Many believe the legal drinking age for alcohol should decrease to 18 in the United States instead of leaving it at 21. “In 2002, at least 19.6 percent of eighth graders were current users of alcohol (use within the past 30 days), by the time they became seniors in high school, almost three-quarters (71.5 percent) reported drinking during the past year and more than one-quarter reported drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks (Reducing The Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility 14)”. The use of alcohol has been a problem in the United States among our youth and young adults who have not reach the age to be drinking. Therefore, the drinking age should not be decreased to 18, because it will be a dramatic increase of younger people drinking and the poor decisions they make
Movies and society send a message of acceptance of underage drinking as a rite of passage. The idea of underage drinking must become unacceptable. It will take repeated work over time in education programs , student circles , kids’ lives, homes and schools, on college campuses, and in courts of law as well as in the discussions between congressmen at the white house to make a lasting change in this problem. Prevention of underage drinking must become a priority and a first project for parents, teachers, and all adults. It must be a priority for all and start before a student is a teenager and continue throughout young teen age life. Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America’s youth. A higher percentage of young people ...
Drinking alcohol has been a staple in American culture dating back even beyond colonial times. As a direct result, drinking at a younger age became widely accepted and was considered to be a part of growing up and becoming an adult. While the drinking age was initially defined as twenty-one, this eventually changed - beginning in the 1960’s - and was lowered to eighteen in most states across the country. However, a dramatic increase in the amount of alcohol-related accidents occurred, thus leading to strict legislation passed by Congress in which the national drinking age of twenty-one was again enforced. Despite the effort from Congress, underage drinking in today’s society continues to grow year by year. There are many factors that play a
Although alcoholism is not necessarily constrained to one demographic, the prevalence of alcoholism, especially in underage drinkers, seems to be of growing concern. In the last five years alone, underage age drinking has seen a startling and rather significant increase. For example, in 2009, about 59.3% of high school seniors had consumed alcohol. The same poll, taken in 2014, showed that 65.7% had now participated in the consumption of alcohol, despite being underage (Whillenburg 3).
Europeans usually consume their first taste of alcohol at the age of 14 years old. Though they are not pressured into drinking at a young age, it is more available and acceptable for young Europeans to consume an alcoholic beverage at a young age. 10 percent of Europeans are linked to early death or bad health because of drinking alcohol. In Britain, a recent study has found that females are binge drinking to excess more than their male counterparts and that it is now more socially acceptable for females to drink to get drunk. "The claim that Europeans learn to drink moderately and safely in a family setting has been used by many in the United States to argue for lowering the drinking age, But our research shows that premise is a myth. Easy access to alcohol seems to allow young people to drink heavily and in a risky fashion, whether in
To answer this question, we shall look at various legal age drinking laws passed in various countries. Some countries allow one to start taking alcohol as early as sixteen or eighteen years of age. However, in some countries, use of alcohol is illegal –you cannot drink alcohol at all, regardless of your age. Currently, there is a huge debate within the country about this issue. Fell (4) mentioned “Nineteen and twenty year olds are drinking anyway; if we legalize it, they will be drinking in a controlled setting”.
Alcohol is an illicit drug that is often used in society. People consume alcohol for many different reasons: celebration, depression, anxiety, boredom, and peer pressure. Alcohol targets different culture, gender and ages of people. In 2012, it has been reported that teenage students have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school, and more than 1/2 have done so by 8th grade. It is incredibly simple for a teenager to find a way to attain alcohol. Even though it is illegal, it is available for their disposal through liquor cabinets at home or even older friends who buy it for them. Since there are so many possible outcomes of using alcohol, should the minimum legal drinking age be lowered to the age of eighteen? This paper will cover the pros and cons of alcohol among teenagers and weather the drinking age should remain the age of Twenty-One and the history of how it was set at that age.
Underaged drinking has become an epidemic within the United States. Starting to consume alcohol at a young age damages the brains developmental process and also leaves behind long term drinking problems for that individual. According to the case file between Heisenberg vs. the State of Missouri, the national average underaged drinking begins at fifteen years of age. Curiosity allows students under the age of twenty-one to want to experiment with toxins like alcohol. These dangerous decision then create the unsafe action to drink and drive. The government should create laws that not only reinforce the existing laws but also alter them, so than young adults are restricted. The legal drinking age of twenty-one should be increased to twenty-five because underaged drinking causes a delay in brain development, it would decrease a young adults curiosity to perform dangerous behaviors and it is also the main cause for car crashes.
