Teen Drinking
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October 9, 2012
Filed under Student Life, Top Stories
With the weekend coming up, what’s on the minds of most teens? “What am I going to do this weekend?” However, on the minds of some, “Where are we drinking this weekend?”
As many teens enter their high school years, drinking can be an escape from the books, homework, and the entire learning process they go through five days a week. To other students, or even some young dropouts, drinking has slowly become a lifestyle. They feel like they have to drink or they haven’t completed their week to its fullest extent.
Also, according to carontexas.org, a site for parents or teens wanting more information on teenage abuse and addiction, alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in high school. In many cases, when teens drink, they binge drink, taking more than five drinks on a single occasion.
Statistics from dontserveteens.gov, a site that provides parents and others with tools and information to reduce teen drinking and related harm, also shows that the majority of current teen drinkers have gotten drunk in the previous month, including 50 percent of high school sophomores who drink and 65 percent of high school seniors who drink.
Some students believe that statistics don’t really matter.
“I think that no matter how many statistics or facts you give students, it isn’t going to stop them from drinking” Dupree said. They’re just not going to stop doing what they want until something tragic happens in their lives that was a cause of drinking,”
Children who drink early in their life may not realize the consequences that will follow these actions. Ting-Kai Li, MD, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that children who begin drinking by age 13 have a 38 percent higher risk of alcohol dependence later in life and the risks are even higher for those who start at a younger age and have a family history of alcoholism.
One CHS student explained that it took a bad personal experience for her to decide to change her lifestyle.
“On September 29th, 2012, I’ll be 14 months sober” Emerson said. I decided to change my lifestyle because I had a really bad experience with drinking one night. Also, my mom used to be an alcoholic and I felt like I was disappointing her in how I was choosing to live my life. I started going to church a lot more and I hang out with a different crowd and try to influence my friends in a positive way.”
There are many stressful challenges facing teenagers today. These challenges can cause poor choices in lifestyle that include drug use and drinking. When students are feeling overstressed they should talk to parents, teachers and other adults in their lives to seek ways to cope with the stress and avoid dangerous lifestyle decisions.
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Car crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 20. About 1,900 people under 21 die every year from car crashes involving underage drinking.
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Alcohol use interacts with conditions like depression and stress, and contributes to an estimated 300 teen suicides a year
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Teens who drink alcohol are more likely than nondrinkers to smoke marijuana, use inhalants, or carry a weapon.
www.dontserveteens.gov
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