Underage drinking - Essay Example

A statistical voyage through this social malady would be more helpful to understand the inherent danger that under age drinking possess to our society. It has been estimated that each year around five thousand young people succumb to underage drinking. Here underage implies age below 21. Among these 5000 ill fortunate young blood, crash in motor vehicle claims 1900 lives, 1600 dies of murder and 300 ends their own lives. Ironically this high number of life casualty seems to have little effect on opening our eyes to this great danger that looms around our society.

A survey among youths that has been carried on during 2005 revealed that 75% of the 12th graders, well over 66% of the 10th graders and 40% of the 8th graders are addicted to alcohol. More alarming fact is that heavy drinking or binge drinking as it is popularly known is a common phenomenon among 29% of 12th graders, 22% of 10th graders and 11% of 8th graders. Consuming alcohol rapidly such as more than four to five drinks within two hours increases the blood alcohol concentration to an unprecedented high level of 0.

08 grams%; this can initiate erratic behavior on behalf of the concerned underage person. Interestingly knowing all these have only led to the decline of the age of alcohol consumption over the years. As an example in the year 1965 the average age of beginners of alcohol was 17 and half. In 2003 the age of the first timer regarding alcohol has declined to 14. Such a decrease in first timer age regarding alcohol consumption reflects a grave social problem, as it has been observed that people who start early with alcohol, especially before the age of 15 are four times more prone to grow alcohol dependency (severe alcoholism) at some point of their lives (especially during the middle ages).

Again such dependency often precedes middle age and starts quite early at young age and might be even during the adolescents. Moreover early drinkers are more likely to be socially maladjusted and cause harm to others as well as themselves. Risky behaviours such as taking illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and others are more likely to be found among early drinkers. Changing of sex partners and simultaneously having sex with more than one person is also more common among underage drinkers.

They also have been found to get poor grade in schools and Ds and Fs are common among them. It is worth keeping in mind that the associated problems with underage drinking that have been discussed so far expose one million high school students all over America to great danger as the number associated with underage drinking in America has been found around that figure. (Alcohol Alert, 2006) Questions might be asked that even after knowing the consequences why such practise among youths is growing day by day?

According to scientists and psychologists, teenage is an age when a person seeks adventure and tries to explore the unknown, if he or she considers alcohol among those unexplored horizons then they might feel attracted to alcohol as well. Through out the adolescence conception regarding alcohol undergoes several changes. It starts with a negative feeling regarding alcohol consumption at the age of 9 but strangely by 13 they consider it as holding something fairy within itself and that’s when the problem began.

It has also been observed that youth with troublesome nature and aggression as a main type of characteristic, anxious, lonesome and upset tend to consume alcohol at a much early age than others. It has been observed