Teenage drinking..how bad is it for you?

I am 15 and obviously I know alcohol is never the best (nor legal) thing for young people to be drinking however I am just curious as to how damaging the very occasion night of consuming alcohol is - ie a few nights (special occasions) a year where you drink a fair bit - not enough to be drunk or hungover but enough so that one would be a little tispy is? Also is a hangover a sign that you damaged your body (not explained very clearly) I mean for instance if you have no hangover does it mean that your body has suffered no ill effects? Thanks!

For me tispy isn't quite the same as drunk, in my view and in the context used above it is more so referring to not quite drunk but having had alcohol and perhaps feeling the effects very slightly

i'm 16, an AP student, respectable test scores, good friends, i do well in school, and i do in fact drink occasionally.

usually it isnt the 'crack open a can of beer everyday' type thing, but more of a special occasion celebration, i.e. new years or weddings.

i also make it a policy to never drink unless there is an adult around, which most of the time is my parents. and yes, they let me drink, but in moderate amounts. their reasoning: its better to have me do it in front of them than behind their backs.

i also NEVER drink when i go out with friends, because i know that my self control wavers when im around them.

also, i never drink to the point of getting drunk, tipsy, or to the point where i have a hangover the next morning. usually, for me, its about two glasses of wine/champagne.

i'm also not a fan of drinking games at all. that type of drinking is the kind usually glorified on myspace pictures and attacked by media news networks.

my point? drinking can be fun from time to time, but if you do it too often or drink too much, it can ruin your life. if you plan on drinking, please exercise extreme self control, know your limits, and do NOT give in to peer pressure.

Alcohol is probably the deadliest most abused drug in the world and its legal

its over rated if you dont drink daily vbut weekly your good

yes it is very damaging to your reproductive system
your baby can have many defects
do not drink alcohol!!!

alcohol is really not as bad as most people make it out to be. however, it is quite addicting. ex] alcoholics. if it is just a few nights a week or just on weekends.. [not every weekend] it is probably fine. you just need time inbetween for your liver and kidneys to get back to there normal state. i'm 15 too.. and i drink like every other weekend. i've never had a hangover. so i cant help you there! lol

alcohol when consumed in small quantities can actually be beneficial for your health. but overindulgence will actually be unhealthy. drinking cocktails and mixes are high in calories too!! everyone has a different limit which their body can handle, so you just gotta know yours and learn to drink within your limit.

drinking a couple of times a year is probably not harmful for your body, but remember to eat before drinking and also to drink alot of water the next day as alcohol can be dehydrating to the body

I used to drink and get drunk before the age of 21. I'm 21 now and can say that I have actually consumed more alcohol in my teen years than I have now that I'm at a legal age to purchase and drink alcohol.

I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger. Like drinking and driving. Luckily I never got in a wreck and hurt myself or someone else. But I would say as long as you're in a house or somewhere where danger isn't too close, and that everyone who does have a license & car, their keys are restricted until the next day or so, that would be the safest way to drink.

I've drank a lot, like I said, and have been hungover maybe twice through it all. I think it's just how your body takes the alcohol and how it reacts to it. There's a difference between being hungover and having alcohol poisoning. Hungover doesn't necessarily mean that you hurt your body, it's just recooperating from the wild night before.

I'm not for underage drinking, nor do I promote it in anyway, but at whatever age, if you're going to drink, drink responsibly.

Well you can damage your whole system just because of one drink and some pepole die also when they are drunk and driving.Please when you know your going to drink get someone to drive you home also always wear seat belts

The damaging effects of alcohol tend to be cumulative...that is you see the ill effects over time.

" While some studies have shown that low to moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial for certain conditions, such as heart disease, regular and prolonged use of alcohol leads to a host of health problems, such as:

* Impaired mental functioning 鈥?Loss of verbal memory and slower reaction times are associated with drinking, as are mild neurological impairments such as headaches and insomnia.
* Liver disorders 鈥?About 10% to 35% of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis (damaging inflammation in the liver). And, between 10% to 20% of these individuals develop cirrhosis, a progressive scarring of the liver that can eventually be fatal.
* Gastrointestinal problems 鈥?Violent vomiting can produce tears in the junction between the stomach and esophagus. Alcoholism poses a high risk for diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and increases the risk for ulcers
* Heart disease and stroke 鈥?Heavy drinking is associated with abnormal blood clotting factors, high blood pressure, increased risk for stroke, irregular heart beats, and an enlarged heart.
* Lung disorders 鈥?Acute alcoholism is strongly associated with very serious pneumonia, and has also been shown as a strong contributing factor in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a type of potentially fatal lung failure.
* Cancer 鈥?Alcoholics have a rate of carcinoma 10 times higher than that of the general population. Sustained heavy drinking has been implicated in upper digestive system and upper airway cancers, breast cancer (even with moderate intake), esophageal cancer, and vaginal and cervical cancers. Alcohol is not usually the direct cause, but evidence suggests that it increases other risk factors.
* Skin, muscle, and bone disorders 鈥?Severe alcoholism is associated with osteoporosis (loss of bone density), muscular deterioration, skin sores, and itching.
* Pregnancy and infant development complications 鈥?Even moderate amounts of alcohol can have damaging effects on the developing fetus, including low birth weight and an increased risk for miscarriage. High amounts can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition that can cause mental and growth retardation.
* Increased risk for other addictions 鈥?Researchers have found common genetic links between alcoholics and smokers addicted to nicotine."


For more information:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/alcohol_...

