Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations. If the drinking age is lowered, the maturity in people would decrease. From various sources, it is stated that “The [minimum legal drinking age] should stay at 21 because people tend to be more mature and responsible at 21 than 18” (ProCon.org). At the age of twenty one, one has experienced more life situations than an eighteen year old has, making the twenty one year old a more responsible human being. It is also proven that “Raising the drinking age has apparently increased responsibility among young people. Compared to 1980 when less than 21 was the norm, fewer college students in 1995 reported drinking in the past month (68% vs. 82%) and binge drinking (39% vs. 44%)” (Egendorf 110). Younger adults tend to be less mature about drinking than older adults would. Moreover, if the drinking age is decreased, then people would drink irresponsibly. When teenagers get intoxicated, the results can lead to immaturity and unawareness of their surroundings. Therefore, they create harm toward others. Being drunk causes peoples’ brains to not function normally and impacts their acti... ... middle of paper ... ...ual activity, and other irresponsible behavior due to lack of maturity” (ProCon.org). Lowering the drinking age causes lack of maturity in young adults. Thus, the lack of maturity feeds into people performing bad acts that change their lives forever. If the drinking age were to decrease, it would decrease the maturity among young adults, influence bad decisions to be made that lead to injuries, and it would damage one’s reputation. 18 year olds cannot handle the legal privilege of being able to drink. It is a huge responsibility that young adults are not capable of doing. Having the drinking age settled at 21 would reduce the number of drinking and driving accidents and make a good representation to America for responsible drinking. Overall, drinking can go many ways, but maintaining the legal drinking age at 21 would influence more safe and responsible drinking.
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
In the contents of this paper, four points of view will be discussed on an extremely controversial issue that has an effect on a large percentage of citizens in the United States. The issue at hand is whether the legal age to consume alcohol should be lowered from 21 to 18, and will state a pro and con side, as well as 2 stakeholders for each side of the argument. The stakeholders on the pro side are as follows: Underage consumers of alcohol, businesses that sell and the companies that produce alcohol. The people on the con side of the argument that would want the legal age to remain at 21 include State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as the demographic of Parents that would prefer to keep their children from being exposed to alcohol at a potentially young age. As you continue to read the stakeholders opinions and arguments will be explained, after which the author’s personal opinion will be advanced. After doing my own in depth research on the topic, the legal age to consume alcohol should remain at 21 as set by the United States Congress when they passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) in July of 1984. This act punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years of age to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by ten percent. (National Minimum Drinking Age Act) This caused all fifty continental U.S. states to set their legal drinking age to 21, and it has remained there for thirty years.
Which may cause some issues. An article by New York Times “Lowering the Drinking Age Has Serious Consequences” by Tara Watson explains the only reason why the drinking age was raised to 21 was because of the serious issues happening on a daily basis. “…when many states moved from minimum of 18 to 21. Our study found that a lower drinking age was associated with a statistically higher risk of unintended pregnancy and… worse infant health.” (Watson) Not only was unintended pregnancy the only issue happening Watson also explains there will mostly likely be higher crime rates to last much longer, and this is all associated with alcohol. Not only does Watson explain that lowering the drinking age limit has and will cause a huge impact psychologically it will cause young adults to binge drink as they get older. Furthermore, having the availability to drink as a young adult will cause huge impacts such as fatal car accidents, unwanted pregnancy, and higher crime
Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make a lot of sense in the world. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make more sense. It would be better for the teens that drink on college campus. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because you can vote at eighteen, buy tobacco, it’ll reduce the thrill of breaking the law, evidence supports that early introduction of drinking is the safest way to reduce juvenile alcohol abuse, and college people that are not 21 drink also.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University.
If the drinking age was lowered to eighteen years old it will promote and cause society in general to learn the responsibilities and long term effects of drinking in moderation. the eighteen to twenty years old age groups are the most known and looked at to have issues with drinking in moderation, but if the legal drinking age was decreased it wouldn't be so much of a problem. “Lowering the drinking age would allow people to get used to drinking in moderation. this would allow the to learn to drink responsibly and lead to less alcohol related incidents in the future.” Once young adults begin having the freedom to drink it become less of a big deal. “it would make drinking alcohol less f a taboo” and more of a learning experience (Anthony Buratti pg. 1). In countries such as France, Portugal, and Spain alcohol consumption is started at a very young age yet there is little to no evidence that it is harmful to the eighteen to twenty age groups (Jessica Pauline pg. 2). Attempting to prevent the eighteen to twenty age groups will only provoke them to do it more and unsupervised therefore possibly harming themselves with dangerous consequences (Underage Drinking pg. 18). Exposing them to alcohol will allow them to gai...
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” This is the case when it comes to teens and alcohol. In America, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age is a topic of great debate and controversy. Many people argue that the age restriction provides a safe environment for all citizens; whereas others disagree that the law creates an untrustworthy aura among teens. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be lowered, most people would be affected by it, whether it be by an increase in drunk-driving or a rise in crimes. Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers.
One of the greatest debates of the world is the legal drinking age of adolescents. In some counties there is no legal age, however in others the, legal drinking age is extremely high. Because the age restriction is different all around the world, it leads to an immense debacle. In today’s society, it is necessary that the United States government lowers the drinking age from 21 to 18. The world nowadays is enormously different from when they first changed it, causing the age to not correlate with today’s society. In addition, there are numerous other legal rights 18 year olds have that make the drinking age stand out. If the legal age for drinking was lowered then the outcomes will be positive, for example, there would be less illegal drinking
Lawmakers should not consider lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. Despite the deep value this country places on freedom, personal liberties, and personal responsibilities, the data shows that public safety is greatly at risk if the drinking age were to be lowered to twenty-one. A variety of groups believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen deeming that the twenty-one law is unconstitutional. On the opposing side, people agree that the law helps to protect our young people and the communities where they live.
The current drinking age in the United States of America is 21. There are some people who agree with the current drinking age even some who think it should be raised. On the other hand, a number of people feel that the current drinking age produces more problems than it prevents (“Cross Fire”). The United States has unsuccessfully tried prohibition legislation not once, but twice in the past. These laws were eventually done away with due to the inability to enforce and the repercussion towards them that ended up causing even more trials and tribulations (Engs). “Prohibition demonstrates beyond a doubt that drinking and the problems caused by drinking cannot simply be eliminated from the United States” (Olson). In the present day, the government is still reiterating the same mistakes that they made in past attempts (Engs). Research from the early 1980’s until present-day shows a decrease in per capita consumption instead, there has been an increase in other problems involving excessive and negligent drinking amongst college students after the twenty –one year old law in 1987 (Engs). The current drinking age of 21 is not effective and is causing other social problems. (Engs). This calls for us as a nation to change our existing drinking law.
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown significant results in the prevention of accidents and death studies across the board. Accordingly, the MLDA should remain at the current age of twenty-one.
According to the drinking age ProCons.org, lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds. It is more likely that they will use other illicit drugs. Lowering the minimum drinking age to 21 would increase the number of teens who drink and therefore the number of teens who use other drugs knowing the effects of this situation, and understanding what can happen. Young adults cloud face many more problems than just . Drinking is one step forward to many more drugs. According to drinking age ProCons.org, the minimum drinking age at 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities were reduced, 100 of the 102 analyses ( 98 percent) in the 2002 meta-study of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking age associated with lower accidents.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.