Alcohol gives us a fake sense of having fun, appearing sophisticated, and being a good communicator. Where do we get these false images? From the alcohol ads and from movies. They aren’t presenting reality. Just ask one of the 6.6 million children under the age of 18 who live with an alcoholic mother or father.

     If you’ve tasted alcohol, think of the first time you tried it. What did you think of it? When I ask people that question, most of them reply, “I hated it,” or “It was gross” or “yuck” or “horrible.” I then ask if they ever tried alcohol again if they disliked the taste so much? We don’t try a food we hate a second time. Why do we ever try alcohol again, knowing we don’t like it? One reason and one reason only: PEER PRESSURE. Our friends are drinking. Or someone tells us it is cool. Or we think it’ll make us look grown-up. DON’T FALL FOR THIS WAY OF THINKING! NOTHING THAT YOU DRINK WILL MAKE YOU COOL! YOU ARE WHAT’S COOL-YOUR REAL SELF! NOT THE FAKE PERSON THAT ALCOHOL MAKES YOU TO BE. The alcohol industry knows that to attract young drinkers, especially females, they need a sweet taste; so they add lots of fruit flavor and sugar to the liquor so that you can’t taste the alcohol. Isn’t that nice of them? They take away the bad taste for us because they like us so much-right? Yeah sure. What they like is our money! Here are some helpful responses when you want to decline alcohol:

• Simply Say No. Saying “no thanks” is a good start. If that doesn’t work, you can try other responses.

• Suggest a better idea. (“I’ve got a great idea. Why don’t we go to that new movie that just came out?”)

• Change the subject. (Let’s talk about what we want to do this summer. I want a clear head. Should we go to camp, get a job, or what?”)

• Act Shocked. This is usually an effective response. (“I didn’t know you drank! Your parents will kill you if they find out”)

• Make a joke.

The following lines can deflect pressure in a funny way:

 “I never drink before I’m drunk.” (By the time they scratch their head and figure that one out, you can be on your merry way!) 

“Not my brand.”

 “I’d rather hang loose than hangover.”

 “I don’t need booze to loosen up. I just got it together.”

 “I’m allergic-makes my skin turn purple and I look like Barney.” 

“If I drank that, I’d probably forget where I parked my brain.” 

“You want me to barf all over your car?” I didn’t think so.”