In the society that we live in today alcohol abuse in teenagers is on a rapid incline, it is a growing concern for not only parents but also the respected governments within our society. As we see on through the media alcohol abuse on teenagers has been widely reported and concerns have been raised but yet little has been done to put a stop towards underage drinking and the consequences don’t seem to stop young people involving themselves with the drug. The impact and consequences alcohol has on teenagers can range from physical, psychological and mental effects on the body and the brain. The impact alcohol consumption among young teenagers also causes coordination issues, depression, which can result in devastating outcomes. The long-term effects alcohol has on teenagers can lead to permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver, this can then form into cancer. Excessive alcohol consumption on teenagers can also cause a lack of ability to pay attention to their studies; this sees teenagers falling asleep in class, and a lack of concentration. Alcohol abuse on teenagers is a major problem and the impacts and outcomes of alcohol abuse can be life threatening, if not tragic on young men and women.

Teenagers face physical, physiological and mental effects on the body from excessive alcohol consumption, this also hinders on the human brain. Each year, almost 2000 people under the age of twenty-one years died in car crashes in which underage drinking was a major factor. Teenagers from the age of seventeen to 21 years of age seem to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, and at times this causes alcohol poisoning, which can result in death, this not only causes panic amongst communities but is terrible for the victims family. The mental effects alcohol abuse has on teenagers is very concerning, even more so if the abuser is in high school or even university as these people have many years of their life to live, and yet due to alcohol these years can be quickly taken from them. There is a saying that you can “drown your sorrows” by drinking alcohol comes from the fact that many people drink to make their feeling go away. Teenagers are unaware that drinking alcohol may provide a temporary escape, but the truth is that prolonged drinking can bring on feeling of depression. Alcohol abuse also causes anxiety; alcohol is a depressant that decreases activity within the brain’s nervous system. When the physical stresses of alcohol abuse are also taking a toll, the feelings of anxiety can be aggravated which then causes restlessness, nightmares and general feelings of anxiety. The psychological, mental, and physical effects that are caused on teenagers are just some of the consequences that result from excessive alcohol consumption.

Teenagers today who participate in the consuming large quantities of alcohol are risking deadly long term effects that lead to permanent damage to the vital organs such as the brain and liver. This damage can be cancer or failure of the vital organs, and in some cases an organ transplant fails to heal as the alcohol in the blood is to high and this leads to the damage of the new transplanted organ. Not only does the drug cause damage to the vital parts of our body it also impacts on relationships, peoples finances which in this case young people need the most. Each year around 100,000 people are hospitalised in Australia on its own from excessive alcohol consumption. It is interesting to know that data from the 2007 national drug survey showed that females in the age groups of 14-19 years were more likely then their male counterparts to consume alcohol at risk or high- risk levels for long term harm, which is interesting as I know a lot of people would think young males are more prominent to consume larger amounts of the drug. As we can see that young alcohol consumers are at risk of not only damaging vital parts of their body but also causing damage to their outside life such as