COM 8 Anti Drinking Campaign - Essay Example

Facts and Statistics on Underage Drinking “Underage drinking is the use of alcohol by a person under the age of 21, the minimum legal age” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS, 2007). Underage drinking has now become a major health problem in the US and the statistics are quite alarming. According to the report of the Surgeon General, nearly 10.8 million youth, ages 12 to 20, are underage drinkers (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2007). The graph below illustrates this survey.

3 Consequences of Underage Drinking The consequences of underage drinking are very serious. In a study by the John Hopkins School of Public Health, it was approximated that about 5,000 people under age 21 die from alcohol-related injuries (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), 2010). Specifically, 1,900 or 38 percent of the 5,000 deaths are due to motor vehicle crashes; 1,600 or 32 percent result from homicides; and 300 or six percent result from suicides (CAMY, 2010). Aside from these disturbing figures, there are other serious consequences of underage drinking.

Based on the data presented by the CDCP, underage drinking results in “1) school problems, such as higher absence and poor or failing grades; 2) social problems, such as fighting and lack of participation in youth activities; 3) legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting someone while drunk; 4) physical problems, such as hangovers or illnesses; 5) unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity; 6) disruption of normal growth and sexual development; 7) physical and sexual assault; 8) higher risk for suicide and homicide; 9) alcohol-related car crashes and other unintentional injuries, such as burns, falls, and drowning; 10) memory problems; 11) abuse of other drugs; 12) changes in brain development that may have life-long effects; and 13) death from alcohol poisoning (2010).

Looking through these consequences makes one quiver over the scenarios that one can expect from an adolescent who experience underage drinking. What is even more frightening is that these dangers are far greater for those who indulge in binge drinking (CDCP, 2010). Steps to Combat Underage Drinking The school can adapt several strategies to