The Negative Effects of Alcohol on Teenagers
Alcohol is a powerful drug that many adults enjoy in small quantities. In large quantities, alcohol can be harmful and, in some cases, lethal. For teenagers whose bodies are developing, the consumption of alcohol can be very harmful.
Alcohol is found in drinks such as beer and wine and when it is consumed, it enters into the bloodstream via the stomach and the intestines. While in the bloodstream, alcohol travels to the brain and once it reaches the brain, it reduces reaction times, impairs coordination and vision and, even in small quantities, leads to bad judgement and unclear thinking.
Alcohol is very addictive. When someone is addicted to alcohol, it means that they require alcohol to function normally. Alcohol addiction can develop at any time but is more likely to occur when an individual begins drinking in their teenage years. It is predicted that around half of all teens who begin to drink alcohol before the age of 14 will become addicted to it at some point in the future.
The majority of teens begin drinking alcohol as a social activity. Alcohol lessens inhibitions, making people feel at greater ease when socialising. Many teens drink just because other teens are drinking. At parties involving teens, the emphasis is often on consuming alcohol with the aim of getting drunk. This is known as binge drinking and it happens when an individual drinks more than four alcoholic drinks in two hours or fewer. Binge drinking is amongst the most harmful forms of drinking.
There are many reasons why teens should not drink alcohol. While drinking alcohol before the age of 18 is illegal, alcohol can damage the developing brains of teens. Teens who consume alcohol regularly are likely to develop worse memories in comparison to those who do not. Considering that most teenagers need to have a good memory in order to do well in exams, drinking any amount of alcohol isn't a great idea if you're under the age of 18. Drinking alcohol also puts teens at a higher risk of being raped, assaulted or robbed. As alcohol impairs judgement, people who drink alcohol are more likely to put themselves in risky situations that they would normally avoid.
When it comes to alcohol use, teens must remember that it is not necessary to drink to fit in with their friends. The majority of teens do not drink alcohol regularly, meaning that teenagers who choose not to drink are not alone.
Negative Effects Of Alcohol Abuse
Very little of us think about the negative effects of alcohol abuse, even though we hear terrible stories that have happened mainly due to alcohol abuse. It’s almost as if we’ve all become so used to it that it has no effect on us at all anymore. It’s quite sad really, since there are so many negative effects of alcohol that you have to wonder why nearly all of us consume it now and again, with some being a lot more regular drinkers than others. Many of us often think about alcohol in such a positive way, a way that lets people enjoy themselves more than what they usually would, but this isn’t true, it’s completely false actually!
I believe that around 95% of people think that alcohol can only affect a person’s life if they drink on a very regular basis (every couple of days or so) but this isn’t the case. It’s become a part of each and every one of our cultures that alcohol won’t result in any negative effects if you don’t drink too much. However, this is where the problem begins, how much is “too much”? Well, it’s pretty much impossible to answer that question since it depends on so many variables including the height of the person, the weight of the person etc. So, even though our culture and society makes us all believe that drinking one or two drinks is nothing to worry about; this may not be the case for some people.
It’s also important not to be fooled by the way that big brands portray alcohol. Alcohol won’t make you have a better time with your close friends, it’s simply not true. You could have a much better time with your friends without the need to drink any type of alcohol, so why bother with it, especially when you consider all of the negative effects of alcohol like feeling bad the next day, not being able to remember some things that happened the night before and so on. Think about it, if you wanted to have a good night out with your friends, surely you’d want to remember those good times, right?
Even though you might start drinking alcohol just for a bit of fun or whatever, it can suddenly turn in to a downward slope. What might start out as you having a drink or two with your friends could quickly change in to drinking five or six drinks alone during the day. This will have enormous negative effects on your own life, but this is where it gets worse. The negative effects of alcohol don’t just make your life worse; it makes everyone around you suffer as well. This means that your friends and even your family could quickly forget about you. Nobody likes having friends that care more about alcohol than their own friends and it’s quite similar in relation to your family. Although your family might support you for a while to try allow you to have some time to get back to normal, there will come a time when they decide that life would be easier without someone who comes home drunk and causing trouble in the household regularly. This is why it’s essential that you know when you should stop drinking alcohol. Obviously it’s fine to drink now and again, but ensure that you aren’t one of those people who fall in to the trap of becoming alcohol dependent, or in other words, an alcoholic.
