Insane in the Membrane

Getting together with friends and hanging out is a favorite pastime for many youth. Friday or Saturday night parties are fun too, where you can socialize with a huge group of friends and enjoy food and games along with it. However, many youth in high school turn to alcohol for the life of these raging parties. Even if there is an adult present and no one is driving, there are many dangers to underage drinking that may not be so apparent.

When someone starts drinking alcohol at a young age it can have negative effects on the developmental growth of their brain. On Faceproject.org an article was posted about what effects alcohol has on developing brains in detail.  They say that a person’s brain isn’t done developing until mid 2os, therefore it makes sense that alcohol can have lasting affects on an adolescent’s originating sexuality, emotions, and judgement.

Also, the amount that is consumed can have negative effects on any person, whether they are of legal age or not. Wikipedia is probably not the most trusted resource out there, but they do have a table that shows what the progressive effects of alcohol are on the body by relating the blood alcohol content (determined by taking a breathalyzer) to the behavior that is most commonly seen with that level and the impairments also seen. Most states have a specified level that a person can have and not be given a DUI, however, it is important to remember that it is never alright to drink and drive. In addition, the higher the level of blood alcohol content there is in a person’s body, there is a higher health risk. Most statistics that you look at will tell you that some of the highest levels are well over 1.oo (but less than 2.0) and the individual is in the hospital in serious condition. Don’t let the person in the hospital with brain damage be you.  Underage drinking poses serious risks, legally and developmentally. Be safe when it comes to alcohol and know all the risks involved.

The New Cool

This video is just the beginning. Check out this new website I found. It is called the The New Cool and  is full of information about underage drinking. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Alcohol and the ladies…

Most people assume that men drink more alcohol than women. Research shows that theory to be true for the over 21 (legal to drink) population.

An interesting and troubling fact is that the trend is reversed for young girls and boys. When 8th graders are polled about their lifestyle choices, more girls than boys admit to consuming alcohol within the last 30 days. More girls than boys also admit to engaging in “binge drinking” which is defined as consuming more than five alcoholic drinks on the same occasion.

As young teens age, the gap shrinks before the trend reverses as teens enter adulthood (age 18, still not legal age for alcohol consumption).

Why?

One explanation is the advertisements. Producers of alcoholic drinks frequently advertise in magazines that are sold to teens. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth found that girls age 12-20 (all underage girls) were exposed to 68% MORE beer advertisement than their over 21 adult women counterparts. Boys between 12 and 20 also saw 29% more beer ads than men 21 or over. Girls saw 30% more ads than 21+ women for distilled spirits while boys and men saw about the same amount. Perhaps the most troublesome finding is that girls who are not yet of legal drinking age saw NINETY-FIVE PERCENT (95%) more ads than legal aged women for low-alcohol refreshers, also called alcopops, malternatives, or chick beer.

The advertisements have increased in frequency and are flooding magazines that young girls tend to buy. In 2002, girls’ exposure to magazine-based alcohol ads increased 216% compared to the year before. Boys’ exposure increased only 46% (still very significant) in their magazines. Sixteen alcohol brands made up more than half of the ads to which girls between 12 and 20 were exposed.

While girls continue to consume more alcohol, they also continue to have the most frequent, long-lasting, and immediate consequences for giving in to the walls of alcohol advertisements.

- girls and women are more susceptible to alcohol induced health problems related to the heart, brain, and/or liver
- women and men metabolize alcohol different so women may gain more weight than men as a result of consuming the booze-based calories
- several analyses have found that female consumption of alcohol increases the chances of developing breast cancer – a trend not matched with men
- teenage girls who are identified as binge drinkers are 63% more likely to become teen mothers than girls who do not drink
- in prisons, a survey revealed that 40% of sexual offenders assaulted women while they were under the influence of alcohol
- in domestic violence calls, 67% involve an abuser who consumed alcohol

If alcohol companies claim they are not advertising to teens; not targeting underage youth to begin or continue to drink, why would they advertise in magazines primarily purchased and viewed by that exact population? Is it ethical for magazine publishers and distributors to sell ad space to booze pushers when they know the purchasers of their magazines are largely underage youth? What could be done about it? Should the magazine producers be held accountable or is it the responsibility of the alcohol producer to be careful where they advertise?

