One of the more controversial talking points among young people is drinking. When is the right time to start drinking? What are young teens’ attitudes towards drinking? What influences so many young people to drink? What are the health risks of drinking at this age? And how do underage drinkers get alcohol?  

It is no secret that the majority of young people, aged 11 and upwards have consumed alcohol at some point in their life. The frequency in which they do this of course varies, with some drinking alcohol multiple times a day, some drinking alcohol around once a week, and some only drinking alcohol on special occasions. But still, one thing remains certain, almost all young people drink, and this is, for the most part, accepted by a large proportion of society. Where drugs are consistently frowned upon, drinking is accepted and sometimes even encouraged in young people. “Better to start them young” is a reason given by many parents across Britain when it comes to allowing their children to consume alcohol. And this is interesting given the known health risks which come with drinking at an early age. Young people’s typically lower body weight and limited ability to process (or ‘metabolise’) alcohol mean they can become dangerously intoxicated very quickly. This puts young people at increased risk of alcohol poisoning, which can be extremely dangerous, as alcohol poisoning seriously affects the parts of the brain that control balance and speech, as well as the nerves that control breathing and heartbeat. It can stop their gag reflex from working, putting them at serious risk of choking to death, especially if they vomit. Drinking at all ages is bad for health, although, drinking at an early age (teens) is especially bad, because it can negatively effect brain development and lead to long-term health issues such as, high blood pressure, stroke, pancreatitis, liver disease, liver cancer, mouth cancer, head and neck cancer, and breast cancer. Additionally, heavy alcohol use at an early age can cause individuals to crave that feeling of ‘escapism’, and this can in some circumstances increase the likelihood of issues regarding addiction in later life. This information is pretty much common knowledge. It is taught by schools, reverberated by parents, and even plastered on beer cans. Howver still, the rate at which young people consume alcohol remains incredibly high. The reasons for this are simple: experiences. A young person (who will remain anonymous) described drinking as ‘one of the things they look forward to the most’ and admitted that ‘some of the best memories of their life’ came whilst under the influence of alcohol. In addition, in a local survey of over 100 teens conducted by the Hautlieu Times, over 90% of them said they had a positive opinion of drinking, and the general consensus was that drinking is an activity which brings out more good than bad. The reason for this is that alcohol, despite its obvious health issues, does give people feelings of euphoria. People may experience a burst of energy and a boost in confidence. Others report feeling adventurous or even fearless. Often the positives of alcohol are ignored, and this gives an unfair reflection of alcohol as a whole. There is still a reason why around 60% of people aged 15-17 have drunk alcohol in the past month. Drinking is often seen as something which helps people form bonds and connections. Often, people claim that some of their closest friendships are ones which come as a result of drinking, and this makes alcohol an attractive commodity.

How young people get alcohol is always an adventure. Fake ID’s are as prevalent as ever, and it is estimated that around 75,000 fake ID’s are sold in the UK every year. Additionally, enhanced technology makes creating realistic ID’s easier than ever, and as a result, it is getting harder and harder to spot drinkers that are underage. Even without a fake ID, it is still hard to spot whose underage and who isn’t. This is shown excellently in a video by the YouTube channel, Jubille, which featured bartenders trying to guess who was overage or who wasn’t. They only had about a 55% success rate. As a result, often unerage drinkers are able to get served clubs and bars. Even when it is clear that a supposed drinker is underage, sometimes they will still get served. For instance, numerous teens that the Hautlieu Times interviewed stated that some corner shops would allow them to buy alcohol despite knowing they were underage.

In terms of answer the question posed in the title of this article… whilst unerage driunking is absolutely not ‘harmless’ fun, there is an argument to say that it is fun, and this makes determining the rightness or wrongness of alcohgol incredibly hard. Although alcohol at any ages (especially under 18) is actively discouraged, the memories and friendships gained as a result make it a hard to stop poeple from drinking it. The key of course is education. If teenagers (and adults) learn to drink alcohol more moderately (once a month treat or less), then the national alcohol problem will be much less severe. Young people know the negative effects of alcohol, but it is possible they don’t know just how negatively it can effect people. It is important they know.