Alcohol is the world’s oldest known drug that is abused by people. Alcohol has been used by many people for several years and its abuse has become a major societal health problem. The consequences of excessive alcohol intake vary from a mild hang-over to mass destruction, diseases, and death at its worst. When consumed in moderation, it has no or little effects for the drinkers and the people around them. Nonetheless, its misuse has become very dangerous to the drinker and the society. We all agree that, occasional taking of alcohol does not hurt, nonetheless it can lead to addiction or binge drinking which the biggest problem among the teenagers.
The use of alcohol by many teenagers is a recurring theme in our societies today, even though the law prohibits teenage drinking. It is a guarantee that, many teenagers will be introduced to alcohol at some point or the other while at home or in school. The problem of teenagers taking alcohol can be traced to a many factors, for instance, peer pressure, social norms, parenting, and sorority involvements. It is evident that, the teenagers who drink alcohol do it in their own homes or their friend’s homes while others drink at parties (Casey and Dollinger, 2007). When teenagers start indulging themselves in drinking alcohol, they do it in an unsafe and inappropriate way. Binge drinking has become very common on teenagers and this is affecting their lives both at home and at school. In addition, alcohol is the leading drug that is causing deaths among the teenagers population.
Many teenagers have made it a habit of drinking any time they spend time together or they go partying. However, heavy or binge drinking can cause serious problems on the drinkers. The effects of too much drinking not only affect the drinker, but it also affects the relationships and the people around the individual. The number of deaths caused due to alcohol drinking has increased over the years. In addition, long term alcohol drinking can cause serious and permanent brain damage; it can lead to alcohol dependence, in addition to mental problems. Many teenagers drink as a way of being rebellious but at the end of the day, they become alcohol dependent. Therefore, teenagers who take alcohol should take this into consideration in order to avoid these health issues and becoming alcohol dependent.
Alcohol drinking has both long-term and short term effects. Even though many people face the immediate effects of alcohol, for instance vomiting, nausea, some drinkers are affected for the rest of their lives. Drinking too much can have a serious toll on a person’s health. For instance, drinking a lot of alcohol or long-term drinking can damage the heart (Patock-Peckham and Morgan-Lopez, 2007). When the heart is damaged, it can cause serious problems such as arrhythmias also known irregular heart beating, cardiomyopathy which is the stretching of the heart muscles. Moreover, when the heart is affected, it can lead to health conditions like stroke and high blood pressure.
In addition, drinking alcohol can lead to high blood pressure because it increases the heart beat. When one gets high blood pressure due to drinking, the person is also vulnerable to chronic kidney diseases. Moreover, it weakens the muscles of the heart and this in turn affects the lungs, the brain, liver, and the entire body system and this can later own lead to a heart failure. Due to the fact that alcohol consumption can lead to the heart to beat irregularly, it leads to sudden death because, if the heart beats irregularly, it can lead to a heart failure. According to Patock-Peckham and Morgan-Lopez, people who consume alcohol experience lung infections compared to people who never take alcohol (2007). Some of them even end up suffering from collapsed lungs and this leads to pneumonia. Furthermore, many teenagers vomit after talking alcohol and if they mistakenly choke on their vomit; the vomit might get sucked into the lungs thus blocking the lungs.
Excessive intake of alcohol for longer periods may also affect the liver. The consequences of alcohol on the liver can be very adverse if not stopped. When one consumes a lot of alcohol, it can lead to various liver problems and inflammations for instance, fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, alcohol hepatitis, and fatty liver. When one takes alcohol, fats deposits develop in the liver and this can cause hepatitis which can result into a liver failure or even death. When alcohol is consumed at high levels and it affects the liver, the liver is damaged causing cirrhosis which ultimately shuts the liver down. Teenagers should avoid excessive drinking of alcohol in order to avoid damaging their liver or getting liver diseases which are caused by alcohol.
Alcohol consumption puts an individual at the risk of developing certain cancers. Too much intake of alcohol leads to mouth cancer, esophagus cancer, throat cancer, breast cancer as well as liver cancer. Therefore, it is important for the people who take alcohol to regulate their consumption in order to avoid these serious health conditions. Alcohol drinking is said to be the second biggest risk factor that causes throat and mouth cancer after smoking. Alcohol affects the pancreas causing it to produce toxic substances that can lead to a dangerous inflammation in the pancreas. When the pancreas is swollen, it makes digestion difficult and this is dangerous for the body. When one takes too much of alcohol, it can lead to stomach ulcers, gastritis and this makes the digestion of food difficult and it increases cancer risks in our young people (Casey and Dollinger, 2007). The stomach and the intestinal system are damaged by alcohol and it can lead to bleeding lesions and even cancer. However, all this can be avoided if our teenagers avoid alcohol consumption in their early years.
