Underage Drinking
Alcohol, when enjoyed by people who are of legal drinking age and who act in
a responsible manor, can be an enjoyable beverage. However, many people abuse
alcohol, and when this is done, major damage can occur. In the past several
decades, underage drinking has become a severe problem, claiming the lives of
many underage drinkers, and also the lives of those around them.
Underage drinking is a problem that has existed for many years. However, over
the last couple decades the increase in underage drinking has been substantial.
In fact, a recent study suggests that 87 percent of high school seniors have
drank alcohol, 63 percent of high school seniors have smoked cigarettes, 32
percent of these students have used marijuana and 6 percent have used cocaine.
While all of these numbers seem to be increasing, the percentage of students who
consume alcohol is almost unfathomable. Underage drinking can be extremely
dangerous, especially because people under twenty-one tend to have a
subconscious immortality complex. Because of this, young adults take more risks
that older people, and when combined with alcohol, these risks can sometimes be
fatal. The leading causes of death for people 15 to 24 are car crashing,
homicides, and suicides. Within these causes, alcohol is a leading factor when
determining what lead to the death of the young adult. Children, like adults,
loose their ability to think clearly when the drink, and sometimes fatal actions
occur because of this. Alcohol has also aided in many sexual assault cases.
Alcohol has been reported to be present in about two thirds of all date rape and
sexual assault cases among teenagers and college students. This damage is not
only horrific, but is also expensive. Alcohol related abuse and injuries is
estimated to cost the global society $86 billion dollars a year! To put this in
perspective, this is more money that the cost of Desert Storm. The money that
society pays because of alcohol related abused includes money used for law
suites, hospitals bills, funerals, law enforcement, and much more. While some
underage drinkers think that their drinking habits only affect themselves, they
are extremely wrong.
The initial age of drinking has also decreased in somewhat recent years. In
fact, the average age of the first use of alcohol is around the age of 13! This
seems extremely young, but so many children can get alcohol, that the numbers
should not be that astounding. Adults who provide alcohol to minors, through
home or through the store, have to begin to take greater control over their
school. A study showed that one third of sixth through ninth grades has obtained
alcohol from their own homes. It has also been shown that approximately 2/3 of
teenagers are able to buy their own alcohol. Fake IDs are prominent positions
about underage drinkers, and with increased technology, these IDs look more real
than ever. Because of these two factors, it can be said this great certainty
that adults play a major role in underage drinking, whether they intend to or
not. If this evidence is not enough, there are more statistics and facts that
prove adults play a large role in underage drinking. Out of all the wine coolers
sold in stores, junior and senior high school students purchase 35 percent of
these drinks. These same students also consume over 1.1 billion cans of beer,
also purchased in stores or obtained from parents. Still another fact that
proves adults play a role in underage drinking is that when children were
surveyed and asked where the most common setting for drinking was, they
responded with the answer of “other peoples homes”. Some parents try so hard to
be the “cool” parent and their child’s friend, that they loose focus of their
main role as a parent, which is to protect their child.
While many children, young adults, and even grown ups think of drinking as a
harmless activity, the truth about underage drinking is much more serious.
Students who drive underage are more likely to fail in school, get raped, and
even die, when compared to students who don’t drink. Drinking can be a fun
activity, but should only be done by people who are legally aloud to drink, and
who are responsible when they are drinking. If this amount of people who drink
underage continues to increase, the reality of the consequences will be
devastating. It is time that society’s youth and adults take responsibility for
the underage-drinking problem that has evolved over the past decades.