Even though alcohol is illegal to buy or possess if you are
under age 21 in the United States, it is the most frequently
abused drug by young people.
Alcohol-related crashes are the second leading cause of teen
death. And alcohol use is often linked with teen deaths by
drowning, fires, suicide and homicide.
It is important to get the facts right. One 12-ounce beer
has as much alcohol as a 1.5-ounce shot of whiskey or a 5-ounce
glass of wine. Wine coolers look like juice sparklers but
they have just as much alcohol as a 12-ounce beer. One glass
of clear malt can give a teenager a .02 on a breathalyzer
test. In some States, that amount is enough for anyone under
the age of 21 to lose his or her driver's license and be subject
to a fine.
Have
you ever had a drink?
Many
teens will answer "yes"
when asked that question. In fact, most people had their first
drink around the age of thirteen, even though the legal drinking
age is 21 just about everywhere in the United States. Nearly
10 million American teens are drinking alcohol sometime this
week.
You might want to know
a little about alcohol before you answer that question.
Alcohol is really
a natural product that is created by the process of fermentation.Fermentation
is what occurs when yeast and the sugar from vegetables and
grains change the sugar (in the vegetables & grains) into
alcohol. Sounds innocent enough doesn't it? But when you drink
this natural product called alcohol, it is absorbed into your
bloodstream, where it affects the central nervous system.
The central nervous system is the control center for your
whole body. Alcohol acts to slow down this control center.
Since alcohol has a sedative effect, small amounts can reduce
anxiety. Alcohol tends to block some of the commands the brain
is sending to various parts of the body, and so it alters
your senses. The more one drinks, the more his or her senses
are altered. The result -- we've all seen people who have
consumed too much alcohol. They have difficulty walking, talking,
and even hearing, many will have "blackouts" and
not remember what they did or said. Alcohol can even be lethal
if one drinks an enormous amount.
If you are a drinker
of alcohol, can you remember how you first got started? Many
teens start drinking because their families drink. The glass
of wine that dad may drink after dinner seems innocent enough.
Advertisers portray drinking as "cool". Everyone
in those ads seems to be having a good time. These ads seduce
many teens to try alcohol. Teens may find alcohol to be relaxing,
but there are many reasons they should not drink.
If you're in your
early teens, your body is simply not ready to handle alcohol
metabolically. And instead of acting cool, one who has been
drinking often acts like a fool. If you get really drunk,
you're almost certainly guaranteed a hangover -- pounding
headache, intense thirst, nausea, sensitivity to light and
noise, blurry vision, shakiness, exhaustion, and more.
Teens who drink generally do not do well in school. They are
more likely to engage in sexual activity while under the influence
of alcohol. Safe sex is too often forgotten while under the
influence of alcohol and a pregnant teenager with an STD
is often the result. So drinking will not help you get away
from your problems, as many teens think. It will only add
to them. Teens who drink are more likely to get into fights
and commit other crimes, which leads to problems with the
law. Teens who drink are more likely to be involved in car
accidents, and even commit crimes, these are facts that we
can state based on studies of drinking and teenager behavior.
Long-time drinkers can look forward to liver, heart, and brain
problems.
This is a tough question.
With alcohol so prevalent, how can you avoid it? After all,
you want to fit in with the crowd and be liked by your friends
and many of them will be drinking. You can always say your
parents have caught you drinking, and to get caught again
would result in 'getting grounded'. But it is best to be honest
with your friends. Tell them you don't like to drink because
it changes the way your feel or your personality. Your real
friends will understand and may even respect you for that.
Try to plan ahead to avoid gatherings where you know alcohol
is going to be served.
For teenagers who
realize they have a problem with alcohol, help is available.
Of course a teen must first admit that he or she has a drinking
problem if they are going to get help. Does alcohol change
your personality? Do you think about drinking a lot during
the day? Do you start your day with a drink? Has drinking
interfered with your relationships with friends or parents?
These are questions you might want to think about. If you
think you might be drinking too much or too often, hopefully
you can tell your health care provider or school counselor
who can refer you to a drug and alcohol counselor -- which
is totally confidential.
Getting help could
involve a brief stay at a rehabilitation center, or even done
on an outpatient basis. So tell the people you trust about
your problem with drinking and you will get help. There are
even Alcoholics Anonymous groups just for teenagers (Alateen).
Find a local AA meeting place in your area and ask if they
have a group for teens. You will have to work very hard to
kick this addiction. It won't be easy, but it will definitely
be worth it.
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