Tuesday, November 23, 2010 By Chronicle Staff - Tommy Solis Advertising Drinking under the age limit (Nov. 23, 2010) -- Drinking has always been a way for people to connect and let everything go. People turn to drinking for almost any reason: to celebrate, to relieve stress, or for religion. In today’s society, drinking is gradually becoming the norm.   According to the American Medical Association, the national average an individual first uses alcohol is twelve years old. For minors, once they see their parents or friends drinking, it is very easy for them to take their first sip. Teenagers often attend parties and raves knowing that there will be alcohol and that all their friends will be drinking as well. There is nothing wrong with young people drinking. Most people will encounter alcohol in the future as they grow up. Drinking alcohol at an early age gives minors a first-hand experience with how to deal with alcohol in the future. According to About Alcohol Info, every year approximately 5,000 people under the legal age of 21 die from alcohol intoxication. The American Medical Association says of people aged 12 to 20 years old, 20 percent are binge drinkers. There really is no way to keep teenagers from drinking. Even banning alcohol all together wouldn’t get rid of these unwarranted deaths. We tried that in the 1920’s with prohibition, yet people still managed to get ahold of alcohol. Drinking is one of those things that has been and always will be part of our society.   We can educate teenagers about the risks of drinking alcohol at school. We can tell them that every year 79,000 people die from alcohol related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. We can show them videos from Every 15 Minutes, a national program which uses students to recreate what happens when someone drives drunk. The Bud Light commercials can even remind its viewers to “Drink Responsibly.” In the end it all boils down to whether the teenager can be a responsible drinker. There is nothing wrong with teens drinking. Teenagers who drink just have to be responsible. It is up to them to know when to stop so that they don’t lose control, or when to get a designated driver. Most importantly, parents should always be responsible for the choices that their kids make.

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