Inappropriate alcohol advertisements

Inappropriate Alcohol Ads

Can you believe it? And they say they’re not targeting youth…

- Most teens have seen more than 75,000 advertisements for alcohol by the time they reach driving age
- Trends show that advertisements, especially for beer, have a heavy impact on current drinking behavior and intension to drink (if a certain brand advertises more then teens tend to drink that beer more)
- Teenagers report more positive opinions about drinking and their own likelihood to consume alcohol after viewing television alcohol ads
- 56% of students in grades 5 – 12 say that advertisements encourage them to drink alcohol
- More than $2 billion is spent each year on media advertising (most is seen by underage observers)
- $770 million of that money was specifically spent on television beer advertisements and another $15 million on radio beer ads. That is $785 million on beer ads!!

What does this mean to you? Do you feel targeted? Advertisements often feature individuals who teens consider describe as cool, healthy, athletic, powerful, influential, etc… With all these media advertisements, it is tough for teens to say no to alcohol use and abuse. Alcohol abuse is increasingly present in schools and in youth culture. The results are scary.

10 million people ages 10 to 20 said they had consumed alcohol within a month of being surveyed. 70% of those underage drinkers described uses that put them into the “binge drinking” category – the most dangerous consumption habit, leading to acute alcohol poisoning.

Other startling facts:
- youth who start drinking before age 15 are FOUR TIMES more likely than students who resist to develop alcoholism later in life
- alcohol is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes
- alcohol is linked to more than 2/3 of sexual assault and date rape of teens and college students
- drinking is one of the primary factors in teens engaging in unprotected sex
- alcohol companies pay for product placement in more than 235 motion pictures and 181 different television series each year including many with PG and PG-13 ratings
- In the top 15 television shows for teens, 8 featured alcohol placements

As bad as that is, there are teens resisting, but it get increasingly difficult with the media smorgasbord of advertisements that are most appealing to those who cannot legally consume the product.

Do you think it is fair for companies to use ads that appeal to teens? Should companies be penalized for advertising in kid-friend movies, magazines, or tv shows? How can teens resist advertising temptations and remain safe, sober, responsible, and healthy?

Drinking Age

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                    Alcohol is addictive. It is mind altering. It is dangerous, especially when abused. At what age does it become appropriate to allow people to make the choice to use it or not?

Multiple states including Wisconsin, Florida, Vermont, Missouri, and now Oregon have considered lowing the state legal age for alcohol consumption from 21 to 18. Some experts believe the change could reduce binge drinking. Others believe it could put our youth at more risk for abuse than ever.

In Oregon, some university presidents have signed on to a federal initiative urging legislators to reduce the drinking age. The change is driven largely by alcohol abuse in the university system. Universities have tried to educate students about responsible party hosting, the psychological, physical, and emotional risks of underage drinking, and about academic, physical, and legal consequences of making poor choices regarding alcohol use and abuse. Numbers of alcohol related issues have not changed much for all that effort.

Research shows that more than 40% of college students report at least one symptom of alcohol abuse. One study indicated that more than 500,000 students at 4-year universities suffer injuries each year related to drinking. Disturbingly, about 1,700 die from such incidents. BIG PROBLEM!

An Associated Press analysis found that 157 people aged 18-23 drank themselves to death between 1999 and 2005. These numbers are thought to be caused mostly by binge drinking at parties. Social pressure and the desire to be an adult drive the trend. Do you think lowering the age, making it more okay to consume alcohol in whatever setting the user chooses would help?

The drinking age was not always set at 21. It was raised to that age more than 20 years ago to eliminate young adult alcohol abuse. To evaluate the effectiveness of the law, some claim we should just consider whether people under 21 are drinking more or less than they were 20 years ago. Clearly, teens are still drinking. Others believe the evaluation of the law should be in looking at deaths and dangers related to abuse of the substance. It is notable that alcohol related fatalities have been reduced since raising the drinking age to 21.

Some compare the current age restriction to prohibition, in that it forces drinking to be “underground” where it cannot be regulated or controlled. The supporters of the measure argue that if drinking was legal for all college students, they would not have to hide and they could feel safe calling 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Others argue that legalizing alcohol for all teens would cause more students to experiment, while some abstain with the current system.

When interviewed through a Gallup poll, 77 percent of Americans recently said that they would oppose lowering the drinking age.

Do you think lowering the drinking age would reduce dangerous binge drinking, alcohol related car crashes, alcohol abuse, or alcohol related death or would it allow more teens to experiment with the very addictive and altering drug causing more trouble?

By guest blogger: Beth W.