Drinking a lot: You may very well cause yourself liver damage. and it also increases your chances of alocoholism later in life.

you are not in control of your inhibitions when under the influence of alcohol and hterefore take bigger risks, such drinking and driving unprotected sex or stupid dares. so anyone who says it's not really dangerous hasn't really thought about it.

a few special nights a year, and drinking under control probably isn't very bad for you at 15. that's not to say that i recommend i.

A hangover is a sign that you are highly dehydrated and that your body is trying to process all the toxins that the alcohol put in it.

I encourage you to simply avoid it all together. You know it is illegal so that means trouble is certain to eventually find you. The very fact that you are concerned about it shows that there is reason to be cautioned.

I started at 14 with occassional drinking and became an adult alcoholic. I have since found freedom from it all and have been sober for 6 years.

Better to avoid it than recover from it. Easier too.

Talk to an adult that you can trust if you need to. Someone who will help you and not judge you.

first of all never ever drink it will damager the part of the brain called the madublaublumgata after a little your brain will shrink and you could have strokes the alchohal will go to your blood stream and clogg up your system leading to a stroke you might not notice it at first but being young any time you drink even a drop you could pass out and die

dark_princess341,
drinking is not good for you in a variety of ways:
1.) It can kill you because when you get drunk you're bound to do something you'll regret for the rest of your life
2.) you get yourself sick
3.) drinking also messes with your mind, especially at a young age when your brain is still developing, drinking will also have you become addicted to it and it can be hard to stop

a hangover is a sign that you've had too many drink or alcohol consumed, your body is just coping with that and has to send the alcoholic fluids somewhere all over in your bodystream but no permanent body damage..just sickness

Alcohol it a drug. Any of it does damage. The younger people think it makes them act older but older people know better. It is up to you be tipsy is drunk and brain damage that is not reversible has occurred. Give life time so you can make the best judgments from experience. You will understand alcohol and its damages more clearly.

only if you drive or operate heavy machinery

To drink only one glass is ok..
but when you drink a lot and be drunk or hungover it affects your brain.
You can have Alzheimer, osteoporose, diabetes, 煤lcera hip A, kidney stones, pancreas cancer,Parkinson, artrite and gastrite. It affects your memory. so do not drink a lot. only 2 or 3 glasses to be more relaxed and cool.
Remeber: do not drink and drive
:D

TERRIBLEEEE i'm 13 and i have no interest in drinking underaged (or getting drunk for that matter), smoking, etc....and i hope that you follow that. and fyi we learned about this in school. how would you like the ambulance come over and pump alcohol out of your stomach, and then get fined/arrested for underaged drinking? think about it.

The human brain is still developing until between 19 and 22. Drinking alcohol, even small amounts can affect neurological development. Different people get drunk and hung over with different amounts of alcohol. Your body also gets used to drinking and it will take more for your body to become drunk. This does not mean that alcohol does not affect you if you're not drunk. Alcoholics have very high levels before they are left with a hungover.

Also, the younger people start drinking the more of a chance that people will become alcoholics.

I would say a glass of wine at Christmas dinner isn't going to kill you. But much more than that isn't good.

Hello,
When one is drunk, or "tipsy" it is a cause of poisoning yourself.
Alcohol is a drug, a widely used and a killer drug. It is one of the top most dangerous drugs, marijuana did not even make the top ten.
Women are more likely to be poisoned faster then men for we are smaller in stature then men. Some people when they poison themselves get red blotches all over there body (hives) and destroy there kidneys and other vital organs. Some people do not have to drink much for the internal organs to get damaged or shut down all together.
To take away a drug that is so widely used in our society has proven to be hard to do as the Prohibition days of time gone by.
People need there drugs and look around. Next time you go into a store look where the alcohol is and look where the milk is. Usually the alcohol is set in a spot up front while the milk is in the back, shameful!
Take the drug if you choose but be aware of side effects.

Read the link below, it is a good read.

Another form of alcohol, ethanol is now being used to run hybred cars.

I start drinking at the age of 14 before that I was a straight A-B student, I played piano, and I was on the basket ball team, I will tell you it's nothing but a quick road to destruction, within 3 years I dropped out of school lost all or most of my Friends ( well at least the real ones and had a major bout with depression) you are to young to need alcohol to make life fun, you have you're whole life in front of you. Most teen deaths are alcohol related, when you drink your defenses are down which can lead to risky behaviors, putting you at risk of STD, rape (yep it happens to guys to, and even worse things then that can happen) I know of a person that hit their head and died. no more second chances. It's nothing to play with, it is dangerous and it can kill you when you have a young mind still forming, that's the real **** Maynard....if you fell like you have a problem and you need to drink to have fun, or because you're Friends are doing it ? Please tell an adult you can trust call AA, it sounds corny but it can save you alot of grief, besides... you can tell that you really are concerned.

Every time you get drunk, you kill about 30,000 brain cells. Of course, if you don't drink, about 30,000 brain cells die anyway. If you drink or don't, 30,000 new ones are born next day. I stayed drunk from the age of 18 to 42, at which time I had too many things wrong with me to count. The only thing that saved me was AA and the fact that Drs seldom treat drunks, except rich ones. Imagine being drunk and getting the side effects of all that crap they peddle? Talk about the horrors. I don't know which is worse, booze or the chemistry they give healthy people. Ever see a truly obese house wife too fat to turn her head, flying down the road with eyes like soccor balls from the pills, a big gulp in one hand, a cell fone in the other, petting her dog with the other, tinted to black windows, and designer shades over her pinned eyes, 'cause her eyes are just a tad sensitive, you understand. But it's cool, she's insured.