Young adults between the ages sixteen and eighteen can legally drink alcohol in the United Kingdom. However, in the United States young adults are not allowed to drink alcohol in public until age twenty-one. Some people feel as though the legal age to drink alcohol should be twenty-one and older because young adults are more mature and responsible. Many others feel as though the age to drink alcohol should be lower than twenty-one teaching young adult’s responsibility and positive decision making. Nevertheless, lowering the age to drink alcohol will increase traffic accidents, increase health risks among citizens and create a dangerous environment for society.
Traffic accidents will increase if the age of drinking is lowered. After the drinking age law was intended to twenty-one, instantaneous decline in alcohol-related accidents within young-adults (Drinking Age Law). Alcohol-related accidents occur frequently among young adult ages eighteen and twenty because they are immature and have a low alcohol tolerance. According to Washington Accident Book, before the age to drink was twenty-one, there were many fatal car accidents among young adults age eighteen to twenty. When the legal drink to drink was at twenty-one fatal car accidents decrease by twenty-eight percent (Drinking Age Law). Alcohol causes dizziness, impairs judgment, lengthens response time, and causes an increase in fatal car accidents among young adults.
Health concerns also increase by lowering the legal drinking age. Alcohol intake can hinder the brain development of the young adult. With brain damage young adults are likely to partake in unsafe acts, bad decision making, and self- destruction (Drinking Age). Lowering the age to drink will cause a setback in the ...
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...ates good decision making and may reduce alcohol abuse. In rebuttal, others argue that giving young adults the option to drink alcohol increases traffic accidents and increases health risks. In the United States the legal age to drink should remain twenty one. At age twenty one young adults generally are more responsible, mature, focused and have a higher alcohol tolerance. Maintaining the current legal drinking age will result in fewer traffic fatalities and will raise the life expectancy among young adults.
Works Cited
“Drinking Age Law: History, Statistics, Accidents and the Law”. Washington Accident Book. Web.04.Apr 2014.
“Drinking Age”. ProCon.org. Web. 04 Apr 2014.
Ford, Gene. “Why We Should Lower the Drinking Age to 19”. http://www2.potsdam.edu. Web. 04 Apr 2014.
“Alcohol Alert”. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Web. 04.Apr 2014.
In the New York times article “Lower the Drinking age to 19” Mr.Steinberg points out the importance of why it might be more beneficial to the United States to lower the current drinking age. He debunked the common belief of underage drinking being linked to highway accidents, he explains instead of raising the drink age maybe we just raise the driving age to 18. He states that “Moreover countries that use 18 for both the drinking and driving age generally have safer highways that the United States.” Laurence Steinberg lower the drinking age New York times. Laurence then talk about the only reason why a higher drinking age would make sense is in the case
Nagin, Matt. "Top 3 Reasons Why the Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered to 18."
"Americans Still Oppose Lowering the Drinking Age." Gallup Poll Briefing. (24 July 2014). Web. 19 Feb. 2016. The article provides the views of those who wish to keep the legal drinking age at 21. It states that almost 75% of Americans are still against lowering the drinking age. They believe that the higher age has reduced drinking and driving accidents. Also stated is the belief that since it has been in act for thirty years it should be left the same. The articles also provides statistics based on the specific classes of Americans who are for or against the issue. The purpose of the article is to show readers the benefits of keeping the drinking age as is. It was published on a website that is used to report new and political issues, therefore, allowing it to draw the attention of many people. It is unique in the fact that it provides surveys and information about the specific kinds of people that were surveyed. This article helps me with my thesis because it provides me with the views of people who do not agree with it, therefore, allowing me to show both sides of the
This issue hit home for me because it puts many people at risk for things such as car accidents, binge drinking, alcoholism, depression, suicide, and rape, things no one should ever experience, let alone in middle or high school. These reasons are why the legal age to purchase, and consume alcohol should remain at 21 years of age.
