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Drinking and Drugged Driving

Jul 10, 2017 | Summer Promise 2017

Week 5: Drinking and Drugged Driving

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

Not All Teens Drink. Actually Most Don’t.

You may know some teens who drink. You may even have tried it yourself. But the truth is three out of four teens don’t drink. That means the majority is staying alcohol free until 21! Learn the truth about teens and alcohol.

 

  • Since the ‘90s teen drinking rates have steadily dropped year after year.
  • In 2015, teen alcohol use hit a historical low, and more teens admit that they don’t really approve of their friends who do binge drinking on the weekend (drinking a lot at once).
  • In the last years, more and more teens agree that drinking, even one or two drinks, can be dangerous.
  • Teens who drink alcohol are FIVE times more likely to drop out of school.

HERE ARE THE FACTS

Health Dangers
Drinking fogs thinking and erodes judgment. When you combine alcohol with teenagers’ natural risktaking6 and desire to impress their friends, dangerous things happen. Each year, underage drinking contributes to the death of approximately 4,700 young people.

By waiting until the legal age of 21 to start drinking, your teen protects his or her health and reduces risk of the following dangers:

Physical Injuries
Teens who drink do crazy things, like jump off the roof, drag race, and climb into a car with a stranger. They may fall and hurt themselves or fight with fists, knives, or guns. Underage drinking leads to 1,600 homicides each year.

Drunk Driving
Teens are less capable than adults of knowing when they’ve had too much to drink, and rationalize that it’s okay to drive after drinking. Underage drinking kills 1,900 people in fatal car crashes each year.

Assault and Sexual Abuse
Intoxicated teens are not able to run or defend themselves and are at the mercy of muggers, rapists, and other attackers.

Sexual Promiscuity
Under the influence of alcohol, your child is more likely to have unprotected sex with multiple partners, pick up sexually transmitted diseases, or get pregnant.

Brain Damage
When consumed in large quantities, alcohol can cause lasting brain damage. 8 Kids who binge drink—boys who consume five or more drinks at a time, and girls who have four or more—are at greatest risk.

Addiction and Substance Abuse
Early drinking increases the odds that your child will get hooked on alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs. Kids who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics.

Suicide
Kids who abuse alcohol think about killing themselves and act on that impulse more.

The dangers don’t stop here. Underage drinking poses many other legal, academic, and career risks to teens, and more problems for your family and community.

You can learn more and download the full Power of Youth presentation at http://powerofyouth.com

*Retrieved from http://powerofyouth.com  The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking.  For more information go to http://powerofyouth.com/

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