Alcohol Affects Everyone.

As an adult, your decision to drink or not is purely your own. However, there are many facts that show why we shouldn’t allow underage drinking.⁸

Alcohol’s effect on the body is indisputable. From their brains to every organ, alcohol can permanently damage our youth. And, if problems with alcohol run in the family or if your child has a pre-existing condition such as a chronic disease, alcohol can have an even bigger impact.

The Brain

• A young person’s brain continues to develop through their early twenties. Their brains are more sensitive to alcohol and are more susceptible to long-term damage from alcohol.
• Alcohol can permanently damage a young person’s ability to process information as well as injure their brain's memory centers and can lessen their ability to reason, leading to poor judgment and decision-making.
• Alcohol can decrease a teen’s motor ability causing difficulty walking, driving, speaking and even seeing, and could lead to the number one cause of teen death and serious injury: car accidents.

The Heart

• Excess alcohol contributes to a variety of heart problems including high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, heart attacks, irregular heartbeats and in the most extreme cases, heart failure.

The Liver

• The liver is responsible for getting rid of toxins and harmful bacteria in the body. When alcohol gets into the system, the liver breaks down the alcohol into less dangerous compounds. However, too much alcohol can permanently damage the liver so that it can no longer remove toxins from the body, leading to such diseases as hepatitis and cirrhosis.

The Stomach

• Alcohol can interfere with the stomach and intestines' ability to digest food, preventing the body from getting essential vitamins and minerals.
• Ulcers, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain are just a few of the impacts of excess alcohol.