Teen Alchol Consumption Staggering

The holidays are upon us, and that means along with the department store commercials ads comes a barrage of promotion for alcoholic beverages, enticing our children to want to try the various products. Unfortunately for the future of our country, it's working. Reports from the "Monitoring the Future" study, self-reported youth alcohol consumption has increased since 1993. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse in the year 2000, "66% of youth that drink alcohol regularly report past month usage of one or more illicit drugs."
Additionally, alcohol kills more people in America than all illegal drugs being consumed combined.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reported earlier this year that nearly a third of high school students say they binge drink at least once a month. A concentrated effort in Weschester County, NY led by a youth council focused on the fact that the upscale suburban area has an unfortunately high rate of underage alcohol consumption. This clearly shows that substance abuse is not age, gender or socio-economic biased.
L. Ron Hubbard, an American author who spent nearly 30 years researching drugs and their effects on society, discovered that all drugs act very similarly in that a little bit acts as a stimulant, such as a few drinks. Then more of the same drug acts as a sedative, as in somebody passing out from drinking a lot. Enough of the same drug, fast enough, will kill a person. Take for example the recent rash of deaths among college students from alcohol poisoning (caused when large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time).
It seems to be a far-too-common consensus by Americans that alcohol isn't as bad as other drugs. The fact that alcohol is legal helps mould this attitude surely, but add to alcohol's legitimacy the billions of dollars spent annually on seductive advertisements that glamorize drinking and it's no wonder that over 1/2 of America's adult population ends up consuming alcoholic beverages on a regular basis (56.8% to be exact, per the National Institute of Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse).
Alcohol advertisements bombarding Americans daily is one of the main catalysts that is driving increasing numbers of youth to drink. Alcoholic beverage commercials, especially for beer, are very good at positioning their product next to something that is normally desired or admired. For example, an advertisement trying to sell alcohol to guys might put very attractive women in the commercial with the alcoholic beverage, and vice versa. There are often "good times", parties or friends involved as well. Another example of advertising to kids would be having their favorite athlete promote beer in a commercial. People begin to automatically associate one with the other and the alcohol just seems to be a part of everyday life then to some people, and seems to be a part of "the good life" to others. Sometimes alcohol commercials will remind us at the end to drink responsibly or to have a designated driver, presenting themselves as being genuinely concerned for our well-being. Perhaps the alcoholic beverage companies should promote the negative effects of alcohol consumption much the same way pharmaceutical companies are required to explain the side effects of prescription drugs that are advertised on television.
Substance abuse is America's #1 social problem and is the root cause for many others.
Our nation's children aren't immune to the solicitations. Take the time to learn more about the negative effects of alcohol and how our youth are being deceived to think that drinking in excess is okay. Let's teach our kids that just because something is socially acceptable, it doesn't mean it's good for them.

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