The Pros And Cons Of The Drinking Age

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Recommended: Arguments for and against lowering the drinking age

In other countries around the world a person under the age of 21 can drink alcohol, while some countries don't even have an age limit, but in America a person has to be 21 to purchase alcohol. At the age of 18 a person could go to was for their country, could vote, buy cigarettes, but they cannot buy alcohol. One of the main causes of the drinking age being set to 21 was teenagers were getting into car accidents after getting drunk. By no means should driving under the influence should be legal. While, there should be more government programs to educate and prevent people from driving intoxicated. More and more people under the age of 21 are experiencing alcohol. "A survey released by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) found that by the time Texas teenagers are seniors in high school, more than 80% of the teens admit to having some experience with alcohol. The same study found that secondary students say it's easy to get beer, wine or liquor" (Westbrook). Texas is a zero tolerance state for underage drinking it has some of the strictest penalties for underage drinking, and if 80% of the teenagers in Texas have had experiences with alcohol that tells me that the campaigns against underage drinking, and zero tolerance programs are not working. Teens are going to drink alcohol at one point of their lives. So instead of spending all this money to prevent teens from drinking maybe it should go toward programs, or educating these teens about alcohol so they can make an informed decision about drinking. There are programs now that educate people under the age of 21 about alcohol. These programs are being implemented in colleges around the country, and are about the choices of using alcohol. "At the University of V... ... middle of paper ... ...er deaths from alcohol related causes since more people would know how to consume without excess. Now a-days people are more aware of the effect of drinking and driving can have on themselves, and other people. As a responsible American society, continuing to educate the public and people under the current legal drinking age, about the effects of alcohol is key to the successful ability to lowering the drinking age. Now that more people are aware of the effects of alcohol, the question is should they lower the drinking age to 18 because at that age a person is considered an adult. With teens being more educated in high school and collage one would think they will not make the mistake of driving drunk, now that they are aware of the consequences. If young people in other countries can handle the responsibility of drinking, why can't it be the same for our country?

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