In The Perils of Prohibition, Elizabeth M. Whelan discusses the current state of affairs relating to alcohol and minors in this country. "Prohibiting the sale of liquor to responsible young adults creates an atmosphere where binge drinking and alcohol abuse become a problem." (Whelan 169) According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in the early months of 1998, "18 inebriated students died in alcohol-related mishaps like falling out of windows, falling into rivers, falling down flights of stairs, or simply choking on their own vomit." (Lizza 12) A 1994 study of almost 18,000 students nationwide, conducted by Harvard psychologist Henry Wechsler, found that nearly half of the nation's young students are binge-drinkers, meaning it's normal for men a

Other countries deal with the mixture of alcohol and youth in a radically different way, which seems to produce better results. Moderate drinking by teenagers and children under a parent's supervision is common practice throughout Europe. Statistics show that although over all drinking in

So what do the youth think about all of this? As a youth myself I must state that I do not see much success in the current policy as it pertains to the world around me. Alcohol is easier to get than ever as far I am concerned. Luckily I do not need to find myself creating fake Ids or gorging myself with alcohol whenever I can get it because I know that all I have to do is ask. My parents will be more than happy to acquire it for me (at my expense of course). As shocking as this may sound, my parents grew up in a different world where alcohol abuse prevention was taught in the home and not dealt with at the government level. From an early age I have known the affects of alcohol and have been taught to gauge my limits when it comes to its consumption. I am not invincible and I thank my parents for teaching me this. It certainly was the best way to learn instead of simply being introduced to alcohol behind my parents back and maybe turning into a statistic. I feel that alcohol abuse prevention starts in the home and that if this problem is going to be solved at all, it must be solved in the home.

There are those that attribute the American problem with underage alcoholism to advertising. "By the time teenagers reach the driving age, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, they will have been exposed to 75,000 ads for alcoholic beverages." ("Underage Age", 221) Even though common wisdom tends to place blame on advertising, only 8 percent of the youths responding to a recent poll conducted by The Roper Organization named advertising as the main cause of young people starting to drink. (220) By a wide margin, peer pressure and parents were seen as the most influential factors. On the other hand, another study conducted in 1990 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety based on interviews with 468 11 and 12 year-olds found that 88 percent could identify Spuds McKenzie with Budweiser, nine times the number who c

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Approximate Word count = 1503
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)