Alcohol / Question
Published: December 10, 1999
Dear TeenHealthFX,
I have heard that one of the reasons the drinking age is 21 is because until your early 20s your liver is not grown enough to be able to handle alcohol. Is that true? And can your liver handle small amounts of alcohol? Why is it different from other liquids?
Signed: Concerned About Underage Drinking
Dear Concerned About Underage Drinking,
The reason why the drinking age is 21 has more to do with the issues of responsibility and maturity and less to do with your liver being fully-grown. Although your body is still growing into your early 20s, research and past history suggests that the lower the drinking age and the earlier you start drinking alcohol, the more likely you are to abuse alcohol. Alcohol abuse does not have to mean that you are an alcoholic, it can be as simple as getting to drunk at a party and blacking out. Alcohol causes people to do things they normally would not do when they are sober creating problems and concerns like unplanned sex, getting into fights, etc. Frequent use of alcohol to deal with stress is a way to avoid dealing with reality
Alcohol and many other liquids and food are digested and processed by the liver. The difference between alcohol and other liquids is that over time, large amounts of alcohol essentially poison the liver, causing it to weaken and not function properly. It can even cause tumors to form in the liver. Your liver can handle small amounts of alcohol, but it is just not good for you as a young adult because it can lead to abuse.
Check out the question, alcohol truths. If you or any of your friends have concerns about alcohol abuse and live in Northern New Jersey, please call the Adolescent/Young Adult Center for Health at (973) 971.6475. If you live outside of Northern New Jersey, please call Alcoholics Anonymous or look in the yellow pages of the phone book under Alcoholism to get further treatment information.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
Nearly all the poison deaths in the 
