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A Drink or Two?
Teen Thoughts on Drinking
By Carma Haley Shoemaker
"I think a lot of teens may drink alcohol to help them forget about their problems," says Kristen, age 13, from Vancouver, WA. "The only thing wrong with that is they may end up with even worse problems when they drink. They may have so many problems and they don't know how to get rid of them, so they want them to go away and use alcohol to make that happen. Another reason the teens I know drink is because the 'cool' people drink, so if you want to join in or be in their group, you have to drink, too."
Every action has a consequence. According to M.A.D.D., approximately every twenty minutes, a teen is involved in some type of accident related to the use of alcohol. In addition, it is estimated that 15,000 teens die each year from some type of alcohol consumption.
Mosby's Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Dictionary states that alcohol has been related to physical and medical complications such as central nervous system depression, cirrhosis of the liver, cardiac problems, dehydration, permanent motor dysfunction, tremors and permanent memory loss. In addition, the "social use of alcohol" for only one to two years cn increase the risk of alcoholism by 56 percent.
