Legal drinking age in the United States In our modern time, and specifically in the United State of America, we face a lot of problems and things that many American citizens want to change. One of the most interesting issues things that the US citizens argue is issue of the legal drinking age. A lot of people advocate for the reduction of the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years – just as it was in the past. On the other hand, there is also a section of citizens who support the current legal drinking age i.e. the minimum drinking age should be 21 years. The contentious question is; should this law be changed? Or alternatively, should the government keep the law of twenty-one? 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”. Fell (4) also said “Making it illegal to drink until twenty-one just increases the desire for the ‘forbidden fruit. When teens turn twenty-one, they’ll drink even more.” He also put forward a question, “Don’t experiences in other countries show that there are fewer alcohol and drunk driving problems when the drinking age is lower?” (5). There are more arguments, but the above are the most important and most discussed between people who agree and disagree. Drinking Alcohol at eighteen was once legal in America. According to Wilcox (1), “Approxi... ... middle of paper ... ...nd to over drink when get an opportunity to do so. In argument to reduce the minimum drinking age, Fell (5) mentions “studies shows that in different countries where there is lower age of drinking, there is less problems in the street and in driving.” In the epilogue, in my opinion, changing the law of twenty-one back to the old rule of legalizing alcohol in age of eighteen has more benefits than forbidding it. American youth should act and ask their government for their rights if they want this to change – actions are better than words. I believe that the government wants to be happier by making their own nation happy and as an advantage; more companies will reap huge profit due to increased sales, and sure the government will earn more revenues through tax. Moreover, this will go a long way in reducing accidents and incidents due to binge drinking by teenagers.
Lowering the legal drinking age would create problems such as infringing on the mental and physical development of the young drinker. As a respected author, Matt Nagin puts it, “The late teens and early twenties are formative years where character building, leadership in the community, and scholastic excellence should be emphasized. Alcohol detracts from all of these.” In other words, Nagin believes that the teen years are an imperative time of growth in a person’s life. Scientists have proven that the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty five. If Nagin’s argument is correct, and I believe it is, then people should understand that scientists have proven the negative affects that alcohol has on the development of the brain. Alcohol has the power to kill brain cells and damage growth hormones. By making alcohol legally accessible to an eighteen year old, we are literally poisoning his or her brain.
According to “Perils of Prohibition: Why We Should Lower the Drinking Age to 18” author Elizabeth M Whelan article which she argues that now a days in society prohibiting the sale of alcohol beverages to young adults specially teens creates a bad atmosphere full of alcohol abuse. She supports this article by explaining two points: First, American teens, rather than European teens, don 't train well to know how to drink in moderation, and second, compare her daughter 's problem with her own when she was a college student, to see their differences during that time of age.
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.
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.
Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen is a good idea because it will most likely promote responsibility, alcohol consumption will be more controlled, and, if not done so, it is posing as discrimination against the eighteen to twenty age group; however, lowering the legal drinking age back to eighteen can be fatal because the brains of the eighteen to twenty year old age groups are not fully developed, binge drinking and alcohol addiction rates will go up, and the drinking and driving rates will increase.
I mean I still like to go out with my friends to bars, but the fun is all over, in high school and college it was so exciting trying to get alcohol by using a fake ID.? All of these factors could be changed by lowering the drinking age to eighteen. In a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for boys and four drinks for girls. And when they did a survey, they found that 44% of the students attending Harvard binge drink (Jeffrey Kluger 1).
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.
There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive way. Not only do minors support this idea, but there are numerous people and organizations that support the idea of lowering the drinking age as well. The current drinking law is counterproductive in our society because it’s not effective in eliminating underage drinking, and leads to unsafe situations such as drunk driving and alcohol poison instigated deaths. This problem could be solved by lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen, with a drinking license.
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.
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...
It is undeniable that alcohol plays a huge role in the modern American culture. Ever since Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 requiring everyone in every state to be twenty-one years of age to drink and buy alcohol, there have been many controversies over whether this act was the right move or not. Before this law was put into action, states had the freedom to set their own drinking age laws and many were able to purchase alcohol at just eighteen years old. According to the U.S. Department of State, “children become adults at age 18” (US Department of State). The main argument set forth is the question of why eighteen-year-olds are allowed to fight and die in a foreign country, own
The proportions of accidents to people would remain virtually unchanged, so the data is not implying that young drinkers are more irresponsible. Some statistics claim that the legal drinking age of 21 saves approximately eight-hundred 18-20 year old lives a year, and that you can not put a price on a life. Adversely, the legal drinking age is enforced very loosely in some places. Especially on college campuses, teenagers continue to drink. It has been said that “Underage drinkers drink on fewer occasions, but when they drink they are more likely to binge drink” (Wechsler). With college students disrespecting the law now by participating in binge drinking, age twenty-one supporters argue that the law should be stricter. 18- 26 year olds now enter college with less binge drinking than past teens, but leave participating in more binge drinking than past 26 year olds (Jager). Along with this, recent data suggests that daily alcohol use has declined for 18-20 year olds since the 1980’s, but 21-24 year olds have not experienced a decline, just a shift from regular drinking to binge drinking. Binge drinking has increased over the past ten years, but 18-20 year old
There are a number of reasons why teenagers feel the urge to drink. Social environment, peer influence, stresses, and even factors such as media influence contribute to underage drinking. Peer pressure is as well known use among teens. Americans have a burning desire to be accepted and liked by their peers. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging. Many adolescents feel that they need to drink alcohol to gain this acceptance by the others around them. Stress is also another reason why teens may feel apt to drink alcohol. Stress causes teenagers to look for a quick escape from the problems, which they face, in their day-to-day lives. This quick escape can be found in the shape of a bottle. In the eyes of an underage drinker, alcohol is the cure to all problems, a way to forget all of stress and pressures that are facing them. They feel that it will numb their pain and continuing to use alcohol will result in maybe another problem, substance abuse.
As the current legal drinking age remains to be 21, adolescents today are increasingly drinking large amounts of alcohol behind the backs of others. Along with this being illegal, alcohol-related dangers within our youth like dependency, disease, and irresponsible behaviors are problems that many are finding ways to prevent by increasing awareness; some people have even suggested that raising the drinking age would be the ultimate solution. However, is the constant routine of warning adolescents and preventing them from drinking really working? Based on the vast number of anti-alcohol programs in schools and existing laws forbidding the use of underaged drinking, today, there are still increasing reports. Instead of repeatedly preventing our