Times Of Swaziland: TEEN ALCOHOL ABUSE, WAY FORWARD

TEEN ALCOHOL ABUSE, WAY FORWARD
================================================================================
By Mphatso Kampeni on 01/01/2020 23:52:00


ALCOHOLISM is a broad term and often difficult to define because people of
different genders, races, cultures and ages have a different tolerance to
alcohol.
The world of alcoholism and addiction is harsh and unforgiving if one is not
willing to leave it behind. Some people say addiction is all in the head, and my
research verifies this. The effects on the brain from forming a learned habit
are rewarded in much the same way such as eating or drinking.
The reward system practically gets destroyed by the alcohol or substances being
used by the influx of neurotransmitters released. With the receptors becoming
desensitised, the subject will need to increase the intake of the substance to
achieve their high. The repercussions of the abuse become apparent after time
when the violence and compulsiveness take over. The physical tolls, including
depression and illness, can be debilitating at times. The only way to decrease
alcohol abuse and addiction by the youth is to educate the public. The best
prevention is avoidance.
Addiction
The consequences of addiction and abuse of alcohol are evident in a person’s
social life. The destructive behaviour of addiction affects everything from work
to their personal life, even from the beginning of the abuse.
From pastures to unsupervised blow-outs at home, the social calendars of most
teens are full of alcohol. Other drugs rise and fall in popularity from
generation to generation but alcohol never really goes out of style. From being
worshiped by ancient Babylonians to being forbidden to teenagers, alcohol has
caused many problems. Today drinking is the drug of choice for teens and causes
most havoc and deaths. To understand alcohol people must first know its history,
the effects of teen drinking and the solutions to teen drinking.
Many times teenagers go to big blow-outs or little get-togethers with their
friends. Their first thought is not about death, their grades in school, or
alcoholism; their main purpose is to get drunk fast and sober up before going
home by their set curfews.
Problem
Teen alcoholism is a problem that has been plaguing families and society at
large. The legal age for alcohol consumption is always set by authorities, but
this law is commonly broken. The fact that it is not strictly enforced has
caused an outbreak of alcohol consumption between minors all over, and because
of this, we have been accepting teenage drinking more than ever. The problem
lies in the lack of law enforcement, the acceptance by parents and guardians,
and the overall attitude of teenagers themselves. Although there are many ways
to treat alcoholism, we find few solutions to be effective.
The most popular problem that occurs with teenage drinking is academic, others
include things such as trauma, date rape, recklessness, vandalism and unwanted
pregnancies in girls. These affect their future career plans as well as any
progress in society as alcoholism is the most common drug abuse. This abuse
occurs in several different ways; loss of control over drinking, getting drunk
daily, or drinking every weekend. It is usually marked by withdrawal symptoms
and by increasing tolerance for alcohol. It is a chronic, progressive, relapsing
brain disease of our times.
In recent times, just by watching advertisements on television or other social
media platforms, it leads teenagers to alcohol abuse, health issues or even
death. With this, alcohol distributors poison the mind of the young and make
them believe that drinking can really bring all the pleasures portrayed in
advertisements, like beach parties, celebrations, and fun at sporting events.
Many young people enjoy being able to have the feeling they receive when they
drink any form of alcohol.
Alcohol advertising influences not only adults but also teens and children who
are too young to purchase it. Parents have a large impact on children’s
decisions to drink, but marketing has a greater impact on teenagers decisions of
underage drinking. Not only is the consumption bad for teenagers, but it is also
unhealthy for adults. Alcohol advertisements are advertising a person to kill
themselves because the consumption of alcohol will not have a happy ending.
Companies spend so much money advertising their alcoholic products through
platforms that almost every person is able to watch. The companies see the money
in youth and continue to advertise it to gain more control on the youth, this is
always seen as targeting the youth to drink alcohol.
Default
This is the reason why families have been the ‘default’ mode of human
organisation throughout history to help nurture moral values in children to
avoid destructive behaviours. The reason for this is both simple and
self-evident. It is because life begins in the family. When we are born into
this world, what constitutes our world is the family, in infancy, childhood and
into adulthood. It is not too much to say the people we become is largely due to
the relationships we experience in our family. Who each of us is, where we come
from, starts in the family.
Moreover, life continues because families do. We would do best to remember the
inimitable role that the family plays in the health of individuals, the strength
of our communities and happiness of society. Wishing you, our readers, a
productive 2020.