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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

1287 Words6 Pages

Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States. To control alcohol use, the United States set a minimum legal drinking age. The drinking age is currently 21 but has been 18 in different states throughout the years. Ultimately the U.S. just wants to avoid teen drinking because of the damaging effects it has on their bodies and the possible consequences of them consuming alcohol. “The national minimum legal drinking age of 21 years is a primary alcohol-control policy in the United States. An advocacy group supported by some college presidents seeks public debate on the minimum legal age and proposes reducing it to 18 years.” Some think the drinking age should be lowered because 18 year olds receive responsibilities …show more content…

Every 2 minutes a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. Teens drinking is a poor choice in itself, but the actions that come along with it can be even more dangerous. Lowering the drinking age has been done before, but deaths increased because of it. The legal got swept up in the political upheaval of the era, as states generally reexamined their age-of-majority laws. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their age for drinking alcohol. The results were catastrophic. Highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed. Death is tragic and the fact that more death is happening among teens if the drinking age is lowered shows that teens are not the most responsible with alcohol. Drinking can often change a person’s behavior, but not for the good. For example, one may think they have the ability to drive, even though they are drunk. High school students aged 16 years and older who, when surveyed, said they had driven a vehicle one or more times during the past 30 days when they had been drinking alcohol. The decision to drink while intoxicated is harmful for both the driver and passengers that ride with

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“There’s No Benefit to Lowering the Drinking Age” explains, on average about eleven teens die daily as a result of drunk driving (Voas 464). When teens throw a party, alcohol is usually involved. Then once the party is over the kids have to get home somehow and they often drive themselves. When an alcoholic drink is placed in an eighteen-year-old hand decisions are made that harm them and others

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In the article “College Presidents Seek Debate on Drinking Age” the issue of lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 is strongly discussed by college presidents and various organizations and Universities. Even though both parties agree that alcohol abuse in colleges is an extensive problem in schools around the country, college organizations are debating with lawmakers to lower the drinking age. With the intention to reduce driving accidents and deaths due to alcohol abuse, the drinking age was elevated to 21, creating the rejection of many college students and administrators in the country. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would not have much impact in the attitude of young people since there is no much difference in maturity in 3 years. This statement is supported by a Duke University sophomore from Singapore, where the drinking age is lower.

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SUMMARY: In the article, “ The Minimum Legal Drinking Age” written by Traci L Toomey, Carolyn Rosenfeld, and Alexander C. Wagenaar in Alcohol Health & Research World, the reasoning behind the why the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21 is addressed. Till this day similar claims that were used to lower the MLDA many years ago are being applied. Regardless of the continuing debate about the MLDA studies show the effectiveness of a higher MLDA in averting alcohol related deaths and injuries within the youth. The lowering of the MLDA resulted in rates of injuries and deaths increasing.

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For about 40 years ago there have been discrepancies about the drinking age. In the late 60s and early 70s exactly 29 states lowered their drinking age. They did this because they wanted to at least match the enlistment and voting age. Which was and is 18. This resulted in drunk-driving accidents.

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The legal age to drink alcohol should be lowered back down to eighteen, because almost every other country has a lower drinking age, people will drink more responsibly, and there will be less deaths. The United States should lower the legal drinking age because it is not a problem in other countries that have an even lower drinking age. The United States is among the few countries that have a minimum drinking age of twenty-one, which is the highest MLDA in the world except for in India where it is twenty-five or even thirty is some parts of the country ( ) . Alcohol is banned in sixteen countries, which all of them are

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Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered Alcohol consumption in the United States is a prominent phenomenon that it has sparked the debate on the age limitations regarding its use. In more than fifty states in the United States, the legal drinking age is twenty-one years which is comparably high relative to countries such as Germany, Belgium and Denmark that allow even sixteen year olds to purchase wine and beer. There are several reasons that necessitate the drinking age to be lowered from twenty-one years to eighteen years in the United States. These reasons are not only leveraged on following trends between countries but also on creating moral responsibility among teenagers. To this end, this essay seeks to analyse the reasons why drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years in the United States.

