Underage Drinking

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Underage drinking used to be seen as a social problem for young males. However, recent findings by Columbia's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported that "male and female ninth-graders are just as likely to drink and binge drink." Researchers warn that the effects of alcohol far exceed just a personal sense of freedom or rebelliousness with young people. Consider that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens, including suicide, homicide and car accidents. Additionally, alcohol is believed to be the culprit behind engaging in unprotected sex. "Teenagers who drink are seven times likelier to engage in sex and twice as likely to have sex with four or more partners, than those who do not," researchers found.

Many parents struggle to find answers. Why is drinking while underage so alluring? The teenage years are a relatively long period of maturation where kids are continually pushing their minds, bodies and boundaries to the limit. Many kids enjoy the physical feeling of being "drunk" and their bodies are naturally more susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol, like drowsiness, withdrawal or lack of coordination, which explains why binge drinking is so common later on.

Some kids drink to cover up behavior problems, antisocial tendencies, aggression, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem or shyness. Drinking while underage can be encouraged by genetic or environmental factors as well. According to the NIAAA, children whose parents are alcoholics are 4-10 times more likely to develop addiction alcoholism.

One approach to curbing underage drinking is through the passage of laws. For example, all states have now risen the legal drinking age to 21, which has saved more than 25,000 adolescent lives through alcohol related car accidents, says the National Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, the "Zero Tolerance" law has become increasingly popular because it threatens to take away the drivers license of any teenager caught driving with a blood alcohol content as low as 0.02%. Most states have laws targeting alcohol retailers, requiring them to ID anyone under 30.

A new Montana law confiscates driver's licenses of underage drinkers for 30 days, regardless of whether they were in a vehicle or not and issues alcohol consumption fines from $100 - $300 for a first time offense. Additionally, parents are required to pay for and attend alcohol abuse education classes with their children. Similarly, a new Connecticut law states that, "Any minor who possesses any alcoholic liquor on public or private property shall, for first offense, have committed an infraction and, for any subsequent offense, be fined not less than $200 or more than $500." This law places additional legal pressure on adults to keep alcohol away from kids while on their own property.

There have been many proposals for curbing underage drinking. One view is that parents should be held legally responsible for their child's alcohol use. In some states, parents face stiff penalties and even jail time if minors are found drinking on their property. Others want to end all alcohol ads on television and in G/PG-rated movies. A third idea is to increase alcohol taxes to make it unaffordable for teens, dedicating the additional proceeds to prevention and treatment programs. Most people agree that a higher amount of social campaigning is needed.

Well that's all I have for you here I hope the information was of good use.

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