Train up a child…

Alcohol Kills Teens

Alcohol is terrible for teens. Research shows that teens tend to take risks because the part of the brain that tells them to be cautious has not yet fully developed. Alcohol adds to the attitude of risk-taking and enhances the tendency to make poor decisions.
None of us would add gasoline to a burning fire that we were trying to put out; yet, that is similar to what we are doing to let teens have alcohol. They are already throwing caution to the wind and alcohol makes it worse.
It is sickening to watch some of the pictures that are coming from the areas where our college students are on spring break. Many of those students are still in their teens. Their lives are being altered and terrible things are happening. I wonder if Sodom and Gomorrah were worse than what is happening in those places. Our college and university campuses are not doing enough to stop the alcohol consumption on campus. I have been told that some teens went to register at a university and a booth was set up where they could get fake identification cards to enable them to buy alcohol!
Here are some facts that we need to consider:
5000 people under 21 die each year from alcohol related car crashes.
Most teen deaths related to alcohol are not traffic related. Sixty-eight percent are from other causes such as alcohol poisoning or injuries from accidents related to alcohol consumption.
Eleven per cent of all alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by underage drinkers. Teens binge drink more than older consumers.
There are 189,000 emergency room visits by underage drinkers each year for injuries or other alcohol related problems.
Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among teens in the U.S.—more than illegal drugs or tobacco.
There is additional information on the Internet that would be helpful in counseling teens. Most of this is provided by the Center for Disease Control. Some of it is from news reports from TV channels provided on the Internet.
There is much research being done now that is close to proving that some people become more easily addicted than others. If alcohol is offered to everyone, how are we to know if one of those people is a person whose DNA is such that they will become addicted? Do we really want that on our consciences?
Those people who are trying to make money by selling alcohol to teens are doing a terrible thing. Not only are they breaking the law by selling it to a teen, but they may be contributing to the death of someone. We should quickly report any such activity to the authorities.
Broken hearts, people injured for life, deaths, and unprepared for babies are all outcomes of alcohol. Do we really want our leaders of tomorrow binge drinking today?