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The effects of alcohol essay
The effects of alcohol essay
The effects of alcohol essay
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Teens under the legal minimum age of alcohol should not drink, nor should it be lowered. Researchers say that giving alcoholic beverages under 21 could create a lethal addiction and would not have the responsibility to drink. If teens drink a certain amount of alcohol it could be lethal by alcohol poisoning. “Alcohol can enter the blood stream; binge drinkers can ingest a fatal dose of alcohol before passing out.” (“Binge Drinking Can Be Fatal”). The legal minimum age should not be lowered, teens under 21 don’t have the responsibility to get intoxicated and those include car accidents, homicides, suicides, and other injuries. I’m going to tell you why minors should not drink, how alcoholic beverages effects teens, and why the legal minimum age shouldn’t be lowered.
The ages, fewer than 21 should not drink alcohol for one, its illegal and it could have a risk for becoming addicted and other varieties of consequences. For instance, you could get in trouble with the law because for some, alcoholic beverages could have a result of being violent and aggressive around other people. Furthermore, having trouble with paying attention in school, drinking alcohol can mutilate how your brain functions; it could be a long term effect. You could mortify you’re self by doing random embarrassing events in public that you would not do when you are sober. In addition, you could end up having unprotected sex with some random person and absolutely not knowing or remembering who it was. With attention to, getting impregnated and maybe an STD could be another risk factor. “Use of alcohol greatly increases the chance that a teenager will be involved in a car crash, homicide, or suicide.” (“Nemours Foundation”). Also, there is mental and physical health ...
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...: Greenhaven, 2008. 20-27. Print. Contemporary Issues.
"Early Alcohol Consumption Puts Youth at Risk." Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered? Ed. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Youth Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences." Alcohol Alert. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Nemours Foundation. "What Teens Should Know Before Taking a Drink." Teen Alcoholism. Ed. Joseph C. Tardiff. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. 35-38. Print. Contemporary Issues.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered." Teens at Risk. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Underage Drinking: Why Do Adolescents Drink, What Are the Risks, and How Can Underage Drinking Be Prevented?" 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
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.
According to the drinking age ProCons.org, lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds. It is more likely that they will use other illicit drugs. Lowering the minimum drinking age to 21 would increase the number of teens who drink and therefore the number of teens who use other drugs knowing the effects of this situation, and understanding what can happen. Young adults cloud face many more problems than just . Drinking is one step forward to many more drugs. According to drinking age ProCons.org, the minimum drinking age at 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities were reduced, 100 of the 102 analyses ( 98 percent) in the 2002 meta-study of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking age associated with lower accidents.
Also, In a study conducted by www.cdc.gov, youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 are 15 percent more likely to develop an addiction later in life. This can be extremely dangerous, because the more you drink, the more dependent you become. It can be extremely difficult to get rid of addictions and has severe withdrawal symptoms that could be very painful. Another effect of underage drinking is low self esteem. Many teens begin drinking because they are very easily pressured by peers. This can cause them to at first feel more confident and have higher self-esteem. Soon, however, this will wear off and they may be left with a worse feeling than before. Similar to psychological disorders, alcohol abuse can lead to many social
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).
Lowering the drinking age to under 21 can cause young adults to be medically irresponsible. For example, young adults under 21 years old can violate properties or other valuable items that might cause them penalties because of underage drinking law. People at any age who has had alcohol and other drug problems often diagnosed with severe treatments and discrimination (Youth Facts). Youth Facts claims that people at any age have been determined with some type of treatment when they were overdosed with alcohol. In addition, drinking under the age of 21 can severely cause major health problems among themselves and to others.
Cloud, John. “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?” TIME. Time Inc., 6 Jun. 2008. Web. 9
...e minimum legal drinking age in the United States should remain at twenty-one years old. Since the National Legal Drinking Age Act was ratified, the consumption of liquor among minors has abated significantly. With the restriction in affect, the United States is definitely a safer place when it comes to alcohol use. Even though, the reduction of the drinking age would get rid of the taboo that surrounds alcohol which would result in fewer teens drinking just to be accepted by their peers, young adolescents now have a harder time getting access to alcohol due to the minimum legal drinking age resulting in less alcohol-affiliated problems and a decrease in damage to their bodies. Teens and alcohol are not a good mix so citizens of the United States should keep them separated as best as they can. By having a minimum age limit of twenty-one, that is a great way to do it.
There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive way. Not only do minors support this idea, but there are numerous people and organizations that support the idea of lowering the drinking age as well. The current drinking law is counterproductive in our society because it’s not effective in eliminating underage drinking, and leads to unsafe situations such as drunk driving and alcohol poison instigated deaths. This problem could be solved by lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen, with a drinking license.
Drinking under the age of 21 should not be allowed because of the medical reasons behind it. “Brains can be severely damaged by alcohol, especially if the brain is not fully developed” (BigJohny). When you drink under the age of 21, you will get these long-term consequences from doing so. The long-term consequences that could come from drinking under the age of 21 are having brain malfunctions and becoming brain dead. Every time you drink you cause yourself to lose brain cells, without the brain being fully developed you will stop the growth of your brain cells while killing others. The brain is actually never fully developed until the age of 21. “Research indicated that the brain continues to develop until age 21, and young brains can be irreversibly damaged by alcohol” (BigJohny). When you are under the age of 21 and you decide to drink, the growing process of your brain could...
Wechsler, Henry, and Toben F. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?." American Journal of Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-992. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
The national minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of The United States is twenty-one and it is ineffective; therefore it should be lowered to eighteen. The minimum legal drinking age does not prevent underage consumption of alcohol. Lowering the age of consumption can possibly reduce the number of injuries do to underage drinking. The legal age of adulthood in the United States is eighteen, so all adults should be able to make their own decision to drink or not. “Although many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from consuming alcohol in the United States, underage drinking is allowed in 29 states if done on private premises with parental consent, 25 states if for religious purposes, and 11 states if for educational purposes.” ("Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?").
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
...tion. It has not only short-term effects but long-term ones as well. Alcohol can lead to serious problems with the central nervous system, blood, muscles, the liver, and more. Underage drinking is a huge problem that needs to be taken seriously and no one should ever feel pressured into drinking in order to look cool or fit in. One could only wish that more people were educated on the issue and maybe it would be taken more seriously than it is right now.