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Effects of lowering the drinking age to 18
Effects of lowering the drinking age to 18
What bad effects would happen if we lowered the drinking age
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When I think about the age "18," I think about the privilege of being allowed to vote. If someone is old enough to legally change the way a country operates, don't you think it would be alright for them to grab a quick beer at the bar afterwards? Along with being able to buy tobacco products, driving, and voting, turning 18, in a lot of ways, symbolizes becoming an adult. My parents always told me that when you are an adult you can make your own decisions, but I guess that was not entirely true.
A lot of times, because kids are not allowed to drink, it makes them want to do it even more. This can lead to kids drinking in unsafe environments and developing unsafe drinking habits. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention people between the age of 12 and 20 consume 11% of all alcohol drank in the United States(cdc.gov). If kids were taught proper, safe drinking habits, this number would be undoubtedly lower. If the drinking age were to be lowered to 18, kids could learn how to drink in regulated environments and learn the safest way to handle themselves when doing so. In my opinion, binge drinking on weekends would be greatly reduced, as would the nasty habit of drinking and driving. If kids were exposed to this privilege at a younger age, it would give them the experience they need to learn how to develop safe drinking habits. Safer drinking habits means less underage citations and happier parents.Binge drinking is also the fifth leading reason for hospi...
In this article Aguirre talks about the possible benefits of having a raised minimum legal drinking age. She talks about the fact that lowering the drinking age would create a safer venue for young adults to drink. She also says that a lowered drinking age would limit the amount of binge drinking, which would also limit the amounts of deaths caused by binge
The age of responsibility could not make sense at 18 because of all the rights and responsibilities that are given at age 18 such as financial decisions and college and moving out of the house, but their are still so many things that 18 year olds cannot do such as they still can't rent cars or drink alcohol. “...lowering the legal limit to 18 would only be pushing the drinking problem down to 16-17 year old.” (Wagenaar 17). According to Alexander Wagenaar in Greenblatt’s article lowering the age down to 18 would make drinking a big problem for younger teenagers that are 16 and 17. This could make an even bigger problem in high school because people may say that they are close to the age and they may feel more responsible even though they are not. Therefore, it would not make sense to have 18 be the legal
Lowering the legal drinking age would create problems such as infringing on the mental and physical development of the young drinker. As a respected author, Matt Nagin puts it, “The late teens and early twenties are formative years where character building, leadership in the community, and scholastic excellence should be emphasized. Alcohol detracts from all of these.” In other words, Nagin believes that the teen years are an imperative time of growth in a person’s life. Scientists have proven that the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty five. If Nagin’s argument is correct, and I believe it is, then people should understand that scientists have proven the negative affects that alcohol has on the development of the brain. Alcohol has the power to kill brain cells and damage growth hormones. By making alcohol legally accessible to an eighteen year old, we are literally poisoning his or her brain.
For decades, certain people have been contemplating on how to go about the issue of underage drinking; people of the government, parents, and other individuals concerned in global affairs. The problem is, the issue of underage drinking and the nationwide ineffectiveness of the drinking age law of twenty-one isn't debated and discussed as much and as aggressively as it should be. And the main components of discussion ought to be the matter of binge drinking among teenagers and college students, drinking issues and statistics in foreign countries, and finally, possible solutions for this problem. The main point is that the states of our country can only attempt to enforce the law rather than try approaching the problem in any other way. So for that reason, states should be allowed to figure out and experiment on possible ways to solve this matter on their own without government interference.
Sarah, an eighteen-year-old college freshman, walks into a convenience store and moves timidly to the back, hoping that no one she knows will see her. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulls out a chilled case of Coors Light. Sarah nervously approaches the cashier, with her fake ID ready to be shown, and places the case of beer on the counter. Upon first sight, the cashier assumes that Sarah is not of legal age to buy beer, because she is petite and looks young. When she places the case on the counter, the cashier asks her for her ID. Sarah, ready to show her seemingly flawless fake form of identification, hands it to him. At first glance, the ID seems to be real, and the date of birth appears correct, but, when looked at closely, the picture does not exactly resemble the underage customer. The cashier identifies this ID as false identification and refuses to sell Sarah the case of Coors Light.
Primarily, the drinking age should be lowered to teach responsibility and safety in young adults. The idea seems paradoxical; however, the high drinking age that is present in the U.S. today has only pushed underage drinking underground (Balko 458). In fact, America has the highest minimum drinking age in the world (Balko 459). Even though the American drinking age remains high, America still remains with an astonishingly large number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Is this statement a coincidence? Throughout the years alcohol has become more and more of an issue in young adults, but the correct actions are not taking place. If alcohol were to legally be put in the hands of Americans eighteen and above, these individuals would likely be forced to learn a sense of safety and responsibility. As stated by Caryn Sul...
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 would be a lot of benefits to having the drinking age change to eighteen. The amount of binge drinking would lessen, and the out rage to drink would also decrease. According to Smith, ?Reports of binge drinking come from all types of campuses across the country. In 1992, researchers reported that more college?s students
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.
Teen drinking is a huge problem today in America. Statistics show that teens are starting to drink younger and younger and that is a huge problem that if not corrected will be catastrophic. How long will we allow underage drinking to plague our society? How long until enough is enough and someone stands up? If something is not done soon it might be too late! It seems like every time one turns on the news there is a story about a teen being killed or injured due to alcohol. Teen drinking has gotten worse and worse over the years making one think why isn't the government doing anything real to stop this epidemic. The laws that are already in place are obviously not working so the government is just not doing their job. Parents are also to blame letting their kids drink and sometimes even buying it for their teens. The drinking age is twenty-one but all these teens are still getting alcohol. At this time I believe the drinking age should stay at twenty-one until there are stricter punishment for alcohol abuse.
College students are often classified as “party animals,” but these students are most under the legal drinking age when starting college. Students are drinking under the legal age; therefore, they must accept the adult consequences for trying to take adult actions. Lowering the drinking age would show how easily our government is persuaded to choose a side in controversial issues. If the drinking age was lowered, student’s grades would start to drop and the student’s drop-out rate would rise tremendously. Students in this generation have plenty of distractions that take them away from fully focusing on school; therefore, if the age was lowered, students would only worry about the next party instead of their next class. Also, excessive amounts of alcohol have been proven to kill vital brain cells, and brain cells do not replicate like other cells within the body. The brain is not fully developed until age twenty-one, so an eighteen year old should not be killing brain cells necessary for everyday communication and decision making. In order for students to excel, they need minimal stress and minimal distractions. Alcohol will only increase stress and increase distractions, so students should refrain from any type of alcohol related activity. Keeping the drinking age at age twenty-one will result in more successful, responsible
There has always been controversy as to whether the drinking age should be lower from 21 to a younger age, like 18. Though there are drawbacks to lowering the drinking age such as, one It may cost for use of illicit drugs. two Its easier to access other drugs, and alcohol. tree it may decrease unsafe drinking activity’s. The benefits would be that it would one get rid of feelings increasing , two people should have freedom of choice and tree, it is wrong to drink at such a young age.
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.
When you turn eighteen you are expected to just be mature. You’re allowed to buy a house, a car, get a credit card, it seems like you can do whatever you want. Maturity basically gets thrown at you, so hopefully you are prepared for it. High school responsibilities, like getting a job, budgeting your time and learning to drive teach you skills that you can use in your adult life, if you choose to apply them. Maturity is about choice. You can be given every skill that you need to survive and if you are mature enough you will use them.