Teenage Drinking

Teenage drinking has become one of the largest social issues among young people in the Philippines today. In our country 18 years old is the legal age to drink alcohol, lower than in other country like America which is 21 years old. The reality is that alcohol is often the cause of many problems among teenagers. Simply put, alcohol ruins many young people's lives, and is now of the most serious problems young people face.

Alcohol abuse is extremely harmful to one's body, especially to teenagers. Teenagers that abuse alcohol often develop problems with their liver, heart, stomach, kidneys, and/or mouth and throat. Many adults wish they knew when they were younger how harmful alcohol actually is to a person s body. Young people should know that alcohol abuse not only leads to severe damage to their body, but can often lead to death as well.

Another problem with underage drinking is the fact that they lose control of their actions. Alcohol often results in teens having risky sexual behaviour. Raping's, unplanned pregnancies, HIV infections, and sexually transmitted diseases are very commonly linked back to when they had been drinking.

All in all, teenage drinking is now getting out of hand. The society is aware of this problem, yet not much is done about it. We need to create a healthy environment for these young people and work together to help keep everyone safe.

Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth. Many young people are experiencing the consequences of drinking too much, at too early an age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country.

Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings (1-5).

Yet drinking continues to be widespread among adolescents, as shown by nationwide surveys as well as studies in smaller populations. According to data from the 2005 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, an annual survey of U.S. youth, three-fourths of 12th graders, more than two-thirds of 10th graders, and about two in every five 8th graders have consumed alcohol. And when youth drink they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. MTF data show that 11 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders had engaged in heavy episodic (or "binge1") drinking within the past two weeks (6) (see figure). (1 The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA] defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration [BAC] to 0.08 grams percent or above. For the typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming five or more drinks [men], or four or more drinks [women], in about 2 hours.)