Hopefully this short article about alcohol abuse and the negative effects of alcohol has taught you some things that you need to know. If you need any more information about the effects that alcohol can have on you, I’d suggest that you read some of the other articles that are on the site. You can use the navigation at the top to read articles about certain topics including: mental health, short-term effects of alcohol, long-term effects of alcohol and negative effects that alcohol can have on your body. (or physical effects)
Negative Effects Of Alcohol On Society
Although there are so many people that think that alcohol is some sort of magical thing that makes every person happier in every sort of way, this couldn’t be any further from the truth. Alcohol has a large part to play in all societies around the world nowadays and sadly the problems that alcohol has caused only seem to be getting worse. Everything that the public sees in daily life that’s related to alcohol is something that looks “good”. It’s easy to fall in to this trap and believe that this drug is a so called “good” drug, but it’s not, it’s just like many other type of drugs that’s out there – bad. But surely something like alcohol couldn’t have any negative effects on society, right? Wrong. Here are a couple of the negative effects of alcohol on our society:
Healthcare Problems – With more and more people going to hospital every day as a result of alcohol related problems, it’s no wonder why hospitals around America and other countries are really struggling to help those who really do need help including the elderly. With the amount of people (majority are young) needing hospital treatment after consuming large quantities of alcohol it’s easy to see why some people have a hatred towards any type of alcohol. The amount of problems which it causes is enormous. What makes this even more surprising is that it’s the one drug that nearly every person sees something about each day, such as advertisements and so on.
Alcoholics – It’s believed that around one in every 10 people that drink alcohol on a regular basis will become an alcoholic at some point in the future. This is a really shocking statistic. Just for a minute, think about all of the people that you know in your life that drink alcohol now and again, now imagine if 10% of them were to become an alcoholic – it’s not a nice thought, is it? Not only is this bad news for the person that will become an alcoholic, but it’s also very bad for society as a whole. One of the negative effects of alcohol is that it makes people become more violent along with other things, this results in a lot of trouble for other people in society that don’t want anything got to do with alcohol – but sadly other people around them will make their life a lot worse, at no fault of their own. When there’s statistics claiming that there are over 17 million alcoholics in the United States alone, it’s not hard to worry about how our society will tackle this massive problem.
Behaviour Problems – We all know that alcohol “makes” (and I use that term loosely) people do things that they normally wouldn’t even think about. This could be anything from smashing a glass window from a shop to deciding to drive home drunk. Think about all of the negative effects that alcohol can actually cause in these situations, in the glass example, a small business will have to close for a day or two to get their window repaired as well as costing them a decent amount of money which they more than likely can’t afford to just throw away. In the second example though, the effects can be much more serious. Alcohol related car crashes result in around ten thousand deaths per year on American roads, now think about how many that is worldwide!
Hopefully this short piece has made you think about alcohol in a new light, it’s not such a “happy” drug afterall. Don’t be fooled by the media, the negative effects of alcohol on society in my opinion outweigh the positives of alcohol on society by far. Sadly, the youth of today are subjected to so much media throughout their day that they'll believe that alcohol can make their life so much better than what it currently is, but there's a good chance that alcohol will actually make their life a lot worse than what it currently is!
Some Of The Negative Effects Of Alcohol
Throughout almost all epochs and stratas of human society, alcohol is the cohesive bedrock of many social activities. Today in particular alcohol is order of the night and often the outright icebreaker in social activities varying from parties, discos and dinners, manifesting in different beverages such as beer, wine and spirits. Many in particular are fond of the qualities of happiness and disinhibition it seems would be provided by alcohol consumption. However, there are vices underpinning such virtues which ultimately drive many closer to these dangerous excesses going from general irresponsibility to major life crises. This article will detail the problems from the basic ones to the more serious ones.