Alcohol is a known depressant and it can adversely affect the brain and the nervous system. Long term drinking of alcohol can lead to a permanent brain damage. When one takes alcohol, it interferes with the communication of the brain, and this affects how the brain works. Likewise, when one drinks alcohol and is intoxicated, he/she feels a temporary happiness and loss of inhibition. In addition, alcohol is said to be a depressant, therefore, it can slow down the brain. When alcohol is taken, the behavior and moods of a person changes and this makes it harder for the person to think rationally or rather communicate well with the people around them. Teenagers taking alcohol will highly be affected because, young people’s brains are still developing during their teenage years and this makes the, vulnerable to brain issues caused by alcohol drinking. Alcohol drinking affects and damages some parts of the brains and this can affect their learning ability as well as affecting their behaviors. According to Marczinski, Combs, and Fillmore, “binge drinkers would suffer greater impairments in behavioral control to a moderate dose of alcohol compared to non-binge drinkers” (Marczinski, Combs, and Fillmore 2007). Many teenagers behave in a funny way after alcohol intoxication. Therefore, teenagers should avoid taking too much alcohol at all costs because it affects their learning and this means their education is at risk.
Alcohol drinking affects an individual’s immune system whereby it weakens it. When an immune system is weakened, the drinker becomes an easy target for diseases. Chronic drinkers are easy targets of many health conditions because, the too much consumption of alcohol weakens their immune system and most of them are likely to contract illnesses such as tuberculosis and pneumonia compared to people who do not drink alcohol.
Alcohol drinking is among the causes of weight gain in our teenagers today. Many of our teenagers suffer from obesity or weight gain because they take too much of alcohol yet alcohol contains a lot of calories. Alcohol contains a lot of calories and when the teenagers consume a lot of it, it means their bodies are full of fats and they end up having over weight problems. Overweight is a serious problem among our teenagers today and those already taking alcohol can avoid overweight or obesity by quitting alcohol.
Many youth end up indulging in premarital unprotected sex after drinking alcohol. Many reported cases of pregnancies among the youth are caused after they went out drinking. When one takes alcohol, he/she cannot be able to think rationally and one might end up doing things that they regret later on when sober. In addition, after having unprotected sex, some of them end up contracting sexually transmitted diseases because they fail to reason that they need to use protection while indulging in sexual activities.
Many youth will always take alcohol in the name of fun or to avoid stress. Many people are misled that, alcohol helps to cope with stress and difficult situation in addition to relieving stress. However, according to Casey and Dollinger, alcohol is associated with a number of mental health issues for instance, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and schizophrenia (Casey and Dollinger, 2007). Many teenagers develop psychological problems after becoming addicted to alcohol because; this is the time their brains are developing. In addition, after some of them realize they are addicted and cannot quit, they get depressed and this affects them mentally and most of them end up in rehabilitation centers or mental hospitals. The effects of alcohol drinking are dangerous to our youth.
Alcohol is the leading cause of death among the teenagers. According to the National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 65 percent of deaths among the youth are linked to excessive intake of alcohol. These deaths are either caused through accidents or suicide after taking alcohol. Teenage drinking poses a risk to both the society and the teenager because, when the teenager drinks and drives, it can lead to motor vehicle accident which can lead to the death of more people. In addition, teenagers who take alcohol end up being depressed because they cannot overcome the habit and they end up committing suicide instead of facing their depression head on.
Excessive intake of alcohol affects the brains and teenagers love binge drinking which puts them at risk. After binge drinking, may teenagers become victims of violence whereby they will fight each other. In addition, some of them become victims of crime whereby they find themselves raping others, mugging and even assaulting their friends because their brains are not working well due to the effects of alcohol. In addition, after drinking alcohol, teenagers get involved in criminal and anti-social behaviors live vandalism, theft, and even domestic violence and this can make them end up in jail (Marczinski, Combs, and Fillmore, 2007). Alcohol drinking damages relationships in families and friends because, after these teenagers take alcohol some of them become aggressive and they end up fighting and assaulting their friends and family members.
Apart from the long term effects of alcohol drinking, there are short term effects. Teenagers who drink alcohol will always experience vomiting, slurred speech headaches, impaired judgment and drowsiness. In addition, some of them experience breathing difficulties, stomach upsets, distorted vision, and black outs whereby they do not remember anything when they wake up the next day (Testino, 2008). The short term effects are very dangerous especially for ladies because, they can end up being raped when they black out and this leads to unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Teenagers’ who drink alcohol will always have problems at school and at home. Their families and friends of alcohol users suffer a lot because, the drinkers change completely after becoming addicted. Most teenagers end up choosing alcohol over family, friends, and education and this becomes very dangerous. When teenagers choose alcohol over everything, their education is affected, since they start hanging out with the wrong crowd and may end up dropping out of school since they can never notice the importance of studying. In addition, such teenagers are at a greater risk of trying out other drugs which might later on ruin their lives forever. According to Patock-Peckham and Morgan-Lopez, youth who take excessive alcohol are likely to abuse other drugs for instance, cocaine and marijuana. Therefore, teenagers should be cautious with the kind of friends they hang out and the kinds of activities they indulge in the name of having fun. Teenagers who become dependent on alcohol ruin their lives because, they spend all their time drinking, and going through rehabilitation becomes very difficult for them. Alcohol controls their lives and it is important for them to learn about the effects of alcohol and avoid drinking completely so as not to ruin their lives.
