Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

Yeah, alcohol is not good on the developing brain. Just think of what happens to children whose mothers drank during preggo. Obviously the results of kids drinking at 14 couldn't come close to the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome because they are already largely developed but 14 is still young.

At that age, the brain has approximately 11 more years on average for progressive development. If one starts drinking that young, that development is clouded right off the bat. Chances are the damage won't be too bad in most kids but there are always exceptions and they can be really screwed over.

Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

The younger you are the easier it is to get addicted as well. Most people 19 and younger think alcohol and smoking have little to no effect on them. It's even worse when they go around telling people that is has no effect; despite what you think, don't tell someone it isn't bad just because you do it. I drink a lot of alcohol, I don't go around telling people it's good for you, I tell them it is bad for you, I just don't have an addiction yet. =p

Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

Yeah, cheers to that. There is this stigma about drinking and alcohol (and drugs in the past, but not as much anymore, still to a degree I guess) that makes them seem like positive, "cool" things to younger people. As much as they won't admit it for mostly political reasons, this stigma is supported by the companies that produce these things as it benefits them greatly. Getting adolescents addicted early in life is a good way to ensure long term profit in large amounts. According to my Abnormal Psych textbook, the majority of people who get addicted to such things begin in their adolescent years. I may remember wrong but I think the ages were between 12 and 21 approximately. ^

Each adolescent the tobacco companies can get hooked on their product is one more customer who will quite likely buy from them for the rest of their lives, unless they get the incentive and determination to quit. If you think about how much profit that ensures the companies that got them addicted, you will realize why they try to advertise to the youth instead of to adults. I think it was Camel that got in trouble for that a few years ago. People figured out that their signature animated camel was bringing in young people because he made smoking look "cool." Oh what a world where industry intentionally tries to get young people addicted to things that may kill them.

Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

Well corporations for the most part are amoral, they don't really think about the pros and cons of the people they're effecting. Which isn't always the best thing. =p

Your textbook is right, almost all people who start smoking do it in their teen years, I can't think of anyone in my life who started smoking (cigarettes) after they had finished school. Then they try to justify their actions by saying "oh well it isn't that bad" (be it alcohol, cigarettes, weed, etc). Drinking is worse, but I hate smoking more, because of the second hand smoke, and inhaling smoke just doesn't seem like a fun thing to do.

Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

I don't really have a problem with the green smoke (as other posts I have made suggest ;) ) but yeah, cig smoke is gross. I've never smoked a cig in my life. Substance abuse is terrifying if you look into the details of it. I've seen friends disappear into cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and my own mother has disappeared into a cloud of prescription drugs... It's really scary to see what addiction can do to a person. I refuse to ever touch anything truly addictive. I do drink once in a while, usually just at parties or maybe a beer at the end of a long day, but not often. Addiction is scary. Heh.

Re: Quebec's New Drinking Age
 

That's awesome. Young alcoholics will do wondrous things.