Teens, Young People, and Alcohol
Why do some people think that drinking large amounts of alcohol is a rite of passage for teens and young adults? This idea can be deadly.
Some people think they need to celebrate their twenty-first birthdays by drinking twenty-one shots of alcohol. An average shot glass holds 1.25 to 1.5 ounces of liquid. That’s 26.25 to 31.5 ounces of liquor, just from single shots. If people drink from double shot glasses, that can be 2.5 ounces per shot. If you multiply that by twenty-one, you have a 52.5 ounces of liquor.
There are also other risk factors involved in such situations. What if the people drinking these shots are
- Drinking other forms of alcohol?
- Using drugs while drinking?
- Drinking on empty stomachs (which could cause their bodies to absorb alcohol more quickly)?
- Unaccustomed to drinking alcohol?
These conditions could make things even more dangerous for the drinkers.
We should consider changing the culture of drinking. High schools frequently display the wrecked cars from alcohol-fueled car accidents. Do colleges? Should colleges have stricter regulations about alcohol on campus, or if they do, should they be more vigilant about enforcing these rules? Should bars have stricter requirements about serving people who are already clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs?
Maybe we should be more vigilant as a society about alcohol abuse. There are public service announcements (PSAs) that show pictures of the lungs of people who smoke tobacco products and PSAs that feature people facing serious medical problems because of tobacco. Are there similar PSAs that show how alcohol damages the liver, brain, and other organs? Are there PSAs that feature frank talk by alcohol abusers. If there are, why aren’t these PSAs more prominent?
These graphic pictures and testimonials could show teens and young people that drinking large amounts of alcohol is not cute, funny, or a rite of passage. It can be a serious disease.
