Do any other factor play a part in causing people to have alcohol problems?
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19

Do any other factors play a part in causing people to have alcohol problems?
Sure !

The MINIMUM LEGAL DRINKING AGE (how old you have to be
before you can buy alcohol) is important, too. Back in the 1970s, many
states lowered the age from 21 to 18 or 19, and this, unfortunately,
resulted in more car crashes and injuries. When they moved it back
to age 21, the number of car crashes and other injuries dropped.
Places that are strict about the drinking age tend to
have fewer alcohol-related problems.

Alcohol companies deserve their share of the blame too.
For example, a few years ago they dreamed up alcopops: sweet, fizzy
drinks that taste like soda but have alcohol in them.

Note: Alcopops are dangerous because they make drinking
easier for young people. Since teens tend to prefer the sweet
taste of alcopops to the stronger taste of beer or liquor, they’re
likely to drink more of it. In addition, kids are exposed to a lot of
alcopop ads. According to some studies, teenage girls are more
likely than adult women to even come across ads for alcopops!

The alcohol companies also market their products in irresponsible ways, like selling huge,
40 oz. containers of malt liquor (which is stronger than beer) and then treating it like it’s
a single serving...when it really equals at least 4!

The fact is that 10 to 20 percent of all alcohol sold in the U.S. is consumed by underage
youth. That adds up to a lot of $$$, which may explain why many alcohol companies
don’t do more to stop underage drinking. Sometimes they even actively try to
block policies that have been shown to work.

Last, but not least, the MEDIA can make things worse.
Alcohol ads make drinking look cool and fun. They never
show the bad things that can happen, like car crashes or
cancer. Some ads even include cute animals and cartoon
characters to attract younger audiences.

The same happens when drinking is shown in the wrong way
(as cool, fun, having no consequences) on TV or in movies.
Kids who see more drinking in movies tend to drink more
themselves.

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