We live in a society that drinks heavily, and this influences teens. Most Americans use alcohol to celebrate wedding anniversaries, to welcome the New Year, and to enjoy many other special events. Alcohol is a legal drug for people over the age of twenty-one. Many teens die in automobile accidents, which could have prevented if they had chosen to say no. More than one third of high school seniors see no great risk in consuming our to five drinks a day. Peer pressure on teens to drink, teens drink for the effect, and the younger a child starts to drink are what I'm going to be my topics.
             Many teens drink because of peer pressure or just to fit in. Kids may think that if they drink then they will fit in with the crowd and become more popular. Kids spend most of their spare time partying. The kid who doesn't take something to drink has a dozen friends all over him. This may be true for the first couple of times that you drink, but it begins to become a habit and soon you are not only drinking at parties but also drinking alone and that is a sign you need help.
             Teens drink for the effect. To get high, to rebel, to alter their feelings of their environment. One of the main reasons kids drink for effect is the freedom it gives them. A problem of drinking for effect is whatever age the child is when he starts depending on the effect of alcohol, that's the age they are when they have overcome there drinking problem. So you never really get that freedom after all.
             The younger a child starts drinking the greater the risk of becoming dependent. As children's nervous systems are not fully developed, the alcohol is absorbed into their bodies faster, making them more likely to get alcohol poisoning. Young people get drunk off less and stay drunk longer. It can stunt young people's emotional growth and prevents them from developing the judgement skills they need as adults.
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