Alcohol
Also Known As: booze, hooch.
What You Should Know
Some people think alcohol isn't a drug and that must make it ok. Everyone drinks, right? Booze is the staple of bush parties. But alcohol is a powerful, mood-altering drug. People who start drinking as young teens are 4 times more likely to become alcoholics.
What's the Problem?
- Alcohol-related traffic crashes are a major cause of death among youth. Alcohol is a heavy factor in deaths by drowning, suicide and homicide among youth.
- If you use alcohol, you are more likely to become sexually active at an earlier age and have unprotected sex, raising the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
- If you drink, you're more likely than others to fall victim to violent crimes, including rape, aggravated assault and robbery.
- You might think alcohol will lift you up, but it's a depressant. It actually brings you down.
- Alcohol can make you gain weight and cause skin problems.
- The more you drink, the more you need to consume to get drunk.
- Getting heavily drunk often causes you to pass out. When you're passed out, you risk choking to death on your vomit or falling victim to acts of violence, such as rape.
- Drinking too much can lead to alcohol poisoning. In rare cases, this can kill.
- Long-term alcohol abuse can damage your internal organs and lead to skin problems, trembling, obesity, brain damage, mood swings, personality changes and premature aging.
