If you look at this graph you can see that among all age groups used in the survey alcohol is the most used substance. Now that doesn’t mean the others are not also addictive but alcohol statistically is the most used one. I believe it’s due to a mix of easy access and how accepted it is in society. Weed has become very accepted but it has just started to be legalized all over and still isn’t federally legal. This means alcohol is easiest for someone to get their hands on. Which also leads it to be the most used. I would find it interesting to see the numbers for those who had drank multiple times. So you could change the age brackets to be teens who drank 1-2 times in a certain amount of time, 3-4 times, and 5+ times. Another one that would be interesting is how many drinks they had the last time they drank.

https://teenhealthmatters.org/alcohol-awareness/ 

This is a nice little informative image to shine some light on the issue of underage drinking. There are also some facts on the website that I think should be known. The first is kids ages 12-20 consume over a tenth of the alcohol consumed yearly. This may not seem horrible but when that same age group does drink they binge drink. Of those kids 90% of the time when they drink it’s binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined by the CDC as consuming 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women. The teen health matters site also mentions In 2011, about 188,000 people under the age of 21 visited an emergency for alcohol-related injuries. It also helps point out some signs of underage drinking such as low energy, caring less about hobbies and appearance, slurred speech, and more. It also tells signs of a substance abuse problem such as blacking out, memory loss, mood swings, and more.

https://www.legacyhealing.com/the-long-term-effects-of-alcohol-abuse-can-be-devastating/

This image shows a lot of health issues you can get from alcohol abuse. One thing they don’t show is the various cancers you can get from alcohol abuse. These cancers include but aren’t limited to liver, breast, colon, and esophageal. The most common organ affected by alcohol is the liver, which causes death mainly by liver failure due to cirrhosis. However, what may be surprising is the health benefits of moderately drinking. Drinking in moderation can help with stress and actually can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases almost in half. I mention that because it’s important to know when to say when and that something that may be good for you can always become bad. Also, people need to know it’s not necessarily alcohol that’s bad it’s when you lose control over it and abuse it. Obviously, it’s very addictive which is bad but it’s also got good health effects from drinking in moderation. I didn’t make this website to completely attack alcohol I wanted to make it to help people understand how bad abusing it is.

https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/crimes/

This link explains how alcohol is involved in many crimes that are not thought of as alcohol-related crimes. When you think of alcohol and crimes you probably think of being drunk in public and DUIs. however, it’s known that drinking can lower your inhibitions and cause your emotions to amplify. This can lead to bad decision-making, causing you to commit crimes that aren’t always alcohol-related. For example, this source explains 27% of assaults are committed by people under the influence, 37% of sexual assaults are committed by individuals under the influence, and 40% of convicted murderers had drank before or during their crime. This just goes to show how the effects of drinking can cause you to commit horrible crimes. Most of the time I would say drinking too much causes it because most people still carry their morals with them after a couple of drinks. It’s once the alcohol has more control over you is when this stuff happens. 

https://recoverycentersofamerica.com/blogs/what-makes-alcohol-addictive/

This source explains why alcohol is addictive and some of the symptoms of withdrawal. They first explain physical factors. This is when chemicals such as dopamine and other endorphins in the brain activate. The most dangerous one is dopamine because it’s the root of most addictions. Most substances that are addictive are that way because they release dopamine in your brain. The reason dopamine is a factor in addiction is that it makes you feel happy and when you feel that happiness you get addicted to it.

In the second part, they talk about psychological effects. They cover the habit of drinking. Once you build a habit of drinking it’s hard to quit it. When you build the habit of drinking you rely on it regularly it could be every day or twice a week but that habit is built into your brain.

The third part covers signs of withdrawal. These include nausea, Hand tremors, shakes, Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, and Seizures. If you feel these you may be dealing with withdrawal from a substance.