I Started Drinking Beer at Age 12 by Dr. Robert Wallace on Creators.com

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I Started Drinking Beer at Age 12

DR. WALLACE: I'm addressing my letter to every young person who has started, or is tempted, to consume alcohol. Alcohol companies do a very superb job of convincing you to try their products. Then they end their ads by telling you not to drive after drinking and that consuming alcohol is not intended for those underage. That's all a con job. Alcohol companies make money when they sell you their products.

Alcohol almost ruined my life. I hope I can convince more than a few young adults that alcohol can be a one-way street to self-destruction. My parents drank alcohol regularly but never to the extent of being "bombed." It was the cocktails before dinner and the after-dinner drink. On the weekends, it was a few beers while watching athletic events. Even when I was very young, I had the impression that alcohol was good, and the only reason they didn't give any to me was that it was too expensive.

When I was 12, I convinced my best friend that we should try alcohol. His dad was a big beer drinker, and his refrigerator was always loaded with his favorite brew. I can't tell you the number of beers (hundreds) we drank, but his dad never realized it.

By age 15, I "advanced" to hard liquor because beer didn't provide me with an ultimate high. I found that my parents' whisky did. I started with taking a little from an already-opened bottle and then finally getting money to buy my own. Believe it or not, I was buying whisky at age 15 from a "friendly" owner of a liquor store.

By age 16, I quit school because I needed a job to provide money to buy the "hard" stuff. By the time I celebrated my 18th birthday I was a full-blown alcoholic.

One episode of drinking caused me to go into a coma. I didn't wake up for two days. I guess you can call this my lucky break because after I was released from the hospital, I checked into the alcoholic unit of a psychiatric hospital. I was fortunate that my parents had insurance that allowed me to get the necessary treatment I needed.

I now am a recovering alcoholic and have not had a drink of alcohol in over seven months, and I've gotten my life back in order. I'm fortunate to have a decent paying job so that I can pay for my car and expenses. Alcohol wasted five years of my life. It's going to take me a few years to catch up, but believe me, I will.

Teens, it's NOT cool to drink booze! If you are tempted to start drinking, don't start. If you do, you could travel my path before you stop. It just isn't worth it. - Nameless, Sacramento, Calif.

NAMELESS: Thanks for sharing your story with our teen readers. Alcohol abuse is America's No. 1 drug problem among youth. According to the National Council on Alcoholism, an estimated 4.6 million teens, ages 14 to 18, have experienced negative consequences of alcohol use including arrest, involvement in an accident, impairment of health or poor school performance. The use of alcohol has no positives!

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Comments

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LW1:

Re: The comment, "Then they end their ads by telling you not to drive after drinking and that consuming alcohol is not intended for those underage. That's all a con job. Alcohol companies make money when they sell you their products."

... is ironic also for taverns. Especially given the recent story from Ohio where the bartender was fired because he called the police to arrest a potential drunk driver who had been a customer at the tavern where he (the bartender) worked.

There is zero wrong with enjoying alcohol IN MODERATION and WITH RESPONSIBILITY. Such as how the LW's parents may have consumed (e.g., knowing when to stop, enjoying other non-alcoholic beverages, calling a cab or arranging to have someone drive them if they do have too much, etc.). The problem came when he became an alcoholic and consumed the way he did. Fortunately, he's lived to tell the tale and to warn teen-agers about the dangers.

Likely, his parents were taught to be responsible with alcohol. (Likely, their parents may have taught them such.) Unfortunately, the LW appears to have learned from a friend, and that folks is NOT THE WAY to learn about alcohol consumption.

LW, thank you for sharing your tale and what you've learned from your experiences. Please continue to pass it on. And be sure to thank your folks for their show of love and support.

Comment: #1
Posted by: Bobaloo
Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:22 AM

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LW1: You're an idiot. Alcohol is not to blame - YOU ARE. Pull your head out of your butt and take responsibility for who you have chosen to be. Once you've done that you can choose to be a better human whose brain is more than a paper weight.

Comment: #2
Posted by: Diana
Tue Feb 26, 2013 1:17 PM

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That's all a con job. Alcohol companies make money when they sell you their products.
**********
Those disclaimers about not driving while drinking and not drinking before you're 21 aren't there out of the goodness of the manufacturers' hearts, you know. They're there because the government requires them.

Because yes, breweries and distilleries and wineries want more sales and more profit. Just like Frito-Lay. Just like McDonald's. Just like Hershey's. Just like tobacco companies. Just like ANY company out there. They want your money, and they want your loyalty (so you KEEP trading your money for the product they make).

And Diana, kids ARE more susceptible to marketers' efforts. It doesn't mean they're dumb. It means that their brains haven't yet finished developing, and that they don't yet have the life experience needed to judge that kind of stuff.

I'd say this young man is far from dumb. He's fought a battle that many older alcoholics never win, and he's wise enough to recognize that his message might save other kids from experimenting with a substance that their parents didn't have the good sense to teach them about responsibility. ["Too expensive" -- what a cop-out.]

Comment: #3
Posted by: hedgehog
Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:20 AM

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Anyone else think it odd that the LW's first paragraph was about advertising but then when you read a little further we see that it was his PARENTS who were the greatest influence on him. Why mention the advertising in the 1st place. Can you say red herring?

Comment: #4
Posted by: Keebler
Fri Mar 1, 2013 5:23 PM

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I Started Drinking Beer at Age 12

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