Tristan Learner Mrs. Kezia Strite Ruiz English 1301: Composition 1 February 26, 2018 Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered One of the most common debates among my generation is, at what age should the legal drinking age be set? The common view is, that the legal drinking age should remain at 21 years old to decrease the amount of drinking and driving fatalities. For example, I found this article from NPR, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/02/24/282072818/the-21-drinking-age-may-save-lives-even-though-its-flouted, that discusses the common view of keeping the drinking age at 21, even though it does not stop teen drinking. However, I reject this view, because there is a lack of evidence that lowering the drinking age would increase …show more content…
For example, fraternity hazing is a common practice that leads to underage binge drinking in an uncontrolled environment that leads to numerous fatalities each year. Timothy Piazza was only 19 years old when he was fed 18 alcoholic drinks in less than 90 minutes at Penn State University, and injured himself when he fell while intoxicated (Ortiz). Furthermore, an 18-year-old can smoke and buy cigarettes, which is shown to cause cancer, and could harm others by second hand smoke, however, the age to legally smoke is still 18 years old. The drinking age was raised to 21 to decrease fatalities, but the is less concern for tobacco fatalities. The earlier a person starts smoking the harder it is to stop, and the chances for cancer increase. Doesn’t it make sense that the age for smoking should be raised as well, if they were truly worried about fatalities? By allowing 18 to 20 years old to drink in alcohol regulated environments under supervision, would decrease the amount of unsafe drinking activity. If an 18 to 20-year-old can drink in bars, restaurants, and any area that is licensed, then the alcohol consumption can be regulated and would not lead to binge drinking in uncontrolled environments. Most college students have to take out massive loans, in order to have a better chance of securing a better job in the future. This is a financial risk, and a better job is not a guarantee. In addition, with the rising costs of college tuition, some college students acquire a six-figure debt, that cannot be changed with bankruptcy, however, they are forbidden to drink on campus, because college students are deemed too immature to understand the risks of drinking. Maturity cannot always be related to age. If a