Preview

Adolescent and Drugs, Our Children in Crisis and How We Can Save Them.

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
947 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Adolescent and Drugs, Our Children in Crisis and How We Can Save Them.
There are an estimated 1.2 billion adolescents worldwide; it is reported that one in every five people in the world today is of the adolescent age. It is during adolescence that our bodies undergo major physical and psychological changes as well as changes in our social relationships. It is also during these years that adolescents acquire many bad habits such as drinking, smoking and drug abuse.
During adolescence, young adults are under all kinds of pressure from their peers to partake in drugs and activities that are precarious to their health, such as drug abuse. The drugs that are most abused are alcohol and cigarettes and followed closely by marijuana. Both alcohol and cigarettes are legal in the United States. Alcohol is the most abused drug in America, it has been reported that 40% of all ninth graders have admitted to consuming alcohol before the age 13. Alcohol abuse in the United States, alone, caused 1,400. It was also reported that American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 died from alcohol-related accidents and injuries, including motor vehicle accidents every year. Furthermore, every day in the U.S., more than 13,000 children and teens take their first drink. This means that many of these teens will experience first hand what alcohol abuse is. According to research done on alcohol abuse and alcoholism, American youth who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than younger people, who do not drink before the age of 21. This stat focuses on the importance of drinking at a later age, rather than at an earlier age. This statistics also points out very clearly how abuse and alcohol go together, even for teenagers.
Marijuana is the most abused illegal drug in America .Research shows that nearly 50% of teenagers try marijuana before they graduate from high school. Effects of marijuana on someone who smokes marijuana regularly are same respiratory problems as that of tobacco smokers. These



Cited: (http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/topics/prevention_care/adolescent/en/index.html)

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Directly or indirectly, adolescents are affected by substance abuse. Substance use is one of the United States’ leading health problems. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, deaths associated with drug use have “more than doubled since the early 1980s” (www.drugabuse.gov). Substance use addictions are costly to tax payers. Substance use is an overlooked problem and continues to grow. Eliminating the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is impossible. Never the less it is important to create awareness on the health effects of the abuse of substances among…

    • 4036 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    PCN 527 Final Exam 112011

    • 516 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The drug Marijuana has been widely used for many years. This illegal drug has caused much controversy over being legalized. It is the third most popular abused substance worldwide. Heavy users of this drug often argue that alcohol, which is legal and more dangerous than Cannabis. People see marijuana as a gateway drug. Teens who often start with marijuana often times become users of a more addictive and dangerous drug. The use of marijuana causes many health issues such as lung cancer, loss of brain cells, impaired motor ability, blood vessel blockage and many other problems. “Children ages 12-17 are 85 times more likely to use cocaine Marijuana has also been linked with teen violence, suicide, crime and unsafe sex-HIV transmission” (http://marijuanatoday.com/cons.php).…

    • 516 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Underage drinking is one of the biggest problems facing America today. Teens who abuse alcohol often turn to a life of crime, or suffer mental or physical breakdowns. In many cases the teen may even die from attempt suicide or car accident. In Montgomery Country two teenager was killed in a car accident, after leaving a party drunk and driving over the speed limits. Knowing that they were underage, if the father who hosted the party had never let the teens drink, then the two death could have been prevented (Fitzgerald. Par. 1-4). This is of course an extreme case of alcohol usage among teens, and it is often not this severe. The best way to prevent underage drinking is to start family planning and prevention programs at an earlier age.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol is the most broadly abused substance among America's childhood. Immature liquor use is not an adequate transitional experience, but rather a genuine risk to juvenile advancement and wellbeing. “In 2014, more than 1.6 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year. This accounts for almost 4.4% of people between these ages” (lynson). In March 2007, the Acting Surgeon General of the United States issued a Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. In that report, the Surgeon General tended to the requirement for a far reaching way to deal with counteractive action that incorporates support from folks, families, schools, universities, groups, the human services framework, and all levels of government.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Accidents can have a huge effect on adolescents and it can likewise be lethal. Minors drinking liquor can make them drink and drive which can bring about a car crash. Underage drinking can expand the rate of auto crashes quickly. Then again, auto collisions are by all account not the only mischances that can influence young people. Different mischances that can be brought on by underage drinking are falling or getting run over. The lopsidedness that liquor has among adolescents can bring about these mishaps to be life undermining. The outcomes from underage drinking can have numerous negative impacts among teenagers and our communities.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Most Americans would agree that underage drinking is a national health issue which must be addressed. Too many young adults perish every year from drunk-driving accidents, alcohol poisoning and other alcohol related incidents. The estimated social cost of underage drinking in America is fifty-three billion dollars a year (McCardell 1). According to a survey completed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Fifty percent of teens between twelve and sixteen have consumed alcohol in the last thirty days” (Jacinto 1). Something must be done to correct this problem and protect the young adults of our nation.…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alcohol in Australia

