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Negative impacts of alcohol
Negative impacts of alcohol
Negative impacts of alcohol
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Alcohol has been around since the earliest depths of recorded history. Man has enjoyed its drunken allure since the age of our ancestors. However, they have enjoyed it a little too much. The overconsumption of alcohol by man alike has caused a great deal of grief for them. The abuse of alcohol impairs one’s judgment and can even lead to the death of the drinker. Especially in America. The overconsumption and abuse of the drinking of alcohol has become a serious and dangerous issue in America, and it not only endangers the consumer but the people around and involved with the consumer as well. Laws concerning the consumption of alcohol in America need to be better enforced by the legal authorities due to the negative consequential effects caused by the illegal alcohol consumption. The populace that alcohol consumption should be a great concern about is the teenage population of America. Teenagers can be very curious and impressionable. So it’s natural if they want to try the sensation of alcohol for the first time. However, teenagers should not be drinking due to the negative health and psychological effects that will hurt them in the long run. Teenagers run great risk when they decide to drink unsupervised and undergo binge drinking. The effects can be dangerous and even fatal, but not only for the drinker but for their peers as well. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under 21 die as a result of underage drinking, including 1900 deaths from vehicle crashes, 1600 from homicides, 300 from suicide, and hundreds more from other miscellaneous injuries such as burns, falls, etc. (“Underage Drinking”, 11) These death rates are quite alarming and should be paid more attention to, yet teenagers still want to run the r... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited "Alcohol/Drug Related Laws and Penalties - Seton Hall University, New Jersey."Alcohol/Drug Related Laws and Penalties - Seton Hall University, New Jersey. Web. 20 May 2014. Dryden-Edwards, Roxanne. "Alcohol and Teens: Learn the Effects of Teenage Drinking." MedicineNet. Ed. Melissa C. Stopler. Web. 19 May 2014. Duffy, Daniel. "State Liquor Laws and Minors." State Liquor Laws and Minors. 22 Oct. 2003. Web. 19 May 2014. Gottfried, Ted. The Facts about Alcohol. New York: Benchmark, 2005. Print. Merino, Noël, ed. Underage Drinking. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print. "Psychological and Social Effects of Alcohol Abuse." Counselling Connection RSS. 21 May 2010. Web. 18 May 2014. Tardiff, Joseph C., ed. Teen Alcoholism. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print. Youngerman, Barry. The Truth about Alcohol. Ed. Mark J. Kittleson. New York: Facts on File, 2005. Print.
Using fear, while not aggressively, Silveri highlights the fact that excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading leading cause of preventable death. The author discusses this topic in a way that seems to be to scare anybody she is trying to convince. A mother reading this could worry about her daughter, or a young man in college who drinks often could take his drinking habits far more seriously after reading something like that. Also, ending the article on an optimistic note, she allows the reader to have some hope. Silveri mentions the reduction of maladaptive alcohol use through better recognition of the negative tendencies that comes with alcohol abuse in adolescents. (Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College
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.
Robinson, David. From Drinking to Alcoholism: A Social Commentary. London: John Wiley and Sons, 1976.
The intention of making the manufacturing, transportation, and sale of liquor illegal was to improve the lives of all Americans, to protect families, individuals, and society as a whole from the dangerous affects of alcohol abuse (Burns). This caused many faith driven Americans to rethink their morality and the def...
"Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge -- Alcohol Alert No. 59." Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge -- Alcohol Alert No. 59. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. .
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.
The Legal Minimum Drinking Age and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes Allan F. Williams, Robert F. Rich, Paul L. Zador and Leon S. Robertson The Journal of Legal Studies , Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan., 1975), pp. 219-239
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
Mike Brake’s “Needed: A License to Drink” is a well-written essay that covers the serious issue of alcoholism and goes on to offer a creative proposal to solve the situation. Brake addresses alcoholism as a “primary public health-problem” which holds merit, considering Brake sites alcohol is the cause of 19,000 auto fatalities each year. To remedy these preventable fatalities, Brake proposes to institute a national system of licensing with appropriate penalties for violators. He goes on to say that these licenses should be issued the same way as driver’s licenses. An applicant would have to read a manual, and take a written exam which would include questions such as “How many drinks would it take to intoxicate a 150lb man?” and “What is the penalty for drunk driving?” After passing the written test applicants would be issued a drinking license that would be required for buying any alcoholic drink.
Main, Carla T. “Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age.” Policy Review. June/July 2009: 33-46. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
Ed. Irene L. Clark, Ph.D. Boston: Thomson-Heinle, 1998. “Minors and Alcoholic Beverages.” State of Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. 2003
Alcohol is a large part of American culture. All over the United States drinking is not only acceptable but a social norm from teenagers to adults. This is not only the case in the U.S., but all over the world, where some drinking ages are 18 and 19 years of age. In America specifically, alcohol has been around for centuries and is a large part of many social gatherings. Although this is the case now, in the early 1900’s during the prohibition period, all alcohol was banned and deemed illegal to possess. Even though illegal, the task was just too heavy and alcohol was too much a common practice for most Americans. As time went on the prohibition period ended and the laws were revoked, making it legal again to possess alcohol. The drinking related problems that were around during prohibition pale in comparison to the problems alcohol has caused since then.
In the recent years the legal age to consume or purchase alcohol has been twenty-one. Before the age was changed to twenty-one it was previously eighteen. This law was not changed to upset those who were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one at the time or to restrict their freedom. The law was put in place for the safety of the people of the United States from the dangers of alcohol at an age believed to be too young to handle the consequenc...
Alcohol abuse is the most common problem, nowadays. In fact, majority of people drink alcohol repeatedly to the point where they have difficulty to stop. Statistics show that, as much as, “40% of college students report drinking five or more drinks in one episode” (Walters & Baer, 2006). Alcohol has become more popular over the years as advertisements, simultaneously with commercials of it, filled the media. It also is easily accessible and cheap in comparison to other psychoactive substances. On the other hand, alcohol safety awareness programs are barely noticeable. My research will present how alcohol and its abuse gets into people’s lives and how it influences their physical and mental health, as well as, social existence.
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