Alcohol education

It has been shown that heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain such as simple "slips" in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions.

Effects of long-term and short-term alcohol intake may include difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory, etc.

Factors such as:[citation needed] Educating an individual about alcohol beforehand could be a tremendous eye-opener, especially with the developing brain of students.

[7] Educating youth and adults about alcohol use is an attempt to minimize the risk of developing a substance use disorder in the future.

Substance use at a young age can lead to a variety of health risks, both immediate and later in life, as well as an increased probability of developing a SUD.

[8] Educating the youth about the effects of alcohol and health problems that come with it earlier on in life may help prevent the damage before it is done.

Irresponsible drinking can lead to a variety of problems and this model informs people about the outcomes of fatal car accidents, crimes committed and family issues all arising from the misuse of alcohol.

Although this approach may be helpful to point out signs and symptoms of alcohol use disorder it fails to discourage a person from drinking, responsibly or irresponsibly.

The authors of this article also claim that a reduction in premature childbirth and other drug usage, along with better school performance and higher graduation rates are extra benefits of using a substance use disorder program.

Teaching about alcohol consumption has been a controversial topic for schools in the United States due to the differing viewpoints of Americans on the subject.

In rare cases, some states such as Alaska do not require a statewide alcohol education program in their public schools.

[12] Many studies such as Project SAFE have shown that targeting people as young as 6–8 is crucial in order to prevent them from abusing alcohol later on in life.

[14] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) claims that "Approximately 10 percent of 12-year-olds say they have used alcohol at least once.

"[15] In past alcohol education programs in American schools, scare tactics were used in an attempt to persuade adolescents not to drink.

Many schools also require an entrance program to be attended by all transfer students as well as freshman that make the dangers and the policies regarding alcohol clear.

A course commonly used by institutions is AlcoholEdu, a population-level prevention program typically administered to all high school or college freshmen.

The program addresses alcohol and other drugs through the health and physical education curriculum and is aimed at high school student in years 7-12.