The debate of whether the minimum legal drinking age has been going on for years. People have their own opinions on what the age should be set at and their reasons. There are many reasons why people say it should be eighteen, and there are many reasons why people say it should be twenty one. It could be possible that changing could have serious consequences. The legal drinking age should remain at twenty one.
Reducing the drinking age would increase the amount of youth who drink and this would lead to more irresponsible drinking.It is not a fact of age but the alcohol itself. Ronald J. Hunsicker, president and CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Provider (NAATP), says, “I’m not sure that the issue is age” (“College Presidents” 2). He is inferring that the problem is not the legal age but, the problem is who and how responsible is he or she. Hunsicker believes the real problem is “…alcohol abuse and alcoholism” (“College Presidents” 2). While the idea of the person and how responsible he or she may be might play a large role in the conflict, I find that age does play a large factor. Youth under the age of twenty one tend to be just too irresponsible and drink mainly just to become drunk. Binge drinking has become a large cultural change, especially in underage college students, since the increase of the legal age in 1984 (Heath 1). If the legal drinking age were to be reduced to eighteen, then would that also reduce the amount of binge drinking that takes place within ages eighteen to twenty one? Kids are going to do as they please, especially in college. College is the first time they are finally out of the house and have a sense of freedom. Most new college students are going to branch out and try new things ...
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...” (Brown, Matousek, and Radue 613). If the legal age is reduced then so will the age of minors who drink. As of now we have drinkers at the age of sixteen, but if the age is lowered is it possible to have consumers as low as the age of twelve?Keeping the drinking age will continue to reduce the amount of minors who drink. “In short, MLDA 21 has been the most successful underage alcohol control effort to date…” (Saylor 332). The current drinking has been most successful at keeping minors from alcohol. It seems to be steadily reducing the amount of underage drinkers and helping society.
In conclusion of my research and evaluations, there are just to many factors against lowering the age. Minors under the age of twenty one are mainly just too irresponsible and are at to many health risks. The minimum age of twenty one has worked for three decades so, why change it now?
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.
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.
There has been debate on what age should people drink. Many think we should be able to drink at 18 or many people think we should be able to drink at the age 21 or older. Both cases makes some good points of why. There shouldn’t be any debate at all because bottom line the age limit on drinking is fine where it is for many reasons.
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.
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 that too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one.
The government is conducting an idea to whether lower the minimum legal drinking age in the United States or not. Many Americans forbid the idea of legalizing the drinking age so that it would be profitable to the businesses. Likewise, there have been many advantages and disadvantages of why should the government allow young adults drink under the age of 21. To prevent this issue, many Americans have provided reasoning that will support the idea of keeping the minimum legal drinking age where it is now. The government should maintain the minimum legal drinking age in the United States at the age of 21.
...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.
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.
If the drinking age is lowered would it stop more kids from binge drinking, partying and getting in to trouble? There are some many different views on to lowering the drinking age, would solve these problems. Some people think they will others don’t. Lowering the drinking age in some cases will help from an article by Katie Cary called Time to Lower the Drinking Age. She said “She rather see her kid in a well patrolled party...
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.
“By lowering the minimum drinking age to 21. It would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol”. As said in drinking age ProCons.org. Newly legal drinking often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a trickle-down effect. surveys show that the common source of alcohol among 18-21 year olds is there 21-24 year old peers. Believing that their is a purchase to alcohol for their underage peers meaning even if you ...
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.
Now let’s imagine a United States where the drinking age is lowered to age 18. What you would expect to see is that people would drink less because the temptation of drinking alcohol would be lowered. There would be a lot less alcohol related incidents because binge drinking rates decreased significantly due alcohol education and supervision. The mentality of “getting wasted” would also be gone because drinking would be treated as a normal social activity. Wow, if that really happens, drinking would be like how it is in Europe, where they have a lowered legal drinking age that actually works!
Ruth C. Engs says “The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon research that I have been involved in for over twenty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.” Most people are aware that most college students drink and go to parties, lowering the drinking age and showing them how to drink safely is the responsible thing to do. Letting younger people know how much they can handle and knowing how to drink responsibly would make it where less and less people would go out and do something stupid. Going out with one of your friends and having a drink is not a bad thing if anything it shows how responsible you can be knowing your limits and not going over that. That's like going out to eat, some people are addicted to fast food. If Mcdonald's stopped serving overweight people because they could become addicted and be severely unhealthy it's the same way with alcohol. There will always be people that go overboard with everything and those people are the ones that spoil it for everyone. Since 18 year olds have the right to