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The Pros And Cons Of Underage Drinking

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2010, underage drinking has cost the American economy an astounding $24 billion dollars.(“Alcohol and Public Health.”) Every state in the United States has their minimum drinking age set at 21, though some states have certain exceptions, including drinking under adult supervision, for medical purposes, and consumption at home (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?”). There are many controversies surrounding this topic; some people support a Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21 and others believe in a MLDA of 18 (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?”). The minimum drinking age should not be lowered from age 21 to 18 because more citizens will be exposed to dangerous areas, MLDA 21 has reduced car injuries and death, and underage drinking harms the brain’s development.
To begin with, a minimum legal drinking age of 21 protects a part of the population from being allowed to enter at dangerous environments. 76% of bars have irresponsibly sold alcohol to “obviously intoxicated patrons”, and about half of drivers arrested or killed have done their drinking at an alcohol licensed premises. Also, neighborhoods with more bars, nightclubs, and other alcohol-selling locations experience more assaults and other dangerous crimes such as …show more content…

As an effect of increasing the national drinking age, the National Highway Transportation System Administration estimates that raising the national drinking age has saved more than 500 lives each year (Griggs) and “decreased the amount of fatal accidents for 18-20 year olds by 13%” (“The Current Drinking Age”). Additionally, a study in New Zealand has shown that after lowering its drinking age to 18, drivers 18-19 faced a bigger risk in taking part of “alcohol-related crashes that cause death or injury.”

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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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Although it is a law commonly evaded; it prevents young people from car accidents and alcohol abuse or dependence. In the article is acknowledged that “more than 40 percent of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence”; a rate that would be highly increased if the drinking age is reduced. On top of that, it is worth considering the magnitude in which car accidents have dropped since the drinking age was lowered. The organization Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) CEO Chuck Hurley said “Nearly all peer- reviewed studies looking at the change showed raising the driving age reduced drunk-driving deaths.” It is undeniable that lowering the drinking age would generate an already managed issue in regards alcohol and its relation to car

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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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Dean-Mooney emphasizes the public agrees that “72 percent of adults think that lowering the drinking age would make alcohol more accessible to kids”(Dean-Mooney 3). Another claim of the author it that lowering the drinking age would put more responsibility on the parents and educators. Additionally, she claims that lowering the drinking age would have dangerous long- term effects. Early adolescent drinkers are, “more susceptible to alcoholism”(Dean-Mooney 10). Overall the main argument of this essay is that the drinking age should stay the same because drunk driving crashes have lowered since the 21 law was enacted and young adults brains are still developing during this

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Since 1989 when the MLDA (Minimum Legal Drinking Age of 21) was increased from 18 to 21, law enforcement has admitted that its prosecution is not a priority for most law agencies. "This law has been an abysmal failure," John McCardell, a former president of Middlebury College told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl. "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings.” Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 would not only lower the amount of illegal binge drinking, but it would also help 18 year olds learn to manage additional responsibility at a younger age.

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According to the chart, most of the drinking is being done by teens. The chart depicts that only a small amount of youths wait until they are legal to start drinking. Lowering MLDA will encourage and increase the amount of drinking among young teens. It will also lead to an increase in risky behavior which will have dire consequences for youth. “Letting younger people drink is giving immature citizens more of the ability to make bad decisions that not only affect themselves but can also be very harmful to others”.

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When it was time to compare the drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities, countries with a lower drinking age also has lower traffic accidents than the U.S. There was a period, however, when such fatalities decreased. But because it happened before an MLDA was established by the Uniform Drinking Age Act, the decrease cannot be attributed to the drinking age of 21. Reduce the thrill of violating the law Remember the ‘forbidden fruit syndrome’? If people aged 18 years old are allowed to consume alcohol legally, they would not consider breaking the law just to get their way, or even try to prove a point. This may cause a problem with younger people aged below 18, but that is another story.

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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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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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Everyone knows it happens; whether it’s house parties, parties out in the woods, or just drinking on the down low, underage drinking occurs everywhere. The minimum legal drinking age doesn’t stop underage drinkers, and law enforcement does not make stopping underage drinkers a priority. Why should the MLDA be set at 21 if nobody follows or enforces the law? Arguers say a legal age of 18 would result in a higher compliance with the law. On the flip side, studies have shown that the current drinking laws prevent binge drinking by making alcohol less available for those most susceptible to binge drinking, teenagers.

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Will Lowering the Drinking Age Ensure Public Safety? The alcohol industry can often be seen as one of the wealthiest and most successful components of the American economy. In a year, the American people invest $90 billion in alcoholic beverages (“The Authority in Drug and Alcohol”). Although the U.S. spends a substantial amount of money on alcoholic beverages, the effects of alcohol do not go unnoticed.

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“In 2015, 2,333 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed while under the influence and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes in 2014” (“Motor Vehicle Safety”). This statistic brought up the real debate of should the legal drinking age remain 21. To some people the legal drinking age should remain 21, and that its the smart thing to do for our society. On the other hand some people think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 because people think that once you turn 18 your mature enough to start drinking. The drinking age should remain at the age of 21.

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Contrary to what many people may say and approve about underage drinking, there are many risks, health issues, and irresponsibility's that many teens undergo. In July of 1984, Congress raised the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to twenty­one years of age because of all of the alcohol related automobile accidents. Not many people agree with the law. In fact, some resent it, predominantly because of the age congress has chosen. Since 1984, many people have argued and continue to argue why the MLDA should actually be lowered today.

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In fact, the law may increase the amount of eighteen to twenty year olds who do drink. It has been shown that, especially in college-age students, there is a tendency to not do what they are told, on the contrary, they will do the exact opposite. The problem with the drinking age being twenty-one is that some students drink purely out of defiance). The number of fatalities is down in all age groups, not just teenagers, and cars driven now are much safer than the cars that were being driven in the early 1980’s, and teenagers are much safer drivers, which can be attributed to the decreased amount of fatalities. Also, in other countries that have lower drinking ages, the number of fatalities has

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