The brain does not fully function until the age of 21; as teens down bottles of beer at parties and social gatherings, they are indirectly programming their mind to consume alcohol into adulthood. Near 90% of all alcohol consumption by high school students is through binge drinking (Lohman Raychelle Cassada). Many teenagers will make excuses to partake in drinking such as blaming it on other people in the group or the fact that their parents drink, how it destroys the emotion barrier, and even curiosity. Despite these petty excuses, much of the reasoning behind teen drinking lies within the realms of becoming a risk taker, expectations from others, sensitivity both to the alcohol and emotionally, and personality, hereditary, or environmental factors (Underage Drinking). Family problems, older sibling influence, the desire for popularity, and peer pressure are just some of the social constructs that shift a teen’s mind to accepting an approval for drinking. Teenagers aged 12 to 17, who claimed they drink heavily, were surveyed about their potential drinking habits. The results 77% answered that they had at least one serious problem related to drinking in the past year, 63% established a tolerance to the alcohol and its effects, 20% reported psychological problems, and 12% recorded health problems that adapted as a result to their drinking (Teens' Alcohol Problems). The survey continued to reveal that first use of alcohol begins around the age of 13. 64% of high school students say they have been drunk at least once by their senior year and 33% admit to being drunk in the past month (Teens' Alcohol Problems). Teens today are falsely believing that drinking is acceptable within a large party of friends or familiar faces. However, it is society’s responsibility to bring awareness to the risk and dangers of teen drinking as well as alcoholism as a
In the early 1900’s, when the United States passed through a time of prohibition, numerous citizens were outraged that alcohol was forbidden. Even with the law forbidding all alcohol, the consumption levels didn’t decrease drastically. The only change was that drinking was all done underground; countless young adults constantly sneaked around the law to obtain a few drinks. Although individuals over the age of twenty can obtain alcohol, not much has changed; eighteen to twenty year olds still frequently sneak around. To fix this problem, some people believe that the United States should lower the drinking age because the wait until the magical twenty- first birthday to drink is absurd and contributes to the reason why the U.S. contains a plethora of underage drinkers. Others argue that drinking at any age under twenty-one harms an individual’s health and the law must stay at its current level. Yet, several others believe that twenty-one is too low of an age for the consumption of alcohol, and thus the age ought to increase. In my opinion, the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen since society accepts that age for adulthood, and introducing teens to alcohol while they still go to high school would be beneficial for both society and their health.
In conclusion, establishing the age of twenty-five as the legal age to purchase of alcohol can be of great benefit to the community on the long run. With the assistance of substance abuse treatments, the statistics for underage drinking will be reduced significantly. Parents who continue to watch out over what types of magazines or advertisements their children come across are positively influencing them and greatly impacting their
From its beginning, the consumption of alcohol has always been a hot button issue, and today it is no different, because of this, the controversy surrounding the current drinking age will always be up for debate- is it effective at 21 or should it be lowered to 18 years old? There are numerous pros and cons for each side of the argument; it just depends on who you talk too. Age, gender, and social class are just a few of the things that seem to influence persons’ stance on the current drinking age and it seems as if this debate will go on for years to come. For years, alcohol has been used and consumed; its uses are far wider than just a typical drink at dinner or during happy hour. Not only that, alcohol has been used in almost every situation. From social interactions, to aiding soldiers fighting in battle, to relaxing, to making a mark in the medical world- alcohol has been
When high school graduates go off to college it is a whole new world. Living in a new place with no parents around to tell them what to do. These young adults no longer have curfews and are now responsible for making their own decisions. It’s a big deal becoming an adult, not only because they are in college but also because in the eyes of the United States when a teenager turns eighteen they become a legal adult. With becoming an adult comes many new responsibilities, a person can now vote for the next elected representatives, they can live on their own and pay their own bills; it’s a brand new world for young adults. As a college student, alcohol is a very common occurrence. The minimum legal age to drink in the United States in twenty-one and it has always caused a continuing controversy. Alcohol is everywhere as well as underage drinking and as a college student that has participated in underage drinking, this research is personally
There is a widely held opinion that because Europeans drink at a younger age, Americans should be able to do the same. There is some validity in this idea, but American culture lacks the responsible nature of early exposure to alcohol that many Europeans instill into their children. Europeans view alcohol as a part of their lifestyle and a great accompaniment to their flavorful diet. They ...
One of the largest questions still up for debate is whether to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. We know that this issue is very mundane to you if you’re from the 70’s and 80’s. We can also recall learning about prohibition in the 1920s. Banning alcohol wasn’t the answer then and it isn’t the answer now. It is time America has lowered the drinking age. The push for this started by the founder of Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the increasing awareness of the harms associated with alcohol use among young adults. The United States is one of the only western nations left in which the drinking age is over 18. In most European cultures, drinking is perceived as a social activity. Therefore youths drink as responsible adults as opposed to reckless teens.