Alcohol abuse among the teenagers affects their daily activities. When a teenager drinks, he/she finds it hard to get through with the day work or schedule, for instance reporting to school or waking up and helping with the house hold chores. In addition, when the teenager is unable to do anything, he/she will go back to more drinking and his/her ambition will be lost completely. In the end, the teenager now starts living for alcohol and nothing is important thus addiction. Moreover, such a teenager will have problems eating leading to malnutrition.
Many teenagers with the problem of alcoholism cannot recognize when their drinking exceeds the limits. When they are introduced to drinking, they take it as fun and the more they take it, the more they become addicted. Such teenagers need family support and guidance in order to help them overcome such problems. Therefore, it is important for our teenagers to avoid alcohol in order to avoid alcohol problems in future.
Alcohol should be declared illegal in order to save our teenagers from addictions and health diseases caused by binge drinking. When a teenager starts consuming alcohol, they continue without realizing its destructive effects. Many of them are already feeling the effects but are unable to stop the habit because it is addictive. Alcohol is a depressant and it is addictive, therefore, we should work on making sure that teenagers do not access alcohol, and if found drinking, they should be punished and this will help reduce the problem of teenage alcoholism.
Teenage alcohol is a serious problem in our society today. There is need for the society to work together with their children to reduce the rate of teenagers who are drinking. If we do not find out a way to solve this problem, our teenagers are going to become alcoholics and this will get them in serious trouble. Youths should be taught that, the best way to avoid alcohol addiction is abstinence, which is staying sober (Peele, 2006). Addiction is a serious disease and it is important for our teenagers to avoid alcohol in order to avoid alcohol dependence or abuse. Alcohol is not an ordinary drink, while it gives the drinker the pleasure, it carries many harmful effects yet they can be avoided. Therefore, it is important to teach the teenagers on the consequences of binge drinking and the problem of alcoholism among them will be eliminated in the society.
Alcoholism among the teenagers is becoming one of the biggest problems in our society today. It is no longer a secret that, excessive alcohol consumption in our teenagers can cause serious health problems. In addition, alcohol consumption has been linked to many deaths caused around the world. Apart from the health risks, alcohol intake among teenagers leads to addiction and behavioral problems. Irresponsible alcohol drinking among the teenagers can lead to unsafe sex, impaired brain development, devious behaviors, binge drinking, and driving while drunk which can later on lead to death (National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). In addition, it leads to black out, headaches, loss of memory, hangovers, nausea, and loss of an appetite. Most teenagers who drink alcohol are affected academically and some of them end up dropping out of school after becoming addicts. Moreover, some of them develop anti-social behaviors and become a threat to the society. It is important for the society together with the schools to implement a no-drinking campaign in order to save pour teenagers from alcohol addiction, and alcohol related health conditions.
The long-term and short-term effects of alcohol drinking start from underage drinking among teenagers. Their consequences affect many teenagers and the people around them in the society. Annually, many lives of teenagers are lost due to alcohol related accidents and injuries. Now that is clear that, alcohol consumption is dangerous for the teenagers, it is important for them to abstain in order to avoid a drinking problem in their future life. Many teenagers are experiencing the consequences of excessive drinking at an early age, yet this can be avoided. Alcoholic drinks are commonly available and promoted in our society today, yet it is adversely affecting our teenagers. Underage drinking is dangerous and it should be avoided by our teenagers.
References
Marczinski, C. A., Combs, S. W., & Fillmore, M. T. (2007). Increased sensitivity to the dis-inhibiting effects of alcohol in binge drinkers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 346-354.
Casey, P. F., and Dollinger, S. J. (2007). College students' alcohol-related problems: An autophotograpic approach. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 8-25.
Patock-Peckham, J. A., and Morgan-Lopez, A. A. (2007). College drinking behaviors: Mediational links between parenting styles, parental bonds, depression, and alcohol problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 297-306.
Peele, S. (2006). Reducing Harms from Youth Drinking. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 67-87.
National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d). Underage Drinking: A growing Health Care Concern. Retrieved from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/PSA/underagepg2.htm
Testino, G. (2008). "Alcoholic diseases in hepato-gastroenterology: a point of view". Hepatogastroenterology 55 (82–83): 371–7.
Guerri, C. and Pascual, M.A. (2010)."Mechanisms involved in the neurotoxic, cognitive, and neurobehavioral effects of alcohol consumption during adolescence". Alcohol 44 (1) 15–26.
