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Deciding to drink alcohol is a decision we all make at some point in our lives but do you know the facts about drinking alcohol and its effects on your health and well-being?
Drinking alcohol can be seen as a normal part of being a teenager and growing up, but drinking too much at an early age can damage your health and well-being. Alcohol can affect both your physical and mental health and lead to making decisions that may be regretted later. Teenagers can try alcohol for many reasons, such as trying to fit in with your friends, to forget things that are happening in your life, and to help with stress of school/exams, or even because you want to look cool.
Your body cannot cope with Alcohol in the way that an adult does! During your teenage years your brain is still developing, alcohol effects how well your brain develops, over time drinking alcohol can damage your brain cells and it can affect your memory function, reactions, learning ability and attention span.
When you drink too much you are at risk of alcohol poisoning, this is when the level of alcohol in your blood gets too high. This can seriously affect the parts of the brain that control balance and speech, as well as affect the nerves that control your breathing, heartbeat and lower your body temperature. If you are sick, you can be at risk of choking as your gag reflex may not work properly.
Alcohol can also affect your physical health, even if you only drink it occasionally. Here are just a few side effects of drinking alcohol:
When you drink you are more likely to make decisions that put you at a greater risk of harm. Teenagers who drink are more likely to be sexually active, to have unsafe and unprotected sex and be at a greater risk of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. You are also more likely to smoke tobacco and use drugs such as cannabis, or other hard drugs. Teenagers who drink alcohol are also 40% more likely to develop alcohol dependence as an adult.
There is lots of debate as to whether it’s OK for children/young people have a drink and there is no right or wrong answer. It is a decision that you should think about and where possible talk to your parents/carer about. The legal age for drinking in the UK is 18, before this age it is illegal to buy alcohol, attempt to buy alcohol or to be sold alcohol. It is also illegal for an adult (someone over 18) to buy alcohol on your behalf.
Where can you get help if you think you are worried about how much you are drinking?
If you are worried about how much you drink, you can find more information at www.drinkaware.co.uk.
You can contact your local School Nurse by calling us on 0800 178 3374 or text us through Chat Health for support on: Staffordshire: 07520 615721, Stoke on Trent: 07520 615 723. Or you could talk to your GP.