Each year, about 5,000 teens are killed or injured in traffic crashes as a result of underage drinking and about 1,900 are due to car accidents. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation) In the newsletter, safety in numbers by National highway traffic administration and U.S department of transportation “Of all the people who died in motor vehicle crashes during 2012, 31 percent died in crashes involving a drunk driver, and this percentage remains unchanged for the past 10 years” (Vol 1, 2013). Crashes involving alcohol include fatal crashes in which a driver had a BAC of .01 g/ ld. or higher (Underage Drinking Statistics)). Deadly crashes involving alcohol are twice as common in teens compared to people 21 and older. This is because teens’ judgment skills are harmed more by alcohol. Teens who drink not only risk hurting themselves, they risk hurting their friends, family, and even strangers when driving intoxicated. Teens and parents both need a strong reminder that underage drinking is illegal and can have disastrous consequences. According to Health Day News, “one study found that in 2011, 36 percent of U.S. college students said they'd gone binge drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting) within the past two weeks, as compared to 43 percent of college students in 1988. Since 2006, the current law has reduced the rate of drunk driving crashes among young Americans” (Preidt, 2014 and DeJong, 2014). This proves that lives have been saved after the legal drinking age increased. According to an article in Time Magazine called “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?”, “lowering the drinking age to 18 would stop infantilizing college students, but it would probably kill mor...
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...
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).
...e minimum legal drinking age in the United States should remain at twenty-one years old. Since the National Legal Drinking Age Act was ratified, the consumption of liquor among minors has abated significantly. With the restriction in affect, the United States is definitely a safer place when it comes to alcohol use. Even though, the reduction of the drinking age would get rid of the taboo that surrounds alcohol which would result in fewer teens drinking just to be accepted by their peers, young adolescents now have a harder time getting access to alcohol due to the minimum legal drinking age resulting in less alcohol-affiliated problems and a decrease in damage to their bodies. Teens and alcohol are not a good mix so citizens of the United States should keep them separated as best as they can. By having a minimum age limit of twenty-one, that is a great way to do it.
Now it is simply an opinion that tightening restrictions and increasing visibility enforcement will lower the number of drunk driving accidents and deaths. The legal age to consume alcohol in our nation, the United States of America, is 21 years of age; although, it was previously allowed at the age of 18, when one is accepted into adulthood. The National Minimum Drinking Age is imposed in every state that allows persons under 21 years of age to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages.
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.
Wechsler, Henry, and Toben F. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?." American Journal of Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-992. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.
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.
It really is no secret that if the minimum legal drinking age were lowered, a large number of teens would then drink for perhaps the first time. “The age group with the most drivers involved in fatal crashes with Blood Alcohol Content levels of .08 or higher during 2011 was the twenty-one to twenty-four-year-olds” (“National Highway Traffic Facts”). Young adults are just as irresponsible at eighteen as they are at twenty-one, maybe even more irresponsible. The teenagers will indulge themselves on what they feel is a luxury the first chance they get. The young adults abuse the alcohol, and then go driving because even at twenty-one through twenty-four they are still not as responsible. If the age is lowered to eighteen, many eighteen-year-olds will go out and drink alcohol for the first time. The age group may rise to number one in fatal crashes. The National Highway Traff...
The biggest problem with drunk driving by young adults is the high rate of traffic accidents. Although young drivers ages 16 through 25 makeup only 15% of U.S. licensed drivers, they constitute 30 percent of all alcohol-related driving fatalities. This is double the amount of licensed drivers in that age group. Inexperience with both drinking and driving may contribute to this disproportionate rate. Nationwide in 1996, people ages 15 to 24 died in fatal motor vehicle crashes and 45 percent of those deaths were a result of alcohol (NHTSA 4). So it comes to no surprise that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people younger than 25 (NCHS 98).
...cts support my argument that it should be lowered to eighteen. Allow these young adults to do as they choose. If they want to consume alcohol or purchase it, the law should allow them to. They are old enough to make their own decisions, which is supposed to be one of the perks that comes with being an adult. The more the law pushes to stop underage drinking, the more it will happen. Most underage college students are exposed to alcohol and will consume it for multiple reasons. At age twenty-one the same factors of binge drinking, being irresponsible, and so on, can happen. Eighteen years old or twenty-one years old, if you do not have a high tolerance for alcohol, you will act in the wrong manner and will suffer the same consequences. Allow eighteen year olds to be adults like the legally are. Allow them to decide whether or not they want to buy or consume alcohol.