Just the Facts

IT CAN MESS UP YOUR HEAD

  • Being drunk is a condition in which a person has overdosed on a drug.
  • Alcohol is an anesthetic drug.  It puts the brain to sleep just like a shot of Novocain makes gums numb.
  • Brain damage begins with the first drink and becomes severe in the case of the alcoholic.
  • It should come as no surprise that people who drink start experiencing problems at school.

IT CAN CAUSE A DRUG ADDITION

  • Alcohol is a drug.  It's also an addicting drug;  3.3 million young men and women under 20 are problem drinkers.
  • Alcoholism is adolescents develops rapidly, with some teens becoming alcoholics within 6 months after taking their first drink.
  • 19 out of 100 young people 12 to 17 years old are defined as having a serious drinking problem.
   

IT CAN GET YOU INTO TROUBLE

  • Alcohol can get you into trouble with your parents, with your school, and with the police.
  • Like it or not, alcohol is a drug . . . just like marijuana, cocaine and heroin.  If you're going to play, you're going to pay!!  KNOW THE LOCAL LAWS!

IT CAN WRECK YOUR CAR

  • Every 5 seconds, a teenager has a drug or alcohol-related traffic accident.
  • One drink can impair the ability to drive -- especially when the person is inexperienced as a driver.
  • More than 25 cents of every dollar you pay for automobile insurance premiums goes to pay for damage done by drunk drivers.
   

IT CAN KILL YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Drinking and driving accidents are the #1 cause of death among teenagers.
  • More than 12,000 young Americans are killed each year in accidents involving young people and alcohol.
  • 40,000 Americans are disfigured each year in accidents involving young people and alcohol.

IT CAN KILL YOU!

  • Alcohol is a killer!  It is responsible for drunk driving crashes.
  • It is responsible for cirrhosis of the liver.
  • It causes drowning and other fatal accidents.
  • It is responsible for homicides and suicides.
  • All be itself, alcohol is a lethal drug.  Very large amounts of alcohol can cause death by putting to sleep the part of the brain which directs the respiratory system.
  • 3 people die every day in the United States from Alcohol overdoses.