Crime Prevention and Security Tips - Alcohol
ALCOHOL
IS
NUMBER ONE
Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for young adults.
Alcohol-related car crashes are the number one killer of young adults in the United States.
Alcohol is the number one drug problem in America.
If you think it can’t happen to you, look around. Check your high school yearbooks for the last ten years. How many have been dedicated to a student who was killed in a drunk driving crash?
Ask your friends how many people they know that have had bad things happen to them when they are drinking.
You don’t even have to be the one doing the drinking – most young adult passenger deaths are the result of alcohol-impaired young adult drivers.
How Does Alcohol Affect YOU?
- You see double, speech slurs, you lose your sense of distance.
- Alcohol loosens inhibitions; you make bad judgements that can result in car accidents, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, or rape.
- A significant proportion of violent crimes and vandalism among and by young adults involve alcohol.
- Using alcohol can cost you your freedom. You can be grounded by your parents, lose your drivers license, face school disciplinary action, or even end up in jail.
Be Aware of Advertising
Take a good look at how the alcohol industry is trying to convince people to use their products.
- Wine Coolers are displayed in stores next to fruit drinks. Maybe they don’t think you’ll notice the difference between a fruit drink and on with alcohol.
- Different brands of beer and other alcoholic beverages are slipped into movies you watch. They think if you see your favorite actor drinking it, you will too.
- The models on the beer commercials are always young, thin, and beautiful. But alcohol has plenty of calories and little nutritional value. Drinking it will not make you younger or more beautiful.
- Advertisements feature celebrities and sports figures. But drinking will not make you famous or athletic.
- Alcohol advertisers are not trying to be more responsible by telling you not to drink and drive. But drunk driving is not the only way alcohol can affect your life.
Advertisers hope you won’t stop and think when you see their ads. Don’t be conned. Use your best judgment and learn the facts.
Some More Facts About Alcohol
- Drinking coffee, taking a cold shower, or breathing fresh air will not sober you up. The only thing that sobers you up is time.
- One beer, one shot of whiskey and one glass of wine all have the same amount of alcohol. Don’t fall for the notion that beer and wine are less intoxicating than hard liquors.
- Only 3-5% of alcoholics are what we think of as bums. Most alcoholics are just like the people you know.
- Anyone can become an alcoholic – young, old, rich, poor, married, single, employed, or out of work.
- The earlier young people start drinking and using drugs, the more likely they are to become addicted.
- Alcohol ages and damages the brain.