In 2024, 13.2 million people from ages 12-20 were surveyed, and 34% said that they have had alcohol in their lifetime. Out of all 16-17-year-olds asked, 32% said they consume alcohol regularly according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the article “Underage Drinking in the United States” published in 2024. Alcohol is the most used and abused drug by teenagers. Underage drinking is an issue in the United States that is ruining and even ending many teenager's lives and that is something that should not be normalized. We need to be more aware of the causes, effects, and dangers of teen drinking, and how we can control it. 

Many teens are influenced by parents who consume alcohol or even experience friends and peers pressuring them to drink. Peer pressure is one of the leading reasons teens feel the need to drink. Teens are pressured to drink and with their desire to “fit in” they do just that. Peer pressure isn't always someone encouraging another to do something that they wouldn't do otherwise, rather it can also be seeing that “everyone else is doing it”. Around 75% of teens have been possessed to consume alcohol due to peer pressure, according to the article “Tackling Peer Pressure”, The Hoofbeat, November 4th, 2022. Teens are most susceptible to peer pressure as their brains are not fully developed yet. This is the exact reason why teen drinking is so dangerous.

Underage drinking is dangerous for many reasons; drinking as a teen has many physical and mental drawbacks. A teen's brain is not fully developed making the side effects much worse than an adult with a fully developed brain. If a teen drinks regularly they will experience disruptions in their growth and development, causing many complications in the future. Teens who drink alcohol are at a higher risk of depression, mental health issues, and having violent episodes, says the site Talk it Out, “Mental and Emotional Consequences of Alcohol on Teens”, 2024, a site for parents and teens to talk about underage drinking. Alcohol is a depressant; teens don't tend to feel the negative side effects right away, making it very common for teens to binge drink. The negative effects of alcohol last way longer in a teen's brain than they do in an adult with a fully developed brain. “Kids who start drinking before 15 have a 40% chance their brains will be wired for alcoholism,” says the article “How Alcohol Changes the Teenage Brain” from the site Talk it Out. Not only does alcohol affect a teen's brain but it affects a teen's body too.

Alcohol can affect the body in many ways. While a teenager is drunk they lose most of their judgment, causing danger to them and others around them. More than 5% of high school students in the U.S. reported driving while drunk the previous month according to a national youth survey. Nearly 17% said that they had ridden with a teen driver who had been intoxicated that same month. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Drinking and Driving, published in 2023, 29% of 15-20-year-olds who were killed in car accidents had been drinking. Getting into the habit of drinking young will only cause problems later down the road. Some common health risks of long-term drinking consist of: high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, and even cancer. Alcohol weakens the immune system making the body much more susceptible to illness. Many teens in the U.S. live with the consequences of drinking and the toll it takes on their mental health and bodies every day. 

I believe there are many ways not to get sucked into the cruel concept that alcohol is ok to abuse when underage. Suppose a teenager's friends are pressuring them to drink, despite the ramifications. In that case, it's time to evaluate whether or not those are people they should be spending time with, suggests the National Institute of Health, Kelli Komro, Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking, 2023. Don't be the reason someone else feels pressured to drink. Parents can also teach their children how to set a safe and healthy relationship with alcohol by controlling their consumption around them. The roles of others in a teen's life can play a big part in the things they will do, if they can convince a teenager to do it then they can convince them not to do it. 

Being a teenager in high school can be hard. There are many pressures from peers to do “cool” things. These “cool” things don't seem so cool now, do they? There are too many dangers to underage drinking to keep ignoring the issue. Underage drinking is an issue in America. Too many teens don't know what they are doing and aren't educated on the dangers of underage drinking, putting their well-being and health at risk. Some have to live with those consequences for the rest of their lives. Don't be the next to be pressured into something that might ruin your life. Poisoning your body at a young age isn't worth it, it's okay to say no.