As an undergraduate student it is easiest to account for the more common dangers arising from alcohol speaking from the perspective of a student enjoying a night out with friends, where alcohol features more prominently than in other typical scenarios such as dinners. The most mundane yet for that matter most recurring of particularly negative effects of alcohol is that of basic intoxication. Addiction, lack of coordination and usually a sense of unrestrained happiness comprise the most noticeable symptoms of drunkenness. Although one does not necessarily lose conscious control there is a false sense of confidence deriving from drinking, which can have many bad consequences for the person involved. Lack of coordination is subtle depending on the extent of drink. In slowing down mental reflexes one is slower to catch events as they occur, and it is because of this that driving after drinking is prohibited, as one will be too slow to adjust the car and react to events as spontaneous as they are. People usually find euphoria, but bear in mind alcohol is a depressant, and the "depression" will overtake the euphoria as the disinhibition wears off. Furthermore as one becomes more accustomed to drinking and becomes more conscious of their condition the experience may no longer be so euphorical.
Sickness is a common reaction either in the short term or the long term ("hangovers"), depending on the type of drink consumed and individual temperament. Symptoms include headaches and stomach aches and can last for several hours - and this may result in vomiting. Prolonged hangovers can seriously hamper ability to perform day-to-day tasks for some time.
So, how to enjoy a night out and yet stay healthy? Eat plenty of food before drinking, as an empty stomach is more susceptible to the intoxicating influences of hangovers. And ideally both during and after the festivities drink plenty of fluid. This is especially important in averting more painful hangovers. Alcohol is a diuretic and hangovers are usually a response to lack of water in the system. Take care to avoid experimenting with tendencies beyond recommendation; for instance it is not recommended to drink liquor in excess or blend it with others.
The long term dangers of alcoholism on the other hand arise problematic drinking beyond socially accepted standards where one becomes psychologically addicted to alcohol and it becomes more than just a basic night out. The more grave consequences arising from alcoholism include brain damage, liver cancer and I'm sure that you can think of some others.
As essential as it is to understand these dangers with regards to your wellbeing, don't be disheartened from enjoying yourself. If you can identify problems and rectify them preemptively you can enjoy yourself without having to endure the worst of repercussions from the embarrassing to the excruciating.
Does drinking alcohol make you gain weight?
When drinking alcohol, thinking about gaining weight is probably one of the last things that is on our mind. It's just something that we don't really want to think about. On television, radio etc we always hear about how eating fatty foods such as burgers isn't good for your body, but do we ever hear about alcohol in relation to putting on some extra weight? The short answer is no. People are too busy talking about other negative effects of alcohol such as damaging your organs rather than about putting on the pounds.
But this issue shouldn't be overlooked. There's people who drink a glass of wine nearly every single day, but I sometimes wonder would they keep this habit up if they knew of the effects of doing such a thing. While there is no actual fat in alcohol, there's a lot of sugar in the majority of alcoholic drinks, especially in the bright colored drinks that are green, blue and so on. How do you think they make these luminous colors? Well, they do it by using the same method of how companies make bright colored sweets - using a large amount of sugar.
The sugar that's in the alcohol gets attached to several parts inside your body and because of this you gain weight. It's an age old myth that consuming alcohol makes your belly/stomach fat and doesn't effect any other part of the body, it's simply not true. The negative effects of alcohol to someone trying to diet can be massive as alcohol is basically like drinking calories and nothing else! What's even worse about drinking is that it doesn't make you feel full, to some people it makes them feel even more hungry and this leads to the person going to the local fast food outlet and eating much more than the person is used to.
Another negative effect of alcohol for those of us that like working out in the gym to improve out fitness is that alcohol will prevent you from sticking with your normal routine. Lets say you wanted to go to the gym on Saturday, but then decided "I'll go to the gym tomorrow and enjoy myself tonight". To make a long story short, the chances are that you will be so tired the following day that you wont be able to go to the local supermarket never mind the gym! By then, your back in work on Monday and you've got not workout done.
There are some options for you if you're worried about the negative effects of alcohol, in particular in relation to gaining weight. Firstly, you could add some water to your drink in order to dilute it. This means your drink will last you for longer and you wont end up drinking as much alcohol as normal. Water contains little or no calories, so you don't have to worry about gaining too much weight. Or maybe add in some extra ice cubes so your drink lasts longer as well. Normally, in most pubs or bars they will give you some ice, but why not ask for some extra ice so you can cut down on drinking so much? It will help you in the long run. We can all enjoy a drink now and again, but it's essential to know about the negative effects of alcohol and how you can prevent them before you start drinking it.