I asked my fifteen year old brother what he would like to know if he could choose anything and was surprised when he said he wanted to know the effects of alcohol on the body. While searching the Internet for the perfect site, I came across a government website called TheCoolSpot.gov. This website is specifically designed to help teenagers learn about the effects of alcohol and contains information about abusing alcohol at an early age. It allows them to take quizzes to test their knowledge about alcohol consumption. Additionally, if a teen or someone close to them feels they have a problem, there is a link directing them to other sites for support, support advice from groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, and even treatment centers for teens who want to quit drinking . . The purpose of teaching alcohol awareness to teens is to inform them about the short- and long-term effects alcohol has on the body, describe how alcohol use at a young age can lead to other self-destructive behaviors, and empower them to resist to peer pressure that pushes you to drink alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning that once ingested it slows down brain function and can actually block messages from your body to your brain. “Short-term effects include impaired perception, vision, emotions and impaired judgment. Long-term health effects of alcohol consumption include cirrhosis (when the liver cannot function as it should), vitamin deficiencies, heart damage, and a high risk of overdose” (Teen Health). These are serious problems that can be significantly reduced by implementing alcohol awareness programs with teenagers. Alcohol awareness education for teens is important now more than ever, because the incidence of... middle of paper... better, but it only hurts you, especially if you start drinking young because of the probability of becoming an alcoholic. I'm glad he wanted to know because he's a freshman at a new high school, so he's in a situation where he's trying to fit in and dealing with peer pressure. I am confident that he will abstain from drinking because he now has a better understanding of the effects of alcohol, what alcohol consumption can lead to, and how to say no. ReferencesTeenHealth by Nemours. (2009). Alcohol. Retrieved January 27, 2011, from http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/alcohol.html#BE(2001). Teen Ink. Retrieved January 27, 2011, from http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/all/article/2001/Underage-Drinking/Hockenberry, M., & Wilson, D. (2007). Wong's nursing care of infants and children. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.