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However, “90% of drunk driving deaths in the United States were found in the over 21 age group” (Gruenewald). For this reason, drunk driving is not directly correlated with the drinking age. In addition, the percent of drunk driving deaths in the United States has reduced at a slower rate than European countries where they have their legal drinking age at eighteen. This suggest that if lowering the drinking age was a success in Europe, it may also be effective here in the United States to diminish the amount of drunk driving deaths. This is because people that become injured due to alcohol or alcohol poisoning are afraid to report their injuries to the hospital or authorities out of fear of illegal consequences for underage drinking.

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The laws, studies show, are associated with lower rates of drunk-driving crashes among young people. And it seems they also curb other hazards of heavy drinking-including suicide, dating violence and unprotected sex” (Age 21 drinking laws saves lives, study confirms, 2014, 121). “According to William DeJong, Ph.D., the evidence is clear that there would be consequences if we lowered the legal drinking age” (Age 21 drinking laws saves lives, study confirms, 2014, 121). This research shows that the law of twenty one has had a positive effect and can save many lives on the road, and can protect adolescents from other risk that underage drinking hold.

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388 Words | 2 Pages

Underage drinking is a gigantic problem in the world we live in today, especially in the age range of 17-20 year olds. It is caused by teens wanting to be “cool” and have a sense of “freedom”. But lowering the drinking age would destroy a MLDA ( Minimum Legal Drinking Age) age that has been set at the age of 21 that since 1933. As a consequence, reports from 1970 show that there were more teenage car accidents due to setting the MLDA lower than 21. So not only would lowering the MLDA destroy the MLDA that has been since 1933 but also cause tragedies all over the USA.

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1317 Words | 6 Pages

Prohibiting this age group from drinking in licensed locations influences them to drink in unsupervised places. Individuals will often drink in locations such as fraternities and/or parties where there are higher tendencies to participate in unsafe behavior. Despite increasing MLDA to 21 in 1984, the number of traffic accidents and fatalities that occurred within the 80s decreased less than that of countries whose legal drinking ages are already below 21 (Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?). In numerous European countries, teenagers at the age of 18 are allowed to drink in restaurants and other public places, under the supervision of trusted authority figures (Anderson). In the US, contrarily, teenagers at the age of 18 are not eligible to consume or purchase alcohol, and participate in these acts in risky areas where they are not under any supervision (Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?).

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In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act which raised the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one. Since then, the total number of fatally injured drivers who were under the influence of alcohol has dropped by fifty-seven percent among people between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Despite this, many still believe that the national drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. However, not only does a drinking age of twenty-one save lives, but underage drinking is also linked to both sexual assault and drug use. In addition, scientists say that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty-five and that underage drinkers are much more likely to develop an alcohol-related problem later in life.

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834 Words | 4 Pages

Did you know that lowering the minimum legal drinking age is an idea that's currently up for debate? Lowering this age has been a topic that recently just became a bigger topic to talk about. There are lots of issues concerning the young drinkers safety,and the safety of other people. Many people think that there are little to no dangers posed by lowering the drinking age,but other people think there are many dangers. If the MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) is lowered there are health dangers,physical dangers,and fear that even younger underage people will start to drink.

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All in favor of lowering the drinking age raise your hands. Looking around the college campus many raise their hands, but fail to vote on the subject. Many complain about wanting change, but yet take no action to do so. It’s college students who can make the biggest change in lowering the drinking age to 18. To begin with the topic of lowering the drinking age has been heavily debated since the early 2000’s almost 16 years after the current drinking age was introduced.

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If the age is lowered down to 18 is dangerous for the young adults life and can damage their emotional state of mind. 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 is greater. it is important to not decrease the drinking age because it can affect so many young adults life and can really mess of their state of mind and they can become depressed and violent and can mess up their life and change them as a person. Between 1970 and 1990, the suicide rate of 18- to 20-year-old youths living in states with an 18-year MLDA was 8% higher than the suicide rate among 18- to 20-year-old youths in states with a 21-year MLDA.

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595 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1970s, the drinking age had been lowered to 18, in all 50 states, due to demand and influence by other states. This had increased the drunk driving rate by 30% and during this time, it caused the highest drunk driving accidents in a lot of the American history (Issues & Controversies). This isn’t something that needs or wants to be repeated by lowering the drinking age once again. To start, one reason to not lower the drinking age is it could increase the chances of drug use. If the MLDA was lowered from 21 to 18 it would cause people to irresponsibly drink in nightclubs, not be as safe when in this environment, and could also easily increase the risk of drug use (Procon).

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