Binge Drinking among Teenagers - Coursework Example

Binge Drinking among Teenagers” Extreme drinking is really terrible for physical and mental conditions. Alcohol increases the risk of serious diseases like heart disease, liver infections, reproductive problems and memory loss. It is declared in journal of the American medical association, the death rate of Alcoholic women is comparatively greater than Alcoholic men. This journal also declares that the danger of breast cancer rises with the regular use of alcohol. Drinking among teenagers has been on an increase in the recent years and it has been seen that binge drinking among teenagers is seen to be most affecting these teenagers in their future life. By binge drinking it means that the teenagers tend to drink four or five drinks in one sitting. Although alcohol use is ordinary among a greater part of college undergraduates (Kuther & Timoshin, 2003; Ziemelis, Bucknam, & Elfessi, 2002), a division of students busy in a type of drinking behavior that occupies great levels of alcohol use which may put them at danger for communal, mental, emotional and physical troubles. This specific type of drinking behavior has been identified in the literature as binge drinking and includes the extreme use of alcohol in short periods (Murgraff, White, & Phillips, 1996). Current approximation discovers that about 44 percent of college students are resulted to be involved in binge drinking behavior (Torr J.D., 2002). This report would further analyze a target audience of teenagers and would provide an epidemiology of binge drinking among these teenagers in the United Kingdom. Annabel Boys, John Marsden and John Strang carried out a study to investigate the major reasons behind children alcohol consumption habits. They found out that 96.7% children drink while hanging out with friends and parties to enjoy those moments of life, 96.4% drink to become intoxicated, 86.8%to get rid of depression and mental stress, 88.5% adopt it from the surroundings and 88.5% to enhance an activity (Annabel Boys, John Marsden and John Strang). They also concluded that the usage of alcoholic drinks varies by the age of children and that gender also plays a vital role in its consumption. As Binge Drinking has increasingly been a concern for the health authorities in UK several studies have been carried out to confirm the effect of binge drinking on the teenagers. A study done in the UK showed that individuals who were involved in binge drinking while in their teen ages were more diverted towards other criminal activities and high usage of alcoholic beverages in their latter stages of life. This study in the UK also compared the teenagers who were involved in binge drinking to those who were not involved in it. And it found that the teenagers who were not involved in binge drinking were less likely to be deviated from the social norms of the society (Viner & Taylor, 2007). Similarly Carvel (2007) states that children who were involved more in binge drinking at the age of sixteen were more diverted towards the usage of drugs when they grew up as adults. As analyzed by the Institute of Child Health London 11000 British children who were born in 1970 and were involved in binge drinking were more prone to medical and communal difficulties in their latter stages of life. As analyzed by the institute children who were involved in binge drinking were 60% more likely to be alcoholic and 70% more likely to be regular heavy drinkers. Forty percent of them were suffering from mental trauma and accidents and most of these binge drinkers were involved in criminal activities. Similarly it has also been noted that the United Kingdom has more children involved in binge drinking in relation to their contemporary states. This means that in the UK more adults are being diverted towards mental and social difficulties. As Martin Plant, professor of addiction studies at the University of the West of England, said British teenagers indulged in more binge drinking than their contemporaries in other European countries. Moreover he said "The price we are paying as a society for this problem is a high level of social disorder and crime. An important part of this is the availability of cheap alcohol." As put by the professor the cause for high binge drinking among teenagers is because of the cheap sale of alcohol. It is also because of lack of knowledge amongst these teenagers regarding the harm that alcohol causes. Moreover the number of adverts being shown on the television regarding alcohol has increased and it is likely that the children form most of the percentage of the audience watching the television at that specific time. As analyzed by the Alcohol Charity family TV shows like Simpsons are aired at the time between 3 pm and 5 pm and during this time it is found that most of the ads being advertised are about alcohol. Thus children are more attracted towards the drinking of alcohol. Binge drinking is on a rise in the United Kingdom and so several of the counties were analyzed to see as to which is most affected by this problem. It has been found that 18% of adults in England binge drink more than the level set up by the health department in a single session in the week. It has been found that Newcastle had high rates of binge drinking whilst people in Blackpool died earliest because of overindulging. After a research conducted by John Moores University it was found that Copeland and Liverpool had the most alcohol admissions. This clearly shows that excessive drinking of alcohol is becoming a problem for