TEENAGERS AND ALCOHOL

Modern teenagers seem not to know how to hang out, especially at night, if they are not either drinking alcohol or smoking. The streets at the weekends are often crowded of young people, who are usually quite drunk. “Street drinking” is not only a problem which involves themselves and their families, but also the whole society. The moans to these teenagers about the noise they produce, the rubbish they throw or the public image they provide are constantly increasing.

But, why are drinking alcohol or smoking such generalized facts amongst young people? The main problem is that young people have not completely settled their personality yet, and ones copy what the others do, in order to be cool or to stand out. For instance, if a friend of yours smokes, he/she will try to get round you to smoke. And if you do not want to accept a cigarette, you will probably be the outcast of the group, and you will even fall out with him/her. So, in order to get out of this situation, you accept a cigarette, an alcoholic drink or almost everything they put forward. From my point of view, this is the cause of the existence of drunken young crowds.

Another remarkable aspect is that Spanish teenagers are more likely to practise street drinking or smoking than other European teenagers. Perhaps the Spanish law is not as regularized as it would have to be. For example, there is control enough over shops (which usually sell alcoholic products or tobacco to young people, without asking the age) and the punishment for drug traders is quite slight.

As far as I am concerned, there are many other ways of enjoying our spare time with friends. For example, going to the cinema, going out to have dinner, doing some sport, going to the mall, or even going to the pubs to drink. There is no point in not drinking alcohol. Not at all. But of course there is a point in being prudent and in thinking about the negative consequences that alcohol or other drugs involve.