Alcohol Abuse Imperils Youths
DID you know that about fourteen of every one hundred male high school seniors in the United States get drunk once a week? Approximately 23 percent of all high school students drink to intoxication at least four times a year. This is what is indicated by the Second Special Report on “Alcohol and Health,” recently submitted to Congress by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The Institute’s director, Dr. Morris E. Chafetz, has reported that young persons are turning to alcohol with “near universal use” and a “high rate of misuse and abuse.” According to Don Phelps, the Institute’s director of prevention, 50 percent of the 18- to 21-year-olds surveyed admitted using alcohol in connection with automobiles. And he stated, “More and more are turning on to drugs and alcohol at the same time. . . . Then they overdose on two types of drugs instead of one.”
Alcohol abuse has been called the ‘Number one drug problem’ in the United States. It also imperils youths in other lands. France long has had a serious problem of alcoholism among children.
When youngsters who have been drinking alcoholic beverages get in the driver’s seat, dangers increase measurably. For instance, a sociologist found that in London, Ontario, Canada, auto crashes involving eighteen- and nineteen-year-old males who had been using alcohol more than tripled after the legal drinking age was lowered to eighteen in 1971.
Many of England’s teen-agers are making the switch from narcotics to alcohol. Why? Because they cannot pay the extremely high prices that drug pushers demand. Marcus Grant, director of London’s Alcohol Education Centre, says: “By the time they are 18 and are legally able to enter a British pub, many are on their way to becoming full-fledged alcoholics.”
Do not think, however, that alcohol abuse among young persons imperils only teen-agers. Far from it! Severe alcoholism has been found in children nine to twelve years old. Take the example of one girl now nineteen years of age. She began drinking at eleven. “I drank on the way to school and kept it [liquor] in a baby bottle so I could sip it all day long,” she admits. In the United States there are an estimated 450,000 teen-age and child alcoholics.
In a school cafeteria, students may add a dash of Scotch or gin to their milk. Some youngsters skip school sessions to drink stolen alcoholic beverages, or those that older persons buy for them. Other students drink during recess, at sports events and during afterschool parties. Concerning a party held by a group of college students at the end of the semester, one adviser declared: “I never saw anything like this year. They were drinking like there was no tomorrow.”
What Difference Does It Make?
Some young persons may feel that it makes no difference that they drink alcoholic beverages. In fact, many parents do not seem to mind. According to Don Samuels, a drug-education coordinator: “Often when we report to a parent that his kid isn’t acting the way he should and smells of liquor the reaction is: ‘Thank God! I thought he was on drugs.’” Yet Dr. Morris E. Chafetz has called alcohol “the most devastating drug—the one most widely misused of all.” Is it really that bad?
“Even slight amounts of alcohol in the bloodstream tend to affect the nervous system as a depressant, and concentrations of 0.4 per cent (four-tenths of one per cent) and up will cause coma and death,” wrote Michael P. Acker, M.A. (in The Wets and The Drys, Drinking—What Are The Risks?). Among other things, he stated:
“In moderate amounts and in low concentrations, alcohol increases the desire for food, stimulates the flow of digestive juices, and promotes digestion. Large amounts of alcohol in high concentrations may lead to digestive disturbances. If intoxication is reached, digestion may be stopped and vomiting may occur. . . .
“Small amounts of alcohol in the blood also mildly affect vision, judgment, deliberation, and muscle control. Large amounts seriously impair and even block these sensory and mental faculties. When judgment and discrimination are impaired, the drinking individual may act with a kind of freedom, which gives the impression that he is stimulated. Actually the higher centers of the brain are depressed rather than stimulated. The alcoholic ‘high’ results from the elated feeling caused by reduced inhibitions and impaired judgment.”
Interestingly, the Bible says: “Wine is a ridiculer, intoxicating liquor is boisterous, and everyone going astray by it is not wise.” (Prov. 20:1) This does not mean that it is a “ridiculer” in itself, but partaken of to intoxication, wine has effects that are not beneficial. It twists the brain functions of the intemperate drinker, making him appear ridiculous.
Sensible youths do not view alcohol abuse lightly, shrug their shoulders and remark, “What difference does it make?” The physical and mental perils linked with overindulgence are common knowledge.
Even those who drink to excess may realize that the situation can become perilous. A youth in Los Angeles, California, admitted: “I started boozing when I was 9. . . . I quit when I was 15. Why? I was dying.” He continues:
“I’d been drunk most of the time for years. The last eight months before I sought help I stayed in my darkened room except to get alcohol. I didn’t eat for weeks toward the end; just stared at the TV and drank until I passed out. My mother brought me food. I let it lie on the floor. I could hear cockroaches scrambling for it. I was weak.
“Then one day I knew I had a choice: Try to stop drinking, go insane, or die.”
Coping with the Causes
Why do so many young persons find themselves imperiled by alcohol abuse? There are many reasons. Note some major contributing factors and what might be done about them.
In many places drinking alcoholic beverages has become fashionable. Youths see adults drinking at home, in restaurants and elsewhere. Perhaps you are a parent with very young children. It may be time to think seriously about the use of alcohol in your home. Your children are likely to follow your example. Is it a good one? In some places, of course, the law bars even parents from giving alcoholic beverages to their minor children.
Are you a young person? Well, possibly other youngsters will tease or ridicule you if you do not join them in drinking alcoholic beverages. They may say that you are not mature, a strong person, if you cannot hold plenty of beer, wine or liquor. But think about that. Which course really is easier? To drink with the crowd, or to say No ? Who is stronger? The young person whose courage crumbles, or the one having enough good sense to refuse? The answer is obviously, is it not?
The fact is that abusers of alcohol are not displaying maturity. “The alcoholic is retreating from the adult world into infancy, physically and psychologically,” according to Dr. Giorgio Lolli, who added: “His mental perceptions and bodily sensations become indistinguishable. Like the infant, he becomes helpless and requires a baby’s care.”
Why do fellow youths want to get you drunk anyway? They may hope to make sport of you when you say foolish things, stumble and fall or lose control of yourself otherwise. Then they may laugh and treat you cruelly. Is that what you want?
If you overindulged, you might become so ill that you would vomit. Do you think the other youngsters would help you? Or would they abandon you because of your condition? Not a pleasant thought, is it? Well, is this what you desire?
Suppose you are a young girl and other youths get you drunk. Upon recovering, likely you will feel disgraced. But what if their motives were grossly immoral? With inhibitions removed, perhaps even in helplessness, you might engage in improper sexual conduct that could ruin your life. Do you want that to happen?
It is wise to consider the possible consequences. As a parent, why not find out whether your children are experiencing alcohol-related pressures or problems? Kindly speak to them about such matters. If a change is necessary in their associations, require that some adjustments be made. And, youngsters, talk frankly with your parents or guardians about these things. Act to escape the perils of alcohol abuse.