Alcohol prevention programs is a necessity!

Researcher have found every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries. I honestly think it's due from the lack of knowledge and education young adolescence and teenagers have on alcohol. As a young college student, that has graduated high school not too long ago, I personally experienced the improper way to consume alcohol. In high school when it was time to talk about the awareness of alcohol, it was never too depth.  Yeah, they told us to be aware of drinking and driving but never really talked to us about what if we drank or how to properly consume it, other then binged drinking. But it's not their fault; because I know they have other subjects we have to cover. With that being said, that’s why I think it's important to have alcohol prevention programs in every school. I say every school because; alcohol is still the main drug of choice for the average high school student. An alcohol prevention program, such as Mother’s Against Destructive Decisions (MADD), is a good example of a effective prevention program. MADD goes to different schools educating high school students why it’s important to be educated on the use of alcohol. It’s hard to see the harm in the use of alcohol when the media glamorizes it. Most alcohol advertisements or commercials tend to have a positive and joyful out look, which in many cases catches young adolescence attention. Companies that advertise their alcohol beverage try to attract a younger crowd, knowing they’ll be the ones to most likely purchase their product. With that being said, making their commercials and ads to attract a younger crowd has made underage drinking an epidemic throughout the United States. Between the Ads and the commercial seen on television, the view of drinking alcohol tends to be a positive and glamorizing activity to do. Beer commercials that advertising their product often make their alcoholic beverage seem more beneficial rather than showing what the affects are after consuming the alcoholic beverage. That’s why alcohol prevention programs are important resources for young adolescence to get educated on the affect of alcohol and the harm it can cause, that’s not seen through the media.

I do have to say, although fear is a good method to get teenagers aware of the harm alcohol can cause, it’s not the only method. I have read articles that don’t use the method of fear to promote the non-drinking and driving policy, which still caught my attention.. Instead it relies on factual information from incidents that has happened around the United States. For example, the article tells it reader that “an estimated 32% of fatal car crashes involve as intoxicated driver or pedestrian.” Seeing numerical facts can be more of an eye opener to the public than just people advocating against drinking and driving. Not only does the articles tell you the consequences of drinking and driving but also tells how the alcohol affects the drivers judgment and perception. For example, “as the person reaches .02 they begin to experience some loss of judgment, relaxation and altered mood which results in a decline in visual functions.” Being educated on the subject can help readers be more aware and less likely to commit these actions.

Here's an alcohol ad that turns into anti drinking:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QalnisJfHEw