TEENAGE DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE Alcohol use: Although the numbers have fortunately decreased in recent years, teenage alcohol and drug use is still a serious problem. It can affect the mental and physical health of an adolescent whose body is in a vital stage of growth. Use of drugs and alcohol has often been linked to serious injury, homicide and suicide. In 2001 the average age for a first alcoholic drink was 14.7 years. In 2016 this had risen to 16.1 years. In 2004 one in three 15-17 year-olds were involved in risky drinking behaviour, but in 2016 this had fallen to one in ten. Unfortunately, drinking and drug use is still seen by many as a “rite of passage to adulthood”. Problem drinking places enormous personal and financial stress …show more content…
Psychoactive drugs act on the brain and can change the way a person thinks, feels or behaves. Of course, most people use some kind of legal drugs such as alcohol, prescribed medication and caffeine. Unfortunately illegal drugs are part of life for some people too. Regarding some of these illegal drugs, in 2013, 3% of Victorian teenagers from age 12 to 17 had tried ecstasy and 3% had tried amphetamines. Around one in six had deliberately sniffed inhalants at least once. 1.9% of 12 to 17 year-olds who had taken cocaine had only used it once or twice. 1.5% had tried heroin and about 15% had tried cannabis. Different drugs have different effects on the body. For example marijuana (cannabis) can send the heart rate up as far as 100% in a short time. This can last for up to three hours and send the body into shock. Case Study: A case study was carried out in Victoria to determine whether adolescent alcohol use predisposes an individual to alcohol dependence in young …show more content…
Illegal Drugs and the Law: Possessing or supplying illegal drugs can lead to severe penalties. Supplying others with illegal drugs is a serious criminal offence. Possessing an implement that is used for smoking or taking illegal drugs is an offence. The penalties for these offences can be harsh, depending on the type of drug involved and the quantity recovered. Every Australian teenager has the right to feel safe and not to be pressured into illegal or risky behaviour. It is your right to say “No!” Most teenagers don’t drink, about 65% have never had a full serve of alcohol and only 5% currently drink on a weekly basis. Most teenagers do not use illegal drugs. Over 80% of teenagers have never used an illicit substance. Many teenagers are therefore taking responsibility for the own lives and are not infringing on the rights of
According to (Edgar Snyder) underage drinkers are most likely to be in higher risk for suicide and homicides car crashes , and other injuries such as burn,falls, and drowning. Throughout the years there has been 1,580 deaths from car vehicles crashes, 1,269 from homicides, 245 from alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, drowning, and 492 from sucicide(Edgar Snyder). Without a doubt underage drinking is a big issue today being consumed today by nearly 11 million in the united states.
Underage drinking is becoming a serious social issue in modern Australia; with 90% of Australian teenagers over 14 that have tried alcohol at least once. Estimates also suggest that half of Australia’s teenagers drink alcohol on a weekly basis. Underage drinking can cause drink driving and unsafe sex if it is misused. Australia seems to be fond of this drug, and find it to be socially acceptable although it is causing the amount of teenage deaths to rise rapidly due to misuse. Heavy use of Alcohol can also cause health issues later on in the lives of teens that are drinking alcohol. It is hard for parents to be able to prevent their teenagers from consuming and experimenting with alcohol, but they can at least kindly encourage their
In Australia and throughout other western countries, the misuse of alcohol by young people has been highlighted as a problem (Toumbourou et al 2003).
This involves community members working collaboratively with local businesses and government to reduce alcohol related harm through influencing drinking environments. M arketing of products often plays on fears and insecurities of individuals and deliver a panacea to ‘not fitting in’ through sense of inclusion and popularity associated with procuring the product (Hamilton and Deniss 2005:37). Young people are particularly prone to these types of techniques. Given the entrenchment of drinking in Australian culture, these marketing and promotional techniques many which evolve through sponsoring popular sporting or social events, can be quite compelling to young people and reinforce harmful aspects of Australia’s drinking culture (National Alliance for Action on Alcohol 2010:4). Recent studies have indicated that increased alcohol advertising leads to higher levels of alcohol consumption (Collins and Lapsley 2008:18). Further, in an effort to align rhetoric and practice, state and federal governments should show leadership in their efforts to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol by seeking the removal of all direct and indirect alcohol advertising from venues which are owned, leased, managed or run by state assisted entities. Consuming alcohol is part of contemporary Australian cultural practice. Drinking is viewed as an acceptable social activity
Risk taking behaviour involving alcohol is a growing issue within our society so young people need to be aware of the long and short terms risks involved, how alcohol is abused and misuse; and its effects on themselves, their family and community. The use of alcohol is widely accepted as most Australians have tried alcohol at some time in their lives. People use alcohol for a broad range of reasons and in different social and cultural situations. They may drink for sociability, cultural participation, or as a result of peer influence.
