The brains’ final stage of development is at the age of twenty-five, which is the final stage of development for risky behavior. Should the United States really lower the drinking age to eighteen? There are many circumstances why the United States should not allow drinking at such a young age, but many feel they should. Starting to drink alcohol at such a young age leads to alcoholism, drunk driving, and has dangerous consequences on the body. Drinking at a young age leads to alcoholism if one is not careful. Alcoholism is a disease that is hard for someone to overcome. Studies have been done that have shown people who have alcohol related relatives are four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves. Alcoholism can be broken down into two categories, acute and long term. Acute alcohol use is when someone drinks occasionally. Long term use of alcohol is when someone has to have a drink every day, or when you can’t go a day without drinking, which is considered alcohol dependence another word for alcoholism. Alcoholism causes a variety of social problems that include loss of work productivity and violence. Studies have shown that fewer adolescents are drinking but when they do drink they tend to binge drink. Binge drinking leads to alcoholism. Another study has shown that when people are told not to do something they are more than likely going to do the opposite. There should not be more laws against drinking, but instead more programs to teach to teach teens how to drink responsibly. Dr. Dale Archer says, “This would focus, not only on drunk driving, but also binge drinking, brain damage, the deleterious health effects of alcohol abuse and how to drink in a responsible manner.”(2/3) There are two ways to treat alcoholism, detox or rehab. Most treatment for young adults who have a drinking problem is mainly an intervention, instead of the more
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.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make a lot of sense in the world. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make more sense. It would be better for the teens that drink on college campus. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because you can vote at eighteen, buy tobacco, it’ll reduce the thrill of breaking the law, evidence supports that early introduction of drinking is the safest way to reduce juvenile alcohol abuse, and college people that are not 21 drink also.
Primarily, the drinking age should be lowered to teach responsibility and safety in young adults. The idea seems paradoxical; however, the high drinking age that is present in the U.S. today has only pushed underage drinking underground (Balko 458). In fact, America has the highest minimum drinking age in the world (Balko 459). Even though the American drinking age remains high, America still remains with an astonishingly large number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Is this statement a coincidence? Throughout the years alcohol has become more and more of an issue in young adults, but the correct actions are not taking place. If alcohol were to legally be put in the hands of Americans eighteen and above, these individuals would likely be forced to learn a sense of safety and responsibility. As stated by Caryn Sul...
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.
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 too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. 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 1).
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.
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.
There are an estimated 3.3 million teen-age alcoholics in the United States. Adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin drinking at age 21. Youth who drink alcohol are five times more likely to smoke cigarettes, four times more likely to smoke marijuana and three times more likely to use an illicit drug. Teens that use alcohol tend to become sexually active at earlier ages. Teens who use alcohol are more likely to be victims of violent crimes such as aggravated assault, robbery or rape.
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.
Frey and Schonbeck explain that it is estimated that over 76 million people worldwide are affected by alcohol abuse or dependence. The chance of having an alcoholic in one’s life is very high. Children that grow up in an environment with an alcoholic may increase that child’s chance of becoming an alcoholic themselves. In the United States, the most commonly abused drug among youth is alcohol. Even though the legal drinking age is 21, nearly 20% of all alcohol consumed in the United States is by people under the legal age (83). In fact, when youth start drinking at social events in their teenage years, they are greatly increasing their risk of developing alcohol problems (85). Alcoholism can affect people of all ages. Furthermore, some experts try to differentiate between alcoholics and social drinkers. Typically, they base this off of five categories. Social drinkers do not drink alone. They consume minimal amounts of alcohol during social functions. Situational drinkers may not ever drink unless they are stressed out. These drinkers are more likely to drink by themselves. Problem drinkers can be described as a drinker that alcohol has caused problems in their life. However, they usually respond to advice given by others. Binge drinkers are out of control in their alcohol consumption. They may drink until they pass out or worse. Alcoholic drinkers have found that their lives have become unmanageable and that they are completely powerless over alcohol (84). Alcoholics should be cautious of their surroundings to prevent
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 ...
The legal drinking age has been a highly controversial topic since the prohibition. After the prohibition in 1933 the legal drinking age was either set or lowered to the age of 18 in states such as North Carolina, New York, Florida and a few others. There are both pros and cons to lowering the legal drinking age. There are many cons to lowering the drinking age, such as; medical studies have shown in young adults that the consumption of alcohol may interfere with the development of the individual’s brain but more specifically the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe handles the functions of the brain; such as organization, and planning, and even emotional regulation. “When alcohol consumption interferes with this early adult brain development, the
Should the legal alcohol drinking age be lowered to eighteen? At the age of eighteen years old, you are eligible to vote, you can legally purchase cigarettes, you are eligible for the military draft, you are willing to die for this country, you are even able to serve on a jury, and you are titled as an adult at the age of eighteen. Why can’t someone at the age of eighteen not drink alcohol? Who is to say that just because someone is twenty-one years of age means that they are wise enough to drink alcohol in an accountable conduct? There are several explanations why one ought to be able to drink alcohol at the age of eighteen.
The issue being discussed is whether the drinking age should be lowered or not. It is being discussed because some think it should be lowered because most of the younger kids are doing it anyway. There is no background info in need of understanding for this topic.