    • 1223 Words
    • 4 Pages

    13% of deaths of under aged minors each year is related to alcohol. (The Australian National Council on Drugs report (ANCD) 2007). A shocking 60% of students aged 12-17 reported consuming alcohol in the past year, and 23% in the past week alone. An Australia School Student’s Alcohol and Drugs (ASSAD), survey, 2008 showed…

    • 1223 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Substance abuse among adolescents is becoming an increasing concern. There are the obvious health issues associated with substance abuse, but many people do not consider the long term affects of drug and alcohol use. In this paper I will discuss substance abuse among teens, causes, statistics, effects of substance abuse, current treatments, and the importance of developing appropriate treatment options for youth.…

    • 2164 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Research has supported the observation that young people in America consume alcohol regularly; this prevalence of use increases rapidly during adolescence, as well as a few years afterward (Wagenaar and Wolfson 37). This has come to be a problem among college students. It has been shown through extensive quantitative and qualitative research that those under twenty-one years of age are able to obtain alcohol, which allows them to binge drink. Binge drinking holds many problems for college students: alcohol poisoning, DUIs, traffic accidents, and even fatalities.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drinking Age: 21 or 18?

    • 1419 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Some of the most overlooked types of drugs are those that are legal. Specifically, alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in the world, and yet, many people don’t think of this substance upon hearing the word “drug.” This drug contributes to significantly more deaths than some illegal drugs such as marijuana (which has not been reported to cause any deaths), and yet alcohol is still legal. On the flipside, alcohol is outlawed for minors under the age of 21, while Americans can vote, consume tobacco, serve jury duty, get married, and even be prosecuted as adults at the age of 18. Through an analysis of the effects of the drinking age in America being 21 versus 18, this essay will show why the drinking age should be lowered. I will assess the key arguments on both sides of the issue. Those arguments will revolve around safety. The two sides of the safety issue largely have to do with the maturity of 18-year olds and how they relate to driving in addition to the hazards of binge drinking.…

    • 1419 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Noel Reyes Underage Drinking Title: Teen Drinking 1. Introduction Attention getter: Hello my name is Noel Reyes. Did you know that the National Institute of Health recorded that each year over 5000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking? More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year-about 4.65 a day-- as a result of alcohol-related injuries. Its a growing problem that isn’t going to go away over night. A. Reason audience will be interested: This is an issue that whether we like it or not, applies to many of us because we are still underage and it seems like no matter what social gathering we go there is always alcohol and with that comes the temptation and the pressure. B. Thesis Statement:…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Legal Drinking Age

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In U.S., high school students are drinking. Studies show majority start before having 21 years. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services records the statistic of 72 percent of Americans aged 18 to 20 report they used alcohol in the last year (Muhlenfeld par. 4). The public know about this problem. As Jessica Ogilvie states, “It 's no secret that people drink alcohol before they turn 21. Stories about binge drinking on college campuses and alcohol-fueled high school parties are as easy to find as the Facebook photos that document them” (par. 1).…

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Price et al. (2009) notes that alcohol is the premier drug of choice for adolescents, with the onset of underage drinking occurring, on average, around age 13. In 2001, 13% percent of high school students reported operating a vehicle on one of more occasions after or while drinking alcohol, and 31% reported being a passenger to a peer who had been drinking. These statistics are startling but not as much as the following facts derived from that same year: 3,608 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were killed and an additional 337,000 were injured in car crashes. Approximately 25% of drivers between the…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Drinking Age

    • 2043 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Teen alcohol use kills about 6,000 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined (Hingson and Kenkel). Alcohol use by persons under 21 years of age is a major public health problem. Alcohol is a common used and abused drug among youth in the United States. Although alcohol is harmful to everyone, alcohol harms adolescents much more than adults. Adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of alcohol on learning, memory, and judgment. The national legal drinking age of 21 should be maintained because alcohol use by adolescents damages the neurological development of the brain, cause psychological effects, furthermore, it will cause unnecessary deaths.…

    • 2043 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Underage drinking and drugs use have been a big issue encountered by many teenagers across America. The problem is not only about drinking alcohol and drug use itself but about the consequences caused by these unhealthy activities. Excessive alcohol consumption cause lead to motor vehicles accidents, fight, rapes, suicide, homicide, etc. A study found that American youth have a big portion of hospitalization for alcohol consumption reasons. Among this youth population, men were more often found to be hospitalized than women. The amount of alcohol consumption and hospitalized cases caused by alcohol were increasing as people grew from teenagers to middle ages. After having consumed an adequate amount of alcohol, people tend to be unconscious about their actions because of all the chemical reactions caused by alcohol occurring within the body.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays