The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

Hawkeye/HSM Fundraisers
Get the App
BUY HAWK PHOTOS
Digital Print Edition
The Hawkeye March 2024 issue
1st Amendment Award School
FAPFA award school

Tasty alcohol attracts teens

All students in High school and middle school are obviously too young to drink, but the availability of these dangerous drugs are too inviting to stay away. How can most kids resist when companies are adding alcohol into energy drinks even though, high school kids are more likely to drink them? The new flavors of alcohol are attracting kids, such as Skittles Vodka.

The legal age for drinking is twenty-one years old, but alcohol companies are making flavored alcohol that is attracting young men and women. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, about 80 percent of high school students have at least tried alcohol. Just like everything illegal for one to consume, alcohol has its risks. According to an article reviewed by Steven Dowshen, MD, by drinking, a person may become depressed and can lead to suicide. By drinking too much alcohol in a small period of time may also cause alcohol poisoning. In experiencing alcohol poisoning, the common symptoms are throwing up, having a very low and dangerous blood pressure, experiencing extreme sleepiness and possibly becoming unconscious or even dying.

There are plenty of reasons to why teens will drink. Some may drink to get away from their life or to feel better after a long day. Some teens might want to drink because they want to be treated like an adult and they drink to feel older. There is also the peer pressure to drink. Some people want to fit in so badly they are willing to do anything. Some teens just are curios to what it tastes like and how it feels to be drunk and have a hangover. Well, even just being curios can cause somebody to become addicted to alcohol. Teens can also drink because somebody in their family is an alcoholic.

The same cite also stated that drinking is a high health risk factor. About one half of all young men drowning cases are caused by alcohol drinking. Alcohol use increases the possibility of young adults or teens of getting in to a car crash or suicide. In a study at the University of Washington, found out that teens who had five or more drinks frequently at thirteen years old, were more likely to be overweight and have a higher blood pressure than their non-drinking associates by twenty-four years old.

According to Teen Drug Abuse, the long term effects of alcohol are damaging to the organs and can shrink the brain. In a study conducted by this organization, 37 percent of 8th grade girls who drank had more attempts to commit suicide, rather than the 11 percent that didn’t drink. Drinking kills teens six and a half times more than all illegal drugs combined. In the United States, 58 billion dollars a year is how much underage drinking costs.

In American Academy of Family Physicians, it states that alcohol can make somebody gain weight, have bad breath, can cause sickness or dizziness, and make skin break out. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the average number of teens trying alcohol for the first time is 318 teens from the ages of 12 to 20 years old in the US. Teens who start drinking around the age of 15 are more likely to become alcoholics than people who start drinking at the age of 21. Because of alcohol, every year more than 1,700 college students are killed.

According to the Students Against Destructive Decisions, almost 72 percent of students have drunken alcohol before graduating high school and almost 37 percent of teens have drunken alcohol during eighth grade.

 

Story continues below advertisement
Leave a Comment
More to Discover
error: Content is protected !!

Comments (0)

All The Hawkeye Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *