Drinking Age Persuasive Speech

Hello, I am Sarah Roza and I am arguing that the drinking age should remain at 21. To begin, The National Minimum Drinking age Act of 1984 made all states raise their minimum alcohol purchase and possession laws to 21. If anyone didn’t raise their laws to 21, then there were be a reduction in funding for highways under the Federal Highway Aid Act. The drinking age was raised to 21 for good reason.
Excessive drinking contributes to more than 4,300 deaths of people under 21 years of age in the U.S. each year. In addition, “There were about 189,000 emergency department visits by people under age 21 for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol in 2010.” (CDC). It has been found that when people under the age of 21 drink they are more likely

to die from alcohol poisoning, have unintentional injuries such as car crashes, experience suicidal and violent tendencies, changes in brain development, have lower grades, be dependent on alcohol later in life, and other risky behaviors such as smoking.
As stated earlier, drinking in people under the age of 21 has been strongly linked to suicides. Well, in Australia whose minimum drinking age is 18, there are 14.6 suicides per 100,00 people between the ages 15 and 24, which is 7% more than the united states. In New Zealand, who has the minimum drinking age set at 18, there are 26.7 suicides per 100,000 in the ages 15 and 24. In addition, I have also stated that youth drinking contributes to violent tendencies. Well, in Brazil, where the minimum drinking age is 18, there are 4 times as many murders committed by youths in comparison to the US. All of these statistics are backed by the World Health Organization and the GECD.
The minimum drinking age in the united states should remain at 21 because of the excessive amount of youth deaths in relation to alcohol consumption, the potential health issues that arise as a result of underage drinking, and for the general welfare of the public.
Because of underage drinking, there have been many youth deaths. ¨1 in 5 teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had some alcohol in their system in 2010. Most of these drivers (81%) had BACs* higher than the legal limit for adults.” According to the CDC. If we were to lower the drinking age, these statistics could very well increase. By lowering the minimum drinking age we are risking not only our children's health but their lives. “alcohol is a factor in the deaths of 4,358 young people under age 21 each year.4 This includes: 1,580 deaths from motor vehicle crashes 1,269 from homicides 245 from alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, and drowning 492 from suicides” All of this happened with the drinking minimum age law in place. Imagine what would happen if we were to lower it, and just make it easier for our children to access this drinks? Think of how many more deaths there would be! How is it ethically correct for us to lower the drinking age when we know how many problems it already causes.
Another one of the issues is just that they are the YOUTH.

They do not know what is right or wrong yet, it has even been proven that their brains aren’t fully developed yet! They aren’t able to see things like adults are because of this. Now, youths drink less often than adults do, but when they do drink teens are more likely to binge drink. “young people consume more than 90 percent of their alcohol by binge drinking. 5.1 million young people reported binge drinking (for males 5 or more drinks and for females 4 or more drinks on the same occasion within a few hours) at least once in the past month.”So how can we support this by making it easier for our kids to binge? Because that’s what’s going to happen if we lower the drinking age. “As children mature, it is natural for them to assert their independence, seek new challenges, and try taking risks. Underage drinking is a risk that attracts many developing adolescents and teens.” It is only natural for our children to want to drink. But, as shown by the facts, drinking is bad. Children just don’t understand this. How could we misguide our youth by making alcohol more easily accessible to them? More reason why kids drink is peer pressure, increased independence, desire, and stress. It is an adults job to guide their child. Life can be hard, especially for teens with all of the stress of school and the peer pressures and influences that surround them. It is easy for them to turn to something like alcohol. But, the fact is they

