Becoming a teenager is a difficult time where one makes the physical and mental transition from childhood to adulthood. This phase is also celebrated as the period of discovery and coming of age. Even in this day and age, some cultures still devote much importance to this issue in the life of a person. The Japanese have Seijin shiki, male Hindus have Upanayanam, and Christians have their Sacrament of Confirmation. These celebrations are examples of the several rites of passage to adulthood.

teenagers have their own approach to these rites of passage -including experimenting with alcohol and trying out drugs. Although this doesn’t happen to every teenager throughout the globe, there are alarming statistics of teenager addiction. In 2002, 1.4 million youths in the age range of 12-17 were said to have alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and only 16 percent of this obtained alcoholism treatment.

Alcohol alters affects an individuals mind, body and emotions. and whilst a few drinks of alcohol can relax and loosen up a person, it also reduces ones ability to concentrate and greatly influences the reflexes. Several more drinks and the individual gets reduced coordination, slurred speech and intense mood swings. Unrestrained alcohol consumption causes confusion, blurred vision and poor muscle control. It is also likely to cause nausea, vomiting, and passing out. In the worst cases, some alcoholics fall into coma and sometimes die.

Alcohol treatment centers warn that alcoholism is a contributes to the death of many teenagers. It increases the incidence of car accidents, suicide, rape and a myriad of other social problems.

The family, school and community can do something to fight alcoholism amongst teenagers and minimize the effects of this problem. Parents and families can enforce rules governing their childs drinking ; schools can implement alcohol bans and increase awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse. Addiction rehabilitation centers are a good source of information about the harmful effects of alcohol abuse. There are many things which can be done to lessen the problem of teenage alcoholism and the consequences of drinking. It is important that we do everything that we can to stop our teenagers from becoming the alcoholics of tomorrow.

Data from a survey of 43,000 U.S. adults has further elevated concerns that early alcohol use, iregardless of other risk factors, can contribute to the risk of developing future alcohol problems.

Those who begin drinking in their early teens are not only at larger risk of developing alcohol dependence at some point in their lives, but are also at greater risk of developing dependence more quickly and at younger ages, and of developing chronic, relapsing dependence.

Scientists at the Boston University School of Public Health and Youth Alcohol Prevention Center, led by Dr. Ralph Hingson, executed a study using data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), of people aged 18 years and older.

The research questioned 43,000 adults about their use of alcohol and other lifestyle factors and found that for those who started drinking before age 14, 47 per cent had suffered alcohol dependence at some point during their lives.

This compared with only 9 per cent who began drinking at age 21 or over which is the legal drinking age in the U.S.

The study raises concerns particularly as research shows that increasing numbers of young people are experimenting with alcohol.

The researchers dispute the commonly held belief that if teenagers are allowed to drink in their parents presence it will encourage responsible drinking in the future, and are warning that drinking alcohol at an early age may effect the developing brain and lead to dependence later on.

According to figures the amount of alcohol consumed by people under the age of 16 has more than doubled in a decade.

For each extra year before 21 that someone started drinking, it seems the greater the chance of developing alcohol dependence, regardless of other factors such as a family history of alcoholism, smoking and drug use.

In 2005 a Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that among high school students nationwide, 26 percent had drunk alcohol (other than a few sips) for the first time before age 13.

Dr. Hingson says the study suggests that interventions that delay drinking onset may not only reduce the acute consequences of drinking among youth, but may help reduce alcohol dependence among adolescents and adults.

The research is published in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.