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Francisco Amador
Humanities-1/2
19 May 2014
You Booze, You Lose

Seneca the Younger once said, Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness. When
teens binge drink, they become drunk and when they become drunk they cause nothing but
madness upon others in society and on themselves. Binge drinking is a problem among many
teens. 5,000 people under age 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides,
suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning (Underage
Drinking. National).In addition, According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA), binge drinking is a drinking pattern in which a person's blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) reaches 0.8% or higher. In order to reach 0.8%, a man must typically drink
five standard drinks in a row in a short period of time and a women must drink four standard
drinks in a row in a short period of time (Teens and Binge). Because teens are going through
physical and emotional changes, they resort to drinking alcohol to relieve pain and stress or to
fit in. One drink leads to two, two drinks lead to three and sooner or later teens start binge
drinking constantly because they have become addicted to the fake reality created by alcohol and
because their body craves it. If parents talk to teens early in their lives, ask more questions about
their teens social life, and lockdown alcohol out of their teens reach, the number of teens who
binge drink will start to decline.
The reasons many teens give for binge drinking are to fit in, or to escape reality and
relieve stress. For instance, Many teens don't think theres anything wrong with drinking.
They've made it into an acceptable activity that they engage in when they're out with their
friends, and since they may not drink every night, they don't see the potential harm that its
doing (Cassada). This explains how teens drink to fit in with their peers and its how they also
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believe drinking is a socially appropriate activity for young people who do not drink all the time.
The reason underage drinking is so acceptable among teenagers is because society has accepted
that part of being included in teen culture means taking part in riskier situations, thus leading to
drinking and binge drinking. However this is not the only reason teens to explain why they binge
drink. For example, Higher rates of binge drinking by lesbian and gay adolescents compared to
their heterosexual peers may be due to chronic stress caused by difficult social situations (Why
Gay, Lesbian). This article explains how teens put in difficult situations, often find an escape
from their stress by binge drinking. Escaping emotional pain is one of the biggest causes of binge
drinking among teens due to the fact that bullying is another big problem in the United States.
Not only do gay and lesbian teens get bullied, but many other teens are getting bullied as well,
leading them to drink. Fitting in and stress are some of the biggest causes of binge drinking in
teens.
Binge drinking has major effects and on teens in society. An example is, Alcohol is the
most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and
illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths among underage youth
(Underage Drinking. Center). Many teens have suffered from injuries and deaths from binge
drinking. Teens who binge drink do not realize the effects that alcohol can have on their body or
do not care about the risks they are taking in order to fit in with their friends. Not only do teens
hurt themselves by drinking alcohol, they have chances of hurting others in society. According to
an article in Psychology Today, Teens engaging in the dangerous behavior of binge drinking are
not only putting themselves at risk, theyre putting others in jeopardy. Drunk driving accidents,
homicides, suicides and other injuries have been attributed to alcohol use (Cassada). This
information show that teens who binge drink are not the only ones at risk, the people who end up
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with them when they are drunk are also getting hurt and killed because of alcohol abuse. Teens
are hurting others and end up hurting themselves when they drink excessively. These teens who
binge drink are hurting society due to their lack of knowledge of what binge drinking will do to
them and others. Both teens and society are affected by binge drinking.
Solutions to stop teens from binge drinking are simple and easy. An example of this is,
Parents you have the ability to sway whether or not your teen drinks. By setting rules and
expectations against drinking and consistently enforcing those rules you can deter your teens
likelihood of underage drinking. If you have alcohol in your house, keep it locked up or know
how much is in the containers, yes take inventory. Make sure your teen knows that it is of limits,
no ifs, ands or buts. Most importantly supervise your teen. Sure you may feel like you have more
control in your house than someone elses, but its important to know the four essential questions
when your teen goes out: where, what, who, and when (Cassada). The fate of whether or not
teens continue binge drinking, falls upon their parents. Research shows that parents need to talk
to their children, early and often, about alcohol. They need to keep their alcohol locked up away
from teens grasp. This is not hard for parents and many can do this if they just take charge. In
addition parents need to make sure their teens know all the negative effects about alcohol so they
are more frightened about it. However this is not the only way people can stop teens from binge
drinking. For instance, The National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service
provides a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357) where you can speak
directly to an expert concerning substance abuse treatment, request printed material on alcohol or
other drugs, or obtain substance abuse treatment referral information. You can also get help from
your own health professional and often from friends and family (Teens and Binge). This
information proves that for teens who are already binge drinking, there is help. Many people,
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professionally trained, who are qualified to help teens overcome their alcohol addictions. It is not
hard for teens to find help. There are plenty of programs available to teens in need. Stopping
teens from binge drinking is not that hard, as long as parents are willing to talk to their child and
get them professional help when they need it.
Parents need to take more charge and leadership if binge drinking in teens is going to
stop. Peer pressure is one of the biggest causes of teens starting to binge drink, however the fake
reality caused by binge drinking also relieves teens of stress. Because teens binge drink, they
they are slowly damaging their brain and liver, but also they are hurting others through drunk
driving, homicides, rape, etc. Parents have the ability to change binge drinking habits in teens.
Simple talks with their teens about alcohol and also locking up alcohol are very effective ways of
reducing the chances of teens binge drinking. The future generations are endangered by the
hollywood version of alcohol.















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Works Cited

American Academy of Pediatrics. Why gay, lesbian teens binge drink: Stressful experiences
such as victimization and homophobia, linked to heavy episodic drinking. 3 May 2014.
7
May 2014 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140503082724.htm>

Cassada, Raychelle. Teen Binge Drinking: All Too Common. Psychology Today. 26 January
2013.7 May 2014 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201301/teen-
binge-drinking-all-too-common>

Teens and Binge Drinking. National Consumers League. 7 May 2014.
<http://www.nclnet.org/health/45-alcohol-teen-drinking/95-teens-and-binge-drinking>

Underage Drinking. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 16 January 2014. 7 May
2014 <http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm>

Underage Drinking. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 7 May 2014
<http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm>