We know that it is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21 in the United States.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) a recent national survey showed:
- 16% of eighth graders reported drinking alcohol within the past month
- 32% of eighth graders reported drinking in the past year
- 64% of eighth graders say that alcohol is easy to get
- more girls than boys ages 12 to 17 reported drinking alcohol
- approximately 30% of 12th graders reported binge drinking
Teenagers that drink alcohol are more likely to:
- Be a victim of a violent crime
- Have serious problems in school
- Be involved in an alcohol related car accident
- To be sexually active and have unprotected sex
- Develop alcohol dependence/addiction than those that wait until adulthood to begin drinking
Facts about alcohol:
- Alcohol is a depressant
- Alcohol slows down the reaction time in the body
- Alcohol affects coordination
- Alcohol impairs vision
- Alcohol effects thinking and judgment
- Alcohol can effect a teenager in unpredictable ways
- It takes the average person 2 to 3 hours for one alcoholic drink to leave the body
- Drinking coffee, taking a cold shower or trying to walk it off does NOT speed the process of alcohol leaving the body
- 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor all have the same alcohol content and all have the same effect on the body and mind
- People who have been drinking misjudge the effects the alcohol has on them
- Anyone can develop a serious alcohol problem, including a teenager
Talk with your teenager about alcohol. Set some family rules. Model responsible drinking.
If your teenage son has an alcohol problem, get help.
Triumph Youth Services has treated many teenage boys with alcohol or other substance abuse problems.
Call today. Find out how they can help your son.
Reference:
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/makediff.htm
http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/february2013/02112013alcohol.htm
