Minimum Drinking Age

An issue that has yet to be solved is “Should the minimum drinking age be lowered from twenty-one years to eighteen years?” People have been in controversy over this topic since the late 1900s. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed in 1984, which required states to raise the legal age to purchase and possess alcoholic substances to twenty-one. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1991 after the Act was passed, the rate of alcohol consumption among people eighteen to twenty years of age dropped from fifty-nine percent to forty percent; the rate of alcohol consumption among people twenty-one to twenty-four years of age dropped from seventy percent to fifty-six percent (www.cdc.gov). More than fifty scientific

In this day in age, young adults seek a way to be rebellious one of these ways is consuming alcohol illegally. By lowering the legal drinking age, parents could make it less of a “taboo” and could teach their children how to drink alcohol responsibly in public places (www.drinkingage.procon.org). Children under twenty years of age, normally obtain alcohol from their twenty-one through twenty-four year old peers. Young adults who are new to legally purchasing alcoholic substances, often buy alcohol for their underage peers. Some people believe that by lowering the minimum drinking age, that will make alcohol consumption less of an uncommon and interesting thing; therefore, less children will want to consume alcohol. Although this seems reasonable, it might get “old” to children around the age of eighteen, but will not diminish the excitement among younger generations to come. Students in school will be able to legally consume alcohol during school nights and this will cause them to have a hangover at school or possibly not even go at all. This could bring down school averages or cause a

Although lowering the legal drinking age might give teenagers a chance at enjoying alcoholic beverages, the consequences are not worth the temporary pleasure. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are short and long term costs of choosing to drink alcohol. The short term risks include: careless injuries, violence, unprotected sexual behavior, and alcohol poisoning. The long term risks include: heart and liver disease, cancer in multiple parts of the body, memory loss, depression or anxiety, and alcohol dependence (www.cdc.gov). Raising the legal drinking age will provide safer roads and less damage to the consumers and their fellow peers. Consuming alcohol as a young adult, can cause serious health problems, likely accidents related to alcohol, and violent behavior among younger people. In conclusion, the minimum drinking age should not be lowered because danger to the consumer along with the public will be a