It’s no secret that alcohol abuse is common amongst adolescents. What is surprising is that this group often gets overlooked by physicians when it comes to identifying and treating underage and problematic drinking.

A new study covered in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) article unveiled that only a little more than half of the 80 percent of high school sophomores surveyed who had recently seen their doctor said there had a been a discussion surrounding alcohol.

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Millennials, or Generation Y (also called the Net Generation, Trophy Generation, Echo Boomers, or even “GenMe”), refer to the generation of individuals born in the latter 1970s or early 1980s through the early 2000s. Plenty has been examined about the Millennials, and much has yet to be understood. In their lifetime, this generation of people has witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and of the Berlin Wall; the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle; the Gulf War; the tragedy of 9/11; and the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Excessive alcohol consumption and underage drinking are serious ongoing concerns in colleges and universities throughout the United States. Personal and social harms associated with these drinking patterns include accidental injuries and deaths, physical and sexual assaults, suicide attempts, drunk driving and involvement in unsafe sex. Unfortunately, health officials at colleges and universities often encounter difficulty when trying to identify and counsel students at risk for alcohol-related problems. According to the results of a study published in 2011 in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, displays of drinking-related behaviors on publicly viewable social media profiles act as clear indicators of problematic alcohol consumption in college-age populations. Regular reviews of these public profiles may give health officials a new tool to identify at-risk students.

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Most college graduates lament about days or nights or both when they soaked their brains in alcohol, some with regret and others with a sense of nostalgia for the “good old days.”

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The biggest question surrounding drug and alcohol use has been who or what is to blame for the disease of addiction. Were the drugs themselves responsible, possessing qualities that made it impossible for people to resist them? Or were certain individuals simply weak, engaging in self-destructive behavior because they enjoyed it and didn’t really want to stop?

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Product placement in movies can range from overt to subtle. While some products, such as a particular brand of car featured in a movie, can simply influence which vehicle a person chooses, other placements have a more important influence.

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Although alcohol in the United States is legally restricted to people 21 and older, the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 39 percent of high school students reported drinking alcohol. Of those, 22 percent reported drinking in quantities that were great enough to qualify as binge drinking.

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Sixteen-year-old Katie got an unexpected phone call from her boyfriend (they usually text). He wanted to break up, at least until the end of the school year, he told her, so he could “focus on sports.” As soon as Katie tearfully said goodbye, she already had a barrage of texts coming in. Her boyfriend, now ex, had already changed his status on Facebook from “in a relationship” to “single” with a few comments about fun times ahead in the single life and cyber high-fives from buddies. Katie didn’t have time to react before she was receiving Facebook messages, comments to her wall, and Twitter comments and direct messages asking about the break-up – one she had no idea was even coming. Everyone seemed to know about her boyfriend’s decision before she did – people online she didn’t even know – making her breakup all the more humiliating.

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Oral cancer is a general term used to describe cancerous tissue located in the lips, gums, mouth floor, cheek linings, tongue, or in the soft or hard palate in the roof of the mouth. In many cases, cancers in these tissues belong to a group of cancers known as squamous cell carcinomas; these carcinomas spread relatively quickly and can produce serious health repercussions far beyond the mouth and its structures. Most people know that smoking and the use of other tobacco products seriously increase risks for the onset of oral cancer. However, a clear majority of people with cancers of the mouth also drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

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Binge drinking is associated with many adverse health outcomes. Binge drinkers are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and be involved in an assault or vehicular crash. They may also increase their risk for cancer and liver disease.

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