the UK and it shows that alcohol can be grasped at cheap costs in UK. Moreover it was seen that 29.2% of adults in Newcastle binge drink while 27.6% in Liverpool and Durham (BBC). Research revealed that the habits of heavy drinking and its worst outcomes are more common among the drinkers living in the North of England. As compared to the death statistics due to binge drinking in the South, Northern drinkers are observed to die younger. The research conducted by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory concluded that people living in the North East and North West have a greater percentage (i.e. 23%) of binge drinking as compared to the Southern and Eastern divisions of England (i.e. below 16%). Study puts forward that a greater percentage of the disease and deaths of young generation is due to the misuse of Alcohol and other drugs (Toumbourou et al., 2007). Another study suggests that a greater proportion of alcoholics have taken their first drinking experience by the age of 15-16 years. This trend among almost half of those young people develops as a weekly drinking routine and a quarter are observed to drink regularly until they are intoxicated (Jones et al., 2007). The use of Alcohol among teenagers is identified as a direct and sometimes indirect reason of absence from the schools. Hangover and sleeping disorders are observed as a direct reason for the increased level of absence from the school whereas antisocial behavior is identified as an indirect cause of absence from the schools (Deacon, 2007). In another report it is found that the North West state of Manchester is suffering more from excessive drinking followed by Salford, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Rochdale. In 2008 it was found that 800,000 admissions in hospitals were due to excessive drinking which means that the number increased by 9% from the previous year. The effect of binge drinking on excessive drinking is mentioned by Professor Mark Bellis in these words "Rises in alcohol related health problems reflect not only weekend binge drinking but also how use of alcohol on a nightly basis continues to erode our health.” (Centre For Public Health) Young individuals are more responsive to the positive effects of drinking, like feeling of being comfortable in social situations. They may have a relatively large amount of alcohol than adults because their maturing brain does not accept any reality unless they experience it. Their brain does not understand the possible devastating loss but consider the positive social experiences (Spear& Varlinskaya, 2005). Individuals who start drinking alcohol at a very young age, i.e. around 12, or those who are disruptive, agitated and violent or those with antisocial behaviors or disheartened, reserved or apprehensive may be at maximum threat for alcohol troubles. Some more behavioral disorders also lead children to alcohol consumption including disobedience, intolerance and carelessness of rules and coldness for others and their reactions (or dis-inhibition) (Colder & O’Connor, 2002). School can be thought as a second home for children. So as to avoid risk for children, schools must ensure that alcohol education is provided to all students. All necessary steps required to explain the negative outcomes of alcohol consumption should be taken. Students must be given proper guidance about the negative effects of alcohol on their social, personal and mental wellbeing. A large number of teenagers are addicted to alcoholic drinks, which are a chief cause of ill-health nowadays. Alcohol abuse not only affects an individual but harm the whole society or community. The people who are addicted to alcohol consumption not only waste their money and precious time due to intoxication but also leave a bad impact on their associates. Research explains that increased sales law enforcement can decrease the selling of alcohol to individuals. Plainly, setting up enforcement of lowest alcohol buying age laws is desired to make them more efficient (Grube, 1997). Nowadays the habit of drinking alcohol has been increasingly taken up by youngsters and steps are needed to address this issue. Drinking results in accidents and unpleasant incidents. To curb this issue many governments are taking necessary steps and till date they are quite successful. One starts drinking because of many factors which have been discussed. Nowadays the education provided by the government and NGOs has been quite beneficial for people to avoid drinking in the early stages. Alcohol can lead to fatal diseases which ultimately might kill. Alcohol consumption does not only harm an individual but the society. Alcoholism is a great threat to the youth and must be stopped for a brighter future of the youth, their family and the whole country. Alcoholism is taking the life of millions of children each year. Those precious lives must be protected by implications of new regulations in the schools. Parents must be guided in order to avoid risks of alcohol problems to their children. More emphasis should be placed on the implications of anti alcoholism. Bibliography: VINER, R. M., & TAYLOR, B. (2007). Adult outcomes of binge drinking in adolescence: findings from a UK national birth cohort. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 61, 902-907. Carvel, J. 2004, ‘Child binge drinkers at greater risk of alcoholism, says study’, The Guardian, 6 Sept, p. 16. BBC News, Binge drinking worst in north (2006), BBC, 4 August, 2006. DUNN, M. E., & GOLDMAN, M. S. (1996). 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