Alcohol

By
Devin Cox
Published: October 14, 2009Posted in: HealthTags: ,

The year 2009 has come with some very big surprises; the first black president, an amazingly high number of reality shows, and half naked girls selling coffee.
Although many people could argue that the things previously listed are great, most can agree the increase in teen alcohol abuse is not one of them. Finding a 13-year-old girl downing a bottle of Grey Goose in a bathroom would seem to be a very unlikely and disturbing scenario, but the truth is it happens. What can adults do to stop it? Nothing. There will never be a time where underage drinking ceases to exist.
But what adults can do is educate adolescents on alcohol and its effects instead of trying to prevent the inevitable.
A person can walk through Mountlake Terrace High School and if they listen it’s very likely they will hear something somewhere along the lines of the following: “Dude it was so crazy I could barely stand. I had like five shots of Captain [Morgan’s] yeah I was so plastered, it’s like 70 proof!”
But what many students lack in understanding is that proof is not percent, if this were true Captain Morgan’s would be just 30 percent away from rubbing alcohol. So here’s the down low on alcohol proof. In the United States proof is measured at a 2:1 ratio meaning if the alcohol is 70 proof it’s 35 percent alcohol. An easy way to remember is what ever the proof is it’s exactly half of that in percent of alcohol.
According to about-alcoholism-info.com “Those who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to manifest serious alcohol side effects such as dependency.” In other words, this means that that same 13-year-old girl drinking Grey Goose in a bathtub is four times as likely to be an alcoholic.
Why is that? A common incident among young adults is that they use alcohol to make them feel better. For example a girl just broke up with her boyfriend and seeing as how she connects alcohol with fun and partying she thinks drinking will make her feel better. But the truth is alcohol is a known depressant. Common immediate effects of consuming too much alcohol are a lack of attention and a slow reaction speed.
What’s the big deal?
It may not seem like hard-core consequences, but when they are affecting an adolescent in an unsafe environment like a party they can have dire outcomes; lack of attention means a date rape drug could be slipped in a drink, a slow reaction speed while driving could leave a teen wrapped around a tree. Both of these examples are things that can change lives forever. Long-term effects of alcoholism include: cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, epilepsy, alcoholic dementia, heart disease, increased chance of cancer, and sexual dysfunction.

Drinking may be fun and may make teens think they’re so grown up, or more important or cooler. Still, according to alcoholalert.com, as of 9:28 p.m. Oct. 12, 10,143 people have died in drunk driving accidents this year and the number grows everyday. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 1994 45 percent of rapists were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Alcohol is not a game. How much proof do you need?

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