Alcohol Awareness

By Eric Wei
 Alcohol is created when grain, fruits or
vegetables are exposed to sugar eating bacteria
like yeast. This changes the sugar inside the food
into alcohol. This process is called fermenting.
Alcohol effects you by immediately going into
your blood stream, and travels to your central
nervous system, which includes the brain and the
spine. Even though this product is natural, it can
cause great harm to developing brains, like to
ones in teens and children. That is why experts
advise teens and children not to drink alcohol.

What is Alcohol
 Alcohol can slow down the whole body by
blocking some of the messages that are trying to
reach the brain. This shows that alcohol is a
depressant. If some messages can’t reach the
brain, the person’s perception, emotions,
movement, vision and hearing will be altered. In
small amounts of alcohol, one could feel relaxed
and less anxious. If alcohol is abused too much,
one could stagger, as they walk, slur their speech
and they can be confused. When very large
amounts of alcohol is consumed, the body will go
into a alcohol poisoning. A person will first start to
have violent vomiting, then they can become very
tired, unconscious, and have trouble breathing. The
result can be death.

How it Affects the Body

 Teens drink because they are curios,
want to feel good, reduce their stress, fit
in to groups, and feel older. Many teens
are fooled by commercials of happy
people with alcohol and seeing their
parents drink beer or wine with a meal.
From these things, teens believe alcohol
is harmless. This is not true.

Why do Teens Drink

 Even though it is illegal to drink at the age of 18 in
Canada, many teens still have access to alcohol. Therefore,
it is up to you to say no to alcohol until you are of drinking
age. There are also many downsides of drinking.
1. The punishment for drinking is severe. It is a law and one
could get arrested for it. Those who drink are more likely
to get into fights and commit crimes that they wouldn’t
do if they didn’t drink.
2. You can look very stupid. Some teens think that drinking
is cool, but it is actually the opposite. By drinking, you
can accidently do something stupid and embarrassing,
like vomiting and peeing one yourselves.
3. Alcohol puts your health at risk. One half of all drowning
deaths of teens are because of alcohol usage. Teens are
also more likely to be involved in car crash, homicide and
suicide.

Why Shouldn’t I Drink

 It can sometimes be hard to say no to drinking
when a friend asks you. No one wants to feel left our
and rejected. There are many different strategies to
say no to alcohol. Some like to just say no without
any explanations, others prefer giving an explanation.
You can also blame other adults for not letting you
drink. If you are going to a party that will have
alcohol, plan ahead and think of what you will do if
asked to drink. If you are going with your friends, you
can think of a way to tell them it is time to leave. You
can also think of something you can do when you
leave to party. Those who have a strong self-esteem
are less likely to become drinkers, while those who
have a weak self esteem, have a larger chance.

How to Avoid Drinking

 If you think you have a drinking problem,
tell a trusted adult a soon as possible. You
can talk to doctors, school counsellors, or
and aunt or uncle. Sometimes, it will be hard
to ask a parent to help you with an alcohol
problem, but an alcohol counsellor or another
supportive person can give you evaluation
and treatment. Sometimes, a counsellor will
recommend a short stay in a treatment
center. This will help a person gradually
overcome the dependence on alcohol.

Where to Get Help

 If you have a parent that drinks too much
and can’t control their drinking without help,
they will have to be treated like any other
illness. People with drinking problems can’t
stop unless they admit they have a problem.
This will make you feel helpless. There are
many places you can turn to for help. A
supportive adult, a guidance counsellor,
relative, or an older sibling can understand
you frustration with your parents. If you have
friends that have a drinking problem, make
sure they are safe and don’t let them drive.

Concerned About Someone Else’s

Drinking
Binge drinking
By Eric Wei
 Binge drinking is used to express
someone who drinks large amounts of alcohol
over several days. (Binge eating means over
eating uncontrollably for several days.) In the
United States, binge drinking means drinking
5 or more drinks in a row for men, and 4 or
more for women. At least once every 2
weeks. Heavy binge drinking is drinking the
same as binge drinking, but doing it 3 times
in 2 weeks.

Binge Drinking
 Some people binge drink because they
are curious about it. They want to know what
it is like to drink alcohol. Others think
drinking alcohol will make them feel good.,
though the actual truth is it will do the
opposite. Alcohol is sometimes looked at as a
stress reducer and think that if you drink it,
you will have less stress. Alcohol will actually
give you more stress. Teens want to feel
older, so they will drink alcohol, for it is
something adults do in occasions.

Why People Binge Drink

 Alcohol can make you throw up and
hung-over. Excessive drinking can give
you difficulty to concentrate, memory
lapses, mood change for good or bad, and
other problems that affect your daily life.
Binge drinking has the same affects, but
they are more serious and long lasting.

Risks of Binge Drinking

 Alcohol poisoning is the most dangerous
consequence of binge drinking. This is when the
body’s involuntary reflexes is affected. These
reflexes include breathing and gagging. If a
person’s gagging reflexes are not working
properly, a person can choke to death on their
own vomit. Other signs of alcohol poisoning are:
extreme confusion, can’t be awakened, vomiting,
seizures, slow or abnormal breathing, low body
temperature and bluish or pale skin.
If you think someone has alcohol poisoning, call
911 immediately

Alcohol Poisoning
 Binge drinkers have an impaired
judgment, which means they are more likely
to take risks they normally wouldn’t have
done if they weren’t drunk. They may decide
to drive when drunk, which can lead to
dangerous consequences, like death. Walking
is also difficult for those who are drunk. In
the year 2000, about one third of all
pedestrians 16 and older where killed in
traffic accidents because they were drunk.

Impaired Judgment
 Studies show the people who binge
drink though high school have a more
likely change to be overweight, and have
a high blood pressure. Just one can of
beer contains 150 calories. So if you times
that by four or five cans of beer, it adds
up to a lot of calories.

Physical Health
 Binge drinkers are more likely to drop out
of school. This is because drinking changes
the person’s sleeping patters. This will make
it harder for the person to stay awake and
concentrate on his or her work. This can lead
to struggling with studying, and bad
academic performances. People who binge
drink will also find that their friends will drift
away. Bing drinking changes a persons
personality. This means someone can be very
angry or moody all the time.

Mental Health
 If you think you friend has a binge drinking
problem, get help as soon as possible. The best
solution it to ask an adult you trust. If you can’t ask
your parents, talk to your doctor, school counselor, or
aunt or uncle. Sometime, it can be hard to talk about
this kind of subject, so you can ask a trusted friend or
an older sibling to help you. Drinking too much can
affect your social pressures, so it helps to know that
there are other who have gone through the same
thing. If your worried about someone, don’t hesitate
to ask someone for help. A good friend or adult can
help you stop drinking and find a counselor.

Getting Help
 If you have a parent that drinks too much
and can’t control their drinking without help,
they will have to be treated like any other
illness. People with drinking problems can’t
stop unless they admit they have a problem.
This will make you feel helpless. There are
many places you can turn to for help. A
supportive adult, a guidance counsellor,
relative, or an older sibling can understand
you frustration with your parents. If you have
friends that have a drinking problem, make
sure they are safe and don’t let them drive.

Concerned About Someone Else’s

Drinking
 http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/a
lcohol/alcohol.html#

Bibliography