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The legal drinking age in the United States should not be 21; instead it should be changed to 18. Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs. Many Americans start drinking before the age of 21. The age of 18 is adulthood in the United States, and adults should make their decisions about consuming alcohol (Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?, 2015). If the law lower the age of drinking, it decrease the excitement of breaking the law. Lowering the drinking age would be good for the economy also. When turning 18, you are considered as an adult in the United States. If you are 18, and you are allowed to get married, go to jail and be prosecuted …show more content…
By lowering the age limit to 18, the economy would get a boost. Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government. (Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?, 2015). There are more teens who would want to drink and buy their own alcohol instead of asking someone who is of age to buy the alcohol. Teenagers like a sense of independency, they like to do what they want by themselves without asking mom and dad. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of consumer spending for alcohol in the United …show more content…
They express underage drinking can cause health problems. “When alcohol consumption interferes with this early adult brain development, the potential for chronic problems such as greater vulnerability to addiction, dangerous risk-taking behavior, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, depression, violence, and suicide. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that MLDA 21 decreased the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18- to 20-year-olds by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008” (Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?, 2015). Also, they expressed teenagers who are just entering college are more vulnerable to binge drinking and risk sexual activity. The country should lower the drinking age to 18. The country could get an economic boost and that would be great. More teens drink more than adults. They could make more awareness about drinking to the youth in schools. “The 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages” (Engs,
In this article Aguirre talks about the possible benefits of having a raised minimum legal drinking age. She talks about the fact that lowering the drinking age would create a safer venue for young adults to drink. She also says that a lowered drinking age would limit the amount of binge drinking, which would also limit the amounts of deaths caused by binge
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.
Each year, about 5,000 teens are killed or injured in traffic crashes as a result of underage drinking and about 1,900 are due to car accidents. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation) In the newsletter, safety in numbers by National highway traffic administration and U.S department of transportation “Of all the people who died in motor vehicle crashes during 2012, 31 percent died in crashes involving a drunk driver, and this percentage remains unchanged for the past 10 years” (Vol 1, 2013). Crashes involving alcohol include fatal crashes in which a driver had a BAC of .01 g/ ld. or higher (Underage Drinking Statistics)). Deadly crashes involving alcohol are twice as common in teens compared to people 21 and older. This is because teens’ judgment skills are harmed more by alcohol. Teens who drink not only risk hurting themselves, they risk hurting their friends, family, and even strangers when driving intoxicated. Teens and parents both need a strong reminder that underage drinking is illegal and can have disastrous consequences. According to Health Day News, “one study found that in 2011, 36 percent of U.S. college students said they'd gone binge drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting) within the past two weeks, as compared to 43 percent of college students in 1988. Since 2006, the current law has reduced the rate of drunk driving crashes among young Americans” (Preidt, 2014 and DeJong, 2014). This proves that lives have been saved after the legal drinking age increased. According to an article in Time Magazine called “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?”, “lowering the drinking age to 18 would stop infantilizing college students, but it would probably kill mor...
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.
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...
“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 ...
Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money, and if they can get away with selling to underage teens, then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that,?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? Michael Smith - 1st place. There are a lot of benefits to having the drinking age change to eighteen. The amount of binge drinking would lessen, and the amount of outrage to drink would also decrease.
We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music rattled the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my sister. It was not my first time drinking. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced – after all, it’s college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a guy she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of alcohol. Would my sister have been able to see the danger of the situation had she been sober? Would the absence of alcohol have prevented the events of that night from occurring? These questions, along with the vivid memory of that night, fueled my examination of the complex social problem of underage drinking.
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.
The controversy on the proper drinking age is one that has been repeatedly discussed and researched over the years. Its common to hear the argument “If someone is old enough to take a bullet for their country, they should be allowed to drink alcohol.” But is that enough justification? Some would say no. “According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it is estimated that in 2004 there were more than 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually associated with excessive drinking” (Fennell 247). Given these numbers, would lowering the drinking age really be the best thing for America’s youth?
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!
First lowering the drinking age below 21 will just contribute to even younger teens getting alcohol. Now that the drinking age is 21 still teens around the age 19 and 18 are getting alcohol. Lowering the age limit to 18 would only lead to younger teens getting drunk. When I was 18 I was introduced to alcohol because I had friends that were 21 year olds. Had the age been 18, I would have been exposed to drinking at 15. This would lead to more accidents a...
The Drinking age should be reduced to 18 from 21 because 18 is the legal age for most other things and the age that you are considered to be an adult. The first example is that at the age of 18 a person is allowed to smoke, marry, vote, and even risk one's own life fighting for their country's military. This is important because if a person is allowed to serve and risk his/her life for their country, that person should be allowed to go into a bar and have an
The minimum drinking age doesn’t just affect the teen safety, it also affects the safety of the general public because young adults are allowed to drive and perform other tasks that be can be dangerous to others. I agree with the logic of the argument that establishing a safe environment for drinking is an effective way to enforce alcohol safety for young people and to prevent them from irresponsible drinking. So if we can’t stop young people from drinking, it may be better to teach them how to drink safely, right? But something to consider is lowering the age to 18, could also possibly make alcohol more accessible to even younger teens. Keeping in mind that some 18-year-old are still high school seniors, it may open up alcohol as the “cool and popular drink” to juniors or sophomores set by the example of their older peers. As a society we have worked towards protecting our young from harmful substances, knowing how irresponsible teenagers and young adults can be (myself included), this may create new problems in high