teen drinking

[milkybarkid]

in light of the UN report, which said the UK's teens were drinking a lot, i ask what's the problem? in my eyes teen drinking is not a problem at all. i'm a teenager and it seems like a bit of a fuss about nothing. so teens drink, how exactly is this damaging? me and my friends go to a party on a friday night. there's lots of booze. everyone gets drunk and stays over. far safer than going to a bar methinks.
the only one getting hurt is possibly the NHS but to be honest if someone drinks too much they just end up passing out on a floor somewhere.
it's fun, and it's not exactly as if there's anything else to do.
i realise there are a few idiots running about hammered but realy there are much more important problems in the UK like obesity and prisons.being full. everyone needs to chill out.
non- partronising answers only please.

[Grunty]

http://www.stopaddiction.com/narconon_alcohol_ deaths.html#

[Lonnie]

I work on the Underground, and you'd be surprised at how many youngsters walk about with a can of beer in their hands, and their not legally old enough to buy them,
I'm not saying that they're drunk, but it shouldn't be happening.

A sad indicment of our society.

[mushroom25]

fine, we won't patronise you........

......as long as you don't moan later about how unfair it all is when your liver stops working.

[Ctrak]

Thing is, that 21 unit recommendation is pretty much the upper limit- in other words, if you go over it week after week for years on end, the liver problems arise. It's thought that about 6 million people in the UK do that, so if 10% of the UK gets some kind of liver problem about a decade down the line, the NHS is gonna get badly crippled itself.

[Dolly1308]

Just go for it milkybarkid ,You'll be one less drunken yob to worry about but don't think you'll get a liver from my family if and when you survive to need one .
There's nothing else to do ! what a load of cobblers .
I'm not suggesting anything for you to do but try to get your own grey matter working before it's too late .
Cheers !!

[libertie]

And therin lies the problem......no young person sees the bigger picture! Ask any person over the age of 35 with a drink problem how it started and I bet most of them agree that they started drinking because all their mates were doing it and they thought it was cool!! Now they are likely reaping the rewards...ill health, broken relationships, unemployment and no doubt a few will have been seriously injured in car accidents!

[anotheoldgit]

What's the problem is milkybarkid is the fact that youngsters in the UK are drinking too much.
You say ' you and your friends go to a party on Friday night, there's lots of booze, everyone gets drunk and stop over '.
What responsible parent allows this to take place in their home, or do they care? Perhaps this is the problem in this country we do not have enough responsible parents, who have the skill or the brains to bring their children up properly.

[shineybomb]

10 years a go I was doing the same thing as you milkybarkid and it did me no harm...as long as you know when you've had enough.

I used to go out and get drunk at weekends then stay at a friends or come home but I always knew what I was doing.

As long as you have the common sense to stop when you have had enough and are not a liability to someone else, especially the emergency services, then I do not see the problem.

I don't agree that most kids drink because they think its cool either - most do it because they want to enjoy being young and have a good time before they have to be adults. Nothing wrong with that!

There are much more important things to worry about.

[Supernick]

I'm not going to patronise milkybarkid. I remember 10 years ago, going to parties when I was 17 and doing exactly the same thing. I wouldn't suggest going over the 21 units every week, but every now and again is not going to do much harm. The much bigger problem is antisocial behaviour brought about through drinking, and I'm talking about kids throwing up in the street, ******* against buildings, or acting in a threatening manner. As long as they're behaving themsleves, and acting with a respect to the rest of society, I'm not against a few (older) teens getting drunk at a partyat a weekend. Just understand your limits, know when to stop, and make sure your friends know the same.
I draw the line at young teenagers 15 and below though, who on the whole are not well equipped to make the correct decisions about this sort of thing.

[BigDogsWang]

"it's not exactly as if there's anything else to do."

Of course there is. Spend an evening in A&E on a Saturday night.

[milkybarkid]

i appreciate the comments.
ctrack- no one does go over 21 units as most drink once a week.
and anotheoldgit- it's not really the lack of responsible adults- i'm sure my parents think i'm fairly responsible and don't even know i drink, we just use the house of whoevers parents aren't there or drink after parents are asleep. i wouldn't really blame them, they aren't giving us drinks or anything.
and mushroom 25- my liver isn't going to pack up from drinking once a week. it's under the recommended allowance anyway.

[newtron]

I can see where you are coming from, and I mostly agree. As Supernick stated it is the anti-social behavior associated with teen drinking that is the problem. If everyone behaved asy you state you do, there probably wouldn't be a big fuss about a teen drinking problem. So it is the "few idiots running about" that are ruining for everyone else.

libertie, I also wanted to point out that for every person over the age of 35 with a drinking problem, who began dinking as a teen, there are several people who also drank heavily as a teen but do not have a drinking problem as an adult.