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Drinking

In: Social Issues

Submitted By sweetemmy05
Words 1137
Pages 5
Running head: Drinking

Underage Drinking and Peer Pressure
Melissa Walters
January 31, 2012

Why has underage drinking becoming such a serious issue in America? In middle school kids do not think about things like going to a party, drinking, and using drugs. So, why is it when teens get to high school teens feel obligated to do such things? Some peers put pressure on others to fit in and do things people do not usually think they would ever do. Underage drinking has become a serious issue across America. Since then people have been trying to lower the age of drinking thinking it will help, but lowering the age is just going to cause the drinking and driving percent to go up because teens are not mature enough to responsibly drink and still be in control. That shows that our society is not doing everything they can to stop teens from drinking. Teens believe that drinking is something to just make them look, or seem older and more mature. They do not realize the serious consequences and the health risks they are putting on their selves. Teenage drinking is often a gateway into other often dangerous life choices; however, to fully understand the problems associated with T.A.D, one must look at why teenagers start drinking in the first place. T.A.D is a problem often over looked in our society. Alcohol abuse not only causes teens to misjudge things, but can also cause suicidal thoughts and causes them to choose risky sexual behaviors. (Staff, 2011) “A study showed that teens that reported that their friends were sexually active were 31 times more likely to start/continue drinking.” People see it every day, some ones friend starts to like a new brand of shoes, and the other person then starts to like them to. “More than 10 million youths, ages 12 to 20, in this country report they have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.” (Century Council, 2012) Growing up

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