Teenage Drinking the Dangers of Teenage Drinking:

Teenage Drinking

The Dangers of Teenage Drinking:

The Possibility of Losing Life in Less than One Minute

There is no greater danger today than the juxtaposition of human force against machine. When this duality comes into play, there is no escape, and its clash can only lead to a violent end. One could envisage such a metaphor for any kind of accident, but especially for the automotive kind. Indeed, of any accident, car accidents are perhaps the most dangerous, with 39 million deaths a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of these accidents a good number are due to drinking, and especially to teenage drinking, of which one hears stories in newspapers almost daily. The following paragraphs will thus shed light on teenage drinking and why it is so incredibly dangerous, not only when it comes to cars and driving, but also when drinking socially, and drinking too much. [1: "Motor Vehicle Accidents: Number and Deaths." U.S. Census Bureau. Table 1102. Web. 12 June 2011. . ]

As aforementioned, teenage drinking is not only a main cause of death when it comes to driving, but it is also quite dangerous when done in social circumstances, especially when done to excess during teen years, when it is also illegal. First, illegal drinking should not be condoned. This is against the law, and, as teens are not allowed to drink until the age of 21, anyone serving teens should be subject to the highest punishment by law.

However, teenage drinking is dangerous due to two main causes: drinking to excess and engaging in risky behavior. According to the Federal Trade Commission that these two are, indeed, the two main causes leading to the possibility of losing life in less than one minute, as the subtitle of this speech states. According to this same source, drinking to excess involves the fact that "more than 8% of eighth graders, 16% of sophomores, and 24% of seniors report recent binge drinking (5+ drinks on the same occasion)." This is quite a startling statistic. [2: "Dangers of Teenage Drinking." Federal Trade Commission. Web. 12 June 2011. . ]

To expand on this phenomenon further, which is taking our teenage society as if it were a hungry, insatiable, unstoppable monster, one must recognize that teen drinking leads to very dangerous behavior, such as driving while intoxicated, committing suicide, and engaging in unsafe sexual behavior. According to the Federal Trade Commission,

car crashes are a leading cause of death in early teenage years, around ages 15 to 20 and around 1,900 teenagers and young men and women under 21 die every years from car accidents stemming from driving whilst intoxicated. [3: Federal Trade Commission Source. ]

Suicide, another risky behavior, also stems from drinking as a teenager, when many changes are going through individuals both physically and psychologically or emotionally. States like depressing and stress, when combined with alcohol can lead to a lethal potion that may contribute to the acceleration of a suicidal decision.