At an early age many teenagers start the abuse of alcohol, and end up becoming addicted which then turns them into alcoholics. “Research also shows that many adolescents start to drink at very young ages. In 2003, the average age of first use of alcohol was about 14” (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). As the years go by
In two thousand and thirteen approximately eight million people above the age of fourteen had ever illicitly used drugs. Using drugs can cause many short and long term issues. Thirty four point eight percent of Australians aged 14 years and over have used cannabis one or more times in their life. Fourteen to twenty-four year olds first try cocaine at nineteen point two years on average. The one point seven percent of twelve to seventeen year olds who take cocaine have only used it once or twice. Two point seven of twelve to seventeen year olds have tried ecstasy.
First off, alcohol addiction and abuse among teenagers today is a bigger problem than ever before. The root of the problem lies in the fact that the teens are so exposed to the culture of this day and age, leading them to where they have easy access to alcohol. For example, their parents may already be alcoholics, and it's merely a few bad decisions later which could cause the child to have a few drinks and cloud their judgement. This is a big problem because their young bodies have never encountered anything like alcohol before, so in turn, the body does not know how to process it, and therefore leads to their downfall. A publication released by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAA) suggests that by age 18, an astounding 60% of US teens would have had at least one drink. Moreover, according to the NIAA, youth between the ages of 12 and 20 will often binge drink as well.
Teenage drinking and driving is one of New Zealand’s biggest issues and is costing the New Zealand government millions of dollars a year. 3 in 7 alcohol related accidents are a result of drunk teenagers or teenagers over the legal limit. In America nearly 60 per cent of 18 to 24 year old current drinkers who failed to complete high school begun to drink before the age of 16 and a half. Also as a result of drinking teenagers find themselves in fights or in dangerous places where death
Alcohol has been severely damaging young individuals health both mentally and physically. Even though alcohol can be harmful at any age it is especially dangerous for teens as their brains are still developing and cannot cope with alcohol the same way as an adult can. When consumed
One reason alcohol is a serious problem is because it is one of the most commonly abused substance among American youth. About 63% of 12th grader have used alcohol in the past 12 months. This number has been dropping over the past couple of years but are still are too high. The things that we think are changing these numbers could be changes in the minimum drinking age but one of the bigger factors could possibly be social norms.
It is legal in the United States to consume alcohol once a person reaches twenty-one years of age. However, that does not necessarily mean that a person doesn’t drink at all before it is legal for them. In fact, alcohol is the most commonly abused substance by adolescents (Mason and Spoth 2012; Schwinn and Schinke 2014), and use has been on the rise in the past decades. Alcohol use has been shown to increase with age, typically with it peaking during late adolescents (Poulin and Denault 2012). It begins with early onset, usually before age thirteen. This can develop into problem drinking and eventually alcohol abuse as early as age twenty-one (Mason and Spoth 2012).
As stated by NIAAA, UNDERAGE DRINKING: A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your
We live in a society that drinks heavily, and this influences teens. Most Americans use alcohol to celebrate wedding anniversaries, to welcome the New Year, and to enjoy many other special events. Alcohol is a legal drug for people over the age of twenty-one. By the time most teens reach senior high school, nearly all will have faced a choice about whether or not to take a drink. Although this drug is illegal for teenage use a large percentage of teens use alcohol. Many teens die in automobile accidents, which could have prevented if they had chosen to say no. Each year it is blame in the deaths of more than four thousand teens (Claypool, p. 42). No crime kills more teenagers in America. Kids who are drinking regularly in high school seem
A national study, 13.8% of eighth-graders reported having at least one drink in the past 30 days, and 11.5% had been drunk at least once in the past year.Twelve- to fourteen-year-old binge drinkers consume 91% of the alcohol drunk by their age group. Ninety-four percent of the alcohol drunk by all 15- to 17-year-olds and 96% of the alcohol drunk by all 18- to 20-year-olds is consumed through binge drinking.