Despite what people may think, Alcohol is a drug and it is the most widely used drug in the world. When you consider the way alcohol is marketed or talked about, it is difficult to recognize it as a drug, but overuse or over drinking can cause serious damage to your body and create long term health problems, especially for teenagers.

Thanks to a report conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, alcohol is responsible for 13% of all deaths among 14 to 17 year olds in Australia, with one Australian teenager dying and 60 being rushed to hospital every week.

The main problem with alcohol isn¡¯t it¡¯s use ¨C you can still drink, as long as you do so responsibly. The primary issue behind alcohol is ¡°binge drinking¡± ¨C where people consume excessive amounts of alcohol to deliberately get drunk.

Being under the age of 18 means that your body is prone to more serious health issues. Some of the short term effects of alcohol includes ¨C Getting in to fights, Feeling depressed, Passing out, Making poor judgements such as having unprotected sex.

In the long-term, you can damage your liver, develop stomach ulcers, suffer from depression and experience sexual problems.

Addiction to alcohol or better known as ¡°alcoholism¡± means your body cannot function without the need to consume alcohol. Having a drink will become the only way for you to act ¡°normally¡± and once you develop a tolerance for alcohol, you find yourself drinking more and more, because you need to reach that same ¡°feeling¡± when drunk.

There is always going to be a chance in your life when you¡¯ll have a drink. The idea is to stay in control and to drink responsibly.

Some tips include:
Setting up a limit and stick to it.
Have one drink at a time and drink it slowly.
If you are feeling the effects of alcohol ¡°feeling tipsy¡±, then slow down.
Don¡¯t drink alone.
Stay close to your friends and look after each other.
Drink lots of water.

For more helpful tips, check out:

http://wingman.org.au/drinking-advice