By Nicole Pezo 1st period Alcohol Abuse

Background on drinking It takes about 5 drinks for a teen under 18 to get drunk the causes that may have are very harmful The primary concern about drinking is with under age people like under 18 because they don’t know how to drink responsibly yet Many parents or other adults have a lot of fault as well for drinking infront of these teens because they going to want to do the same

Statistics on teen alcohol abuse More than a third of high school student have tried alcohol before A little over half have been drunk at least once 16% do binge drinking which means they take a large amount at once

Why teens engage in drinking Having an alcohol abuse family history They like the feeling it gives them Peer pressure Depression Parties Loneliness Curiosity

Ways of knowing teens are getting drunk Changes in attitude Depression Issues at school New secret friends Lack of interest in anything except chillin with friends Smell of alcohol Money or alcohol goes missing Sleepy

Ways of knowing CONTINUED.. Withdrawing from others Skipping school Drop in grades Behavior problems HANGOVERS Blackouts Changes in apperance Being in denial

Teen alcohol can cause.. Decreases teens ability to pay attention and remembering things In risk of becoming depressed or committing suicide Unwanted sex and from that they put themselves in risk of catching something or getting pregnant Lead to other drugs Cause a fatal car accident!

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Teen alcohol abuse also causes problems on a baby Potential problems are -Small body size and weight -Deformed body -Failure of eyes to move in the same direction -Organ deformities -Heart defects -Small brain

Consequences of underage drinking School problems (low grades) Social Problems (fighting) Legal problems (getting arrested) Physical problems (illnesses) Memory problems (blackouts) Abuse of other drugs (weed) Risk of suicide Death

How to prevent alcohol abuse School programs such as alcohol prevention Providing sports or other extracurricular activities outside of school Develop a strong relationship with your family and be open about your problem

How school can help Prohibits the possession of alcohol in anything that has to do with school Have a drug and alcohol aware program to educate teens on the risk factors Let parents know so they can take action as well Get them in school activities such as sport or school clubs ect.

How parents can help Talk to your child about how alcohol leads to bad things Let them know about family’s history if their were any alcohol abusers Take them to the doctor and make sure they know the health risks Don’t host a party with alcohol or drugs Show them how to drink responsibly

Citations http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-alcohol-use/teen-alcoholism.html http://www.alcoholcostcalculator.org/kids/teens/print-teens.php Www.teenzeen.org/teen-alcohol-signs.html http://teenshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/alcohol.html http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_teens/article.html