Abusing Alcohol

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem among many young people and it may result in several serious problems. There are a great many young people these days not being reasonable about using alcohol. Alcohol has many negative side effects on people, such as poor health, drinking and driving, alcoholism, and even getting involved in other serious drugs. Young people do not think enough about the consequences of using alcohol. This paper discusses just a few consequences that alcohol can cause or do to a person.

For one there are several health risks involved in using alcohol. People can develop low blood pressure, which in turn can cause serious heart problems. Low blood pressure causes the heart to work a lot slower than it should and this can contribute to dizziness and other heart problems. There are also many problems that people can develop in their liver due to a massive amount of alcohol consumption. In peoples bodies the liver is a tool in which everything liquid passes through. The liver is basically a filter that filters everything before it is sent to the rest of the body as nutrients. Too much alcohol going through the liver over time can break the liver down and cause liver disease. Another health problem is obesity. Today in America obesity is one of the number one problems that people face. Alcohol can cause obesity due to the high calorie amounts in alcohol. One beer has over 100 calories in it, and most people do not stop at one beer so the calories can add up very quickly.

Another major issue among young people today is drinking and driving. Young people feel that they are invincible after consuming alcohol and jump into a car and feel they are fine to drive. Today there are thousands of drinking and driving related deaths every year. The sad part about this is that most of the time the victim is the one that was not drinking. According to Combat Edge, "Last year alone, 15,936 traffic fatalities were attributed to impaired driving. Remark ably these numbers represent a 38.4 percent decrease from previous years. While these results are encouraging, the fact remains that too many lives are lost each year to a tragedy that can be avoided. That's why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated the "You Drink & Drive, You Lose" campaign, with the goal of reducing the current fatality rate to no more than 11,000 per year by the year 2005. Through this effort, NHTSA hopes to educate the public about the dangers associated with impaired driving, creating not only a change in attitude, but a change in behavior". (Combat Edge) People should heed all of theses regulations and laws; it will only make people a lot safer.

There are also many problems with young drinkers involving making bad descions. When drinking alcohol, it affects the way a rational person thinks. This causes more risk taking and also doing things that people might not normally do. Alcohol can lead young people to get involved in sexual activities. This in turn can cause teen pregnancy and also the spread of several sexual transmitted diseases. People also tend to get into more violent acts, such as fighting after alcohol consumption. Alcohol causes a person to have a lot shorter fuse than if they were sober.

Some other problems that young drinkers face is binge drinking. This is where someone cannot just have one drink and call it good. This is the person that has to just keep drinking and drinking until they pass out. In some cases, there are certain people that do not pass out or throw up and these people are the people that can die from alcohol poisoning. Alcohol