our youth. They don't always make the best decisions, and that's a given. We have to be able to guide and support them, and raising the drinking age will do just the opposite.
The potential health issues that arise as a result of underage drinking There are many potential risks to adolescents mental health associated with alcohol consumption. Alcohol use can have harmful effects on cognitive and physical function. Alcohol can “reduce self-control and the ability to process incoming information and assess risks, and can increase emotional lability and impulsivity” which in turn can make some drinkers likely to turn to violence during confrontations. In addition, the reduced physical control out together with the impaired ability to recognize potentially dangerous situations make drinkers good targets for perpetrators. Equally important, “Alcohol damages areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory, verbal skills and visual-spatial cognition.” Adolescents who drink are found to be deficient in these areas compared to those who don’t drink. On top of all the issues with brain development that have already been highlighted, alcohol consumption also has “deleterious effects on myelination and synaptic refinement.” the myelination has to do with the frontal and prefrontal lobes, which are important for planning, organization, and controlling impulses. The synaptic refinement refers to the “process by which connections between brain cells are pruned and eliminated so that only the most efficient connections are used and maintained.” The synaptic refinement aids in the speed and efficiency of transmitting information from one part of the brain to the other. Not only does alcohol harm brain development, but it “is associated with increased feelings of hopelessness, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts.” Meaning kids who drink alcohol are more likely to be depressed and to commit suicide.
Another key point is that alcohol consumption can result in kids having accidents and getting hurt. In 2011 alone, about 188,000 people under age 21 visited an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries.” An important fact to consider is that alcohol consumption can cause increased sexual interaction. Furthermore “Adolescents are overrepresented in the nearly 1 million cases of sexually transmitted infection, including chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis (CDC, 1999), which in turn heighten risk of HIV infection.”
It is also important to take into account the general welfare of the public. An issue that is strongly correlated with alcohol consumption in minors is CRIME. A topic that many do not take lightly is rape. It has been “found that date rape victims who reported being at least “somewhat drunk” at the time of the assault believed that their assailants were also under the influence of alcohol. A study of assailants showed that 44 percent of the men had been drinking when they committed a sexual assault (Abbey et al., 1996).” A lot of times these people do not realise what they are doing. They don’t realise the implications of their own actions. We need to protect our youth, and if we lower the drinking age then the number of intoxicated rape may go up. On a separate but equally as important note, “Qualitative research in the US found alcohol to be a central part of gang culture and to be strongly linked to violence.” Teen gang violence often happened while the members were intoxicated, and in gangs alcohol usage is encouraged. By keeping the minimum drinking age where it is, we are making it difficult for some kids to obtain alcohol. We are making it difficult for these gangs to get the alcohol and get into these situations, at least, we’re making it more difficult then it would be if the drinking age was at 18. “The consequences of youth violence are far reaching, affecting the health and well being of victims, relationships with family and friends, levels of fear within communities, and pressure on health and other public services.” Underage drinking is not just affecting teens, but it is affecting their surrounding communities. It is better for the public to have the drinking age where it is currently.
Another thing that underage drinking affects is economics.

For example, “The immediate consequences of underage drinking are estimated to include at least $8.4 billion of health care expenditures. These expenditures due to underage drinking represent a societal loss because societal resources have been diverted away from other valuable uses. Health care expenditures related to underage drinking include expenditures for alcohol abuse services and expenditures for the medical consequences of alcohol abuse.” In addition, it was estimated that $7.3 billion dollars are spent each year in the US for alcohol abuse services for underage drinkers. (National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services) So not only do teenagers harm themselves but they are also having a big effect on the

economy.
Students who drink are more likely to have bad grades and “if alcohol use contributes to poorer academic performance in adolescence, the economic consequences may extend into adult life.” We need to guide our children, but we also need to help ourselves. It just isn’t right to have all these money expenditures, and if it’s happening now just think about how much more money will be spent to treat the injuries of these children.
In the end, the drinking age minimum has been put in place to help us. Teenagers may not like the current drinking age, but a moment if unhappiness is better than your child being dead. It is not ethically right for us to lower the drinking age! There are too many deaths, too much violence, too many health risks, and too many risks to the welfare of the public that come with underage drinking. All of these things are happening when alcohol is hard to obtain. If we make it easier to obtain, things could turn into anarchy. We need to save our children. We need to ban together. We need to realise the dangers and potential implications of having the drinking age lowered to 18. Thank you.