Alcohol and smoking have killed countless people and will still keep killing, unless we the people do something about it. The legal age allowed for someone to start smoking is 18 and the age allowed to drink alcohol is 21. Most people would think these ages are acceptable until they find out the facts. Children under the age of 21 shouldn’t be allowed to smoke Marijuana, electronic cigarettes, or cigarettes. The same thing should apply to alcohol; if a beverage has more than two percent of alcohol, it shouldn’t be consumed by anyone under the age of 25.

Smoking in general is a hazardous substance; when consumed it’s worse. Any form of smoking  is harmful to the body and to everyone around you. A cigarette is one of the most frequently used smoking tools. It is made from; .“ dead frog preservatives known as formaldehyde, rat poison chemicals, and insecticide known as nicotine”. All of these poisons are going into a person's body when they inhale the smoke; it’s much worse on a young person. A teen who smokes isn’t the same as an 30 year old that smokes; the brain of a 30 year old is much more developed than the brain of an 18 year old teenager. 5.6 million young Americans younger than 18 will die early from a smoking related illness. That goes to tell everyone that smoking is extremely harmful to children under the age of 1, but that doesn't mean, let teens or people under the age of 21 smoke either.

Alcohol is another problem that teens and society face. Alcohol changes the way you cooperate with the rest of the world. Some things happen while you are intoxicated, some things that you would have never done if you were sober. Alcohol contains a chemical called ethanol, which is an intoxicating substance. This substance has a faster effect on young people than it does on adults. Alcohol can cause a loss in brain substance, damage your liver, loss of nerve function and other ailments, meaning if anyone were to drink too much alcohol it would become toxic or poisonous. “ Nemours Foundation” found that, teens that drink are more likely to have problems in school This shows that anyone who is still involved in some form of school, whether it’s Elementary,  Middle, High or even college. Having a good education is better than, barely getting by. Having a healthy, and successful teen, and young adult is what really matters.

There are some benefits when its comes to smoking and drinking alcohol; it only determines the amount a person consumes. There are different ways to smoke without using harmful resources. Some non-harmful resources are herbs. These herbs can help a person to stop smoking. Lobelia, Hops, Cloves, Peppermint and Ginger are the main herbs. All of these herbs help to calm nerves and to rejuvenate you. Smoking is also a way to reduce the occurrence of certain diseases. Smoking has many benefits so does alcohol. Alcohol can provide you with vitamin B, helping to develop the embryos in the spinal cords. Alcohol also helps to build DNA, and to block the absorption of folate in the blood tissue. women who drank one alcoholic drink a day or more, if they have a 90% vitamin B blood, then they are less likely to get breast cancer. Moderate to light drinkers are more likely to have a healthy weight. Smoking and alcohol both have a good side to them, but that doesn’t cover up the fact that they are still harmful to teens and society.

Alcohol and smoking are two of the main reasons of death. If a substance is powerful enough to slow the process of the brain or even manipulate the person to do things they didn’t want to, it shouldn’t be consumed by anyone. Alcohol is toxic and causes car accidents that should have never happened. Smoking just makes the brain weak and slow. All of these reasons are why the government should raise the ages from 18 and 21 to 25 for both. A survey was taken by some participants asking questions on what the legal age for smoking and drinking should be. For smoking 30.2% of the people choose 21-24 as the legal age. For drinking 51.2% choose 21-24 as the age allowed to drink alcohol. These results show how little people know about the harms of smoking and drinking alcohol.

Having a good support system and not having an influence, can help a teen not want to smoke or drink alcohol in the first place. A habit starts off with you seeing someone else do it then you want to try. You get addicted and can’t stop. That’s when you have an addiction. The only way to stop something before it happens or gets worse is by confronting it. The government needs to hear what the people have to say about the designated ages for smoking and drinking alcohol. The only way to do that is by protesting and campaigning for what’s right.