The Effects of the Media on Underage Alcohol Abuse
It is a major aspect of our culture and many others, being used in religious ceremonies, for
celebration, and during common socialization, its presence is seen everywhere. "It" is alcohol.
Alcohol is the broad term that society gives to such drinks as wine, beer, and hard liquor because it
contains ethyl alcohol. Despite the fact that in the past century alone, alcohol has been denounced,
accepted, and outlawed, we still see alcohol everywhere in magazines, television, billboards, and
The effects of alcohol are numerous and reach a widespread of people in the following ways:
drunk driving accidents, fetal alcohol syndrome, liver disease, and increased risk of sexually
transmitted diseases. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, also called the
NIAAA, state in their article called "Alcohol Alert" that, "Alcohol contributes to 100,000 deaths
annually, making it the third leading cause of preventable casualty" (2). In addition, Gary Hopkins,
MD, director of The Center for Adolescent Behavior Research at Andrews University, found that
41% of all traffic fatalities, the leading cause of accidental death, are alcohol-related (n.p.). Alcohol
is a significant problem in today's society, it isn't limited to any particular age group, but one age
group of great concern is those that are under twenty-one years.
The Century Council is a group started in 1991 to fight underage drinking and alcohol abuse.
According to "Fighting Alcohol Abuse," the Century Council's website, "most young people do not
drink illegally, the number who do is high enough to make underage drinking a serious safety and
health concern"(n.p.). The Century Council continues with sixth graders in saying, "one in fourteen
sixth graders drink monthly"(n.p.). They go on to talk about eighth g...