Barely out of childhood, young people are today experiencing more freedom, autonomy, and choices than ever, at a time when they still need special nurturing, protection and guidance. Without parents or other adults safeguarding, the young adolescents are at risk of harming themselves and others. Early adolescence is a critical turning point in one's life. This period, therefore, represents an optimal time for interventions to prevent destructive behaviour and promote healthy practices. "More than 10 million drinkers in Canada are between the ages of 12 and 20. Of these young drinkers, 20% engage in binge drinking and 6% are heavy drinkers " (www.cspinet.org/booze/alcyouth.htm p.1of 2). (1) On average, young people begin drinking at 13 years of age. The question then being: Can society be held responsible for the consequences to underage drinking? Throughout the following, you as the reader will discover the health consequences to alcohol abuse, what can happen as a result of binge drinking, the best practices for regulating underage drinking, social issues about why teens drink, search methods used by law enforcement, and lastly how youth can be easily lead to underage consu

If underage people ask for alcohol, the police quickly make the arrest. Most stores and businesses prefer this method as opposed to the sting method because it targets the buyer of alcohol and not the distributors. Party patrols are another method used by the police to prevent alcohol use and underaged impaired drivers. The police generally hear of parties through community sources and then use a cautious approach to break up the party and explain to the kids that their actions endanger the lives of themselves and others. Police do not storm parties in this type of patrol because party members can just flee in cars, increasing the risk of a DWI accident.

damaged property, been hurt or injured, engaged in unplanned sexual activity, had unprotected sex, gotten in trouble with the police and driven a car after drinking".

It has been said that teens are being lured into drinking. National Poll`s show that "alcopop" beverages (sweet, fruit-flavoured drinks) appeal more to teenagers than to adults and that teens are more likely to consume them. New beverages, including Mike`s Hard Lemonade, Rick`s Spiked Lemonade, Doc Otis` Hard Lemonade, Jed`s Hard Lemonade, Tequiza, Sublime, and Hooper`s Hooch, come in hip bright colourful youth- oriented packaging. The labels resemble non-alcoholic lemonade, fruit punch and soft drinks..all popular with teens..though labels do disclose alcohol content. More than 80% of teens say "alcopops" are easy to get if they want them. It is said that alcopops "are gateway drugs that ease young people into drinking and pave the way to more traditional alcoholic beverages" (http://www.cspinet/booze/alcpops.htm p.1 of 2). (6) By a three to one margin, teens report that they are more familiar than adults with "alcopops" and 17 and 18- year- olds are more than twice as likely as adults to have tried them. Both teens and adults believe that the new drinks are marketed primarily to people under the legal alcohol purchase age of 19 and 67% of adults think that companies make " alcopops" taste like lemonade to lure young people into trying them. According to the poll, 90% of teens agree that the newer, sweeter drinks can make it more likely that teenagers will try other alcoholic beverages. 41% of teens 14 to 18 have tried alcopop; twice as many 14-16-year-olds prefer them over beer or mixed drinks.

There are so many different things to worry about when you drink underage. Is it really worth all the risks involved? This becomes the individual's decision. This is a way to prove that you've grown up, that you are about to make the right choices. Alcohol is just one more thing. Take a stand and don't bother with alcohol. You'll be surprised what independence can do for your image. You may want to loosen up, but alcohol IS NOT a liquid solution. You could end up making a fool out of yourself and doing something you'll regret. You want to be in control. But when you wake up in a strange place and don't remember how you got there, you're definitely not in control. It's tough being our age. There's a serious amount of pressure to do the right thing. But be your own self. Don't feel pressured into drinking even though giving into pressure is easier than taking a stand. Somewhere between the brain, the heart and the mouth, a person's individuality gets lost. Maybe it's swall

Some common words found in the essay are:
Control Prevention, Drinking Barely, Hooper`s Hooch, Purchase POP, National Poll`s, binge drinking, underage drinking, alcoholic beverages, Hard Lemonade, hard lemonade, law enforcement, binge drinkers, p1of 2, alcohol minors, alcohol abuse, methods law enforcement, alcohol purchase,
Approximate Word count = 2253
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)