleaning product, but when consumed it can be dangerous to our health. Alcohol is an addicting drug that impairs one’s ability signif...