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How peer pressure causes underage drinking
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Underage drinking is wrong. It is very unhealthy and can be extremely dangerous. Not only is it unhealthy and dangerous it is also illegal. (Kids don’t try this at home). Underage drinking is when anyone under the minimum legal drinking age of 21 drinks alcohol. Alcoholic beverages include: beer, wine, liquor, etc. With underage drinking comes a heavy price, underage drinking carries a lot of risk and potential serious injuries. It can get teens into a multitude of troubles such as, problems with the law, with family, friends, social life, and more. The more teens know about the facts and consequences of this harmful venture the better off they are from becoming one of the many statistics associated with underage drinking. Every day more than 4,750 kids under the age of 16 have their first drink of alcohol, that’s and astounding number of young people whose lives could be ruined by one terrible decision made in their life, the decision to drink illegally. Scores of young kids die every year or suffer serious injuries and punishment due to this illegal endeavor. The number of underage drinkers that suffer grave consequences every year in the United States is well into the thousands. All teenagers have their own reasons for delving into this activity, in the end no excuses or reasons are appropriate to justify this senseless decision to drink illegally. All teens have their own reasons for drinking illegally. Whether it’s friends, family, or otherwise, underage drinking is never a good thing. There are several reasons as to why this unhealthy habit may occur. One of these reasons is peer pressure and friends. Some teens have friends who they hang out with that have used alcohol. A kid may feel out of place or maybe thinks he or s... ... middle of paper ... ...ng is a huge problem. Not only is it a problem that goes on elsewhere it is a problem here locally. I’ve heard many stories from people here in this very school about underage drinking and parties they’ve gone to where drinking was involved. I will say that often times the stories haven’t ended very well, where nobody was caught or got in trouble. Lots of times I hear that people get caught. Underage drinking is a very unsafe practice that often times goes unnoticed. Anyone who drinks and is under the legal drinking age should really take it upon themselves to quit. You really are not gaining a single thing by continuing to drink illegally. It’s never too late to stop. Your chances of living are also way better off when you are sober than when alcohol is present within your body. Don’t be another statistic and add to the body count, quit now before it’s too late.
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.
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.
Nowadays, the practice of alcohol without permission in teenager is increasing especially among the age of 18-21 years old. Allowing teenagers drink when they are eighteen years old instead of twenty- one is the issue that was considered by the parents, adult, and the government. Most of them are worried that not letting teens drink may lead to the worse situations such as using drugs and other dopes. Some others said that letting teens drinking will reduce the amount of illegal drinking. For example, in my neighborhood, the young people often gather a crowd together to talk and drink when they have a free time or celebrating when they have a good news. In addition, one of them couldn’t control themselves and led
A lot of the time, teens think it is ‘cool’ to drink because everyone else does it. Almost every television show that young people watch have some underage substance abuse, leading adolescents to believe that it can’t be that bad. While society plays a big part in this huge problem, both teens and parents need to learn that there can be severe consequences from as little as one drink. Allowing them to think this kind of behavior is acceptable will haunt them for the rest of their lives, even if they are not alcohol related. Believing that such behavior is acceptable now will lead them to bad decision-making skills in the future when faced with an ethical decision. Teens need to know the major effects can come from underage drinking before going to that party or when being pressured into something they may not be willing to participate in. It is obvious that the long and short-term effects of alcohol abuse can be easily avoided by getting educated and thinking before engaging in any self-destructive
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
As one of the major social problem, underage drinking can cause negative affect on both teenagers themselves and the whole society. Based on the research, approximately 190,000 youth under 21 visited emergency room for alcohol related hurts, even I accompanied one of my friends to ICU for alcohol poisoning nearly month ago. Annually about 5000 individuals under 21 die from it, not including other mature people directly or indirectly killed by them. Meanwhile, child’s brain and emotional developments are still in process until 20s so that taking alcohol will produce great damage on their body health. For example, alcohol can interfere with children’s capacity to build new, short, and lasting memories of information because it shrinks hippocampus about 10
I’m here to persuade you in supporting a lower legal drinking age to age 18 because 1. It would eliminate temptation of breaking law (to drink) 2. Reduce unsafe drinking activities (Binge drinking) 3. It should correspond to the age of adulthood
Some laws even make it easier for teens to drink, like in some states if a parent purchases the alcohol it is fine for the teen to drink. That law is abused though since one parent will buy beer for a complete party and not just for their teen. There have been some cases where the cops have cracked down on this problem but not enough. Teens are not seeing underage drinking as something wrong whether it be because they think it will help them fit in or to cover up feelings of sadness or hatred. When a teen sees the "cool" kids drink they want to join in so that they ...
Anyone who is below eighteen years of age is considered as underage and laws in many countries prohibit such a person from consuming alcohol. Alcohol happens to be the most commonly abused drug not only among the youth but also among adults. This paper explores underage drinking, its effects on the society and outlines what can be done to curb it.
Legal drinking age varies by many countries. In U.S.A, There has been a lot of debate when it comes to the legal drinking age here in US. When it comes to law. There is always an opinion, some are for it and some are against. When it comes to the legal drinking age being 21 we are totally against it. Many people still say the government should prohibit using alcoholic drinks at the age of 18. Legal adults deserve to be treated as such it is time the arbitrary drinking age of 21 Was lowered to 18, because there is no evidence that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act is effective or protects the people it is intended to protect . The Notional Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed in 1984 in an attempt to decrease the number of drunk driving related accidents. The act threatens to decrease a state’s budget for high way construction and maintenance if it sets its drinking age under 21. According to Cuccoli , “ Keeping the drinking age at such a low age is leading to more cases of binge drinking,” (Cuccoli). Mothers against drunk driving reports that the number of alcohol related fatalities involving a vehicle decreased from 26, 173 to 16, 885 between 1982 and 2005.
Today, teenagers grow up in a world that glamorizes underage drinking. We see it in television advertisements, movies, magazines, snapchat stories, you name it, and we have probably seen it. In the United States the minimum limit drinking age (MLDA) is 21, but in many other countries such as Canada and almost everywhere in Europe, their MLDA is 18 or 19. Many criticize the United States, having one of the highest MLDAs, due to the fact that teenagers haven’t had the opportunity to learn how to drink safely and responsibly. In America most students reach college from the age of 17 to 19 and are drawn into the world of parties, which almost always includes alcohol. The only prior knowledge students have on the subject is what they have gathered from watching their parents, or more likely what they have seen on television or
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).
Alcohol has been in the world for many centuries and has become a pain but also somewhat of a solution to society. It can be viewed as something to be a social gathering that brings friends together or it can be taking as destruction to someone. Over the years alcohol has played many roles in the world but it plays an even bigger role in substance abuse. Doctors have made several points that it is okay to have a drink every now and again but people need to realize when one drink has become too many. The ideal of having a drink with friends or going out and having an occasional drink is acceptable; However, is it still acceptable when a person find their selves having a drink first thing in the morning or runs to a drink to solve their people.
Young people grow up seeing their parents and other adults make toast of wine and champagne at special occasions, as well as casually enjoying a few beers at a picnic. Today alcoholic beverages are frequently as common at business lunches as they are at college frat parties. Underage drinking is a huge problem which everyone must face. Underage drinking not only has devastating effects on those who drink but also on our society. "Young people illegally consume almost 3.6 billion drinks annually which is 10 million drinks each day."
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as