AFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON TEENAGERS

Effects of Alcohol on Teenagers

Effects of Alcohol on Teenagers

Introduction

Alcohol is the most widely used drug worldwide and its misuse can present with symptoms of depression, aggression and violent behavior. Apart from that, unclear speech and inability to function coherently are also some of the adverse effects that are caused by alcohol intake. Morbidity and premature mortality from diseases associated with alcohol consumption, accidents and violence all are contributed by alcoholism. Most of the people indulged in such acts of crime are teenagers that are plunged into alcoholism. Alcohol is implicated in many traffic accidents in cases of family violence and instability. It is also a risk factor for many diseases, including HIV / AIDS.

Despite the prohibitions of sales to minors, the accessibility of youth to alcoholic beverages and items has been increasing. Government Office for the National Drug Plan states that the average age of the onset of alcohol consumption among school children is 13.6 years of age. It was found out that almost 84.2 % students have consumed alcohol at some time and 43.9 % consume alcohol at least once a week. Apart from that, 41 % of students have been drunk at some time and 23.6 % in the last month (Bailey, Baker, Webster & Lewin, 2004, 157 - 166). These stats are seriously shocking for the youth of any country considering the fact that alcohol has adverse affects on adolescences.

Teenagers have been drinking alcohol for centuries, which until now had been only a social and moral debate. However, researches have revealed that alcoholism also affects the physical health of teenagers despite the consumption of minor quantity intakes. Increasingly, research suggests that alcohol causes more damage to developing brains of teenagers in comparison to that of adult brains. The brain has the ability to adapt and become more resistant to with repeated use of alcohol. Although in adolescents this resistance may be very low, yet the effects of alcohol still seem to appear prominently over the passage of time (Geckova & Dijk, 2001, 113 - 123).

Discussion

For teenagers, alcohol is something that would circumvent the limits imposed by reality and access to a world that offer better conditions of sensation. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable moment in the life of a person, being a time of "transition" between the loss of parents as primary educators and the search of new figures, desires and feelings. Apart from that, a confrontation with a world that is increasingly becoming more complex is also something new and fascinating for the growing teen. Moreover, there is also a real "blitz" of advertising aimed at adolescents, appealing to the market enough to see an example in this regard (Soloff, 2000, 1609 - 1618). The advertising of beer for young and "encounter" between them if consumed together influences the teens and inspires them to try out alcohol. Teens at this stage also face the erotic, sexual encounters, which although seem scary and silent, but their existence cannot be ...