Drinking Age Essay

Robert Voas states teen pregnancy, sexual assaults, and crime rates have increased due to underage drinking. Alcohol consumption at a college age leads to 600,000 physical assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults yearly according to a study (464). Joyce Alcantara claims if the age were lowered back to eighteen then it would put younger teens at risk (468). People tend to have friends around their same age. So, if eighteen year olds were allowed to drink then their friends which are roughly around the age of sixteen or seventeen would likely have an alcoholic drink in their hand as well. “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

Picture yourself at this amazing party, you are having the time of your life, but you realize that there are so many people trashed and you are the only one that is not as wasted. The neighbors call the police department complaining that there is so much noise happening next door, that they want the police to shut it down or to at least tell them to be quiet. Well imagine your friend answering the door to the police but saying something incredibly stupid. The cops tell you to turn down the music, they really don’t care that you are eighteen and drinking because they know that it is the legal age. You see, most people would disagree that the drinking age should be eighteen because they think that we are still very

When a child turns 18, they open to many more responsibilities than any other teenage birthday. When a child is 18, they are not considered a kid anymore, they are adults. One of the many perks of being 18 is kids can vote and they can enlist in the army. In 1984, President Reagan had signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, and this required all states to set the drinking age to 21. If an 18 year old can enlist in the army, and put their life at risk they should be able to drink alcohol at 18. The drinking age should be lowered, because brains are not fully developed yet, colleges should be able to regulate drinking, and this can solve problems with kids underage drinking. Despite the controversy, the drinking age should decrease for many logical reasons.

When the Minimum Legal Drinking Age changed to 21 years old in 1976, there was a decrease in fatal car accidents which saved approximately 21,887 lives (Alcohol Policy MD). Many lives were saved because there were less young drinkers and less people driving under the influence of alcohol. If it were possible to save lives, why wouldn’t you want to do that? An argument is made that if teenagers are allowed the responsibility to drive when they are 16 years old why can’t they drink at an earlier age? This is simply because Alcohol can put people in danger. Drunk driving seems to be a black spot of our civilization. An average of 17,000 individuals die each year in drunk driving related accidents, and drunk driving continues to be an enormously important public safety issue (MADD). With lowering this drinking age we can only expect more cases of drunk driving and more lives are put in danger. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that about 900 lives are saved annually due to fewer alcohol-related traffic crashes involving underage drivers. Surely, it should be a priority for the society to minimize the death toll from drunk driving. A higher Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) is effective in preventing alcohol-related deaths and injuries among teenagers and youth. When the MLDA has been lowered, injury and death rates increase, and when the MLDA is increased, death and injury rates decline (Wagenaar, 1993). In addition, a common argument among opponents of a higher MLDA is that because many minors still drink and purchase alcohol, the policy isn't working on minors. The evidence shows, however, that although many youth still consume alcohol, they still drink less and experience fewer alcohol-related injuries and deaths (Wagenaar, 1993). There is also an argument comparing the European alcohol and drunk diving among the youth compared to the United

The effects alcohol takes on the brain is the only “downside” to lowering the drinking age, but if used responsibly it 's not that big of a problem. Responsibility is one of the keywords to remember when consuming alcohol. Anything could happen when you 're under the influence, death, rape, and many more life-altering occurrences. One huge potential life-altering thing that could happen to you is brain damage. Drinking at a younger age increases the risk of brain damage. This is the only potentially bad risk that comes with drinking, but if consumed responsibly it will be okay

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. Therefore, lowering the legal drinking age encourages teenagers to assist others from the dangers of drinking and

In the United States, turning 18 is a huge step for people as it marks individuals entering the adult world. At that age they are considered an adult in society. Open to more liberties, these young adults can drive, vote, join the military, and die for their country; however, they cannot possess or purchase alcohol. The current minimum legal drinking age, also known as MLDA, in America is 21. Numerous debates still occur today about the minimum drinking age. A poll taken on July 2014 asked the public opinion of US adults for lowering the US legal drinking age from 21 to 18. Approximately 74% of the people opposed the idea, whereas roughly 25% of the people supported the idea ("Public Opinion" 1). The statistics indicate satisfaction among the majority of the people; however, with the current laws many issues arise that must be addressed concerning alcohol use. For starters, studies show an increase of dangerous drinking habits among young adults (Hall 2). In addition, the enforcement of the drinking laws and education on alcohol is insubstantial (Moyse, Fonder 3). Society places laws to protect individuals. The rise of alcohol abuse raises the question if the minimum legal drinking age of 21 secures protection of the people. With proper enforcement of drinking laws in addition to education about alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age of 18 provides a safer drinking culture.

Over the years, the legal drinking age in the United States has been heavily debated. Some argue that the legal age to drink should be 18 or 19 because people at that age are recognized as adults; others argue that the drinking age should be 21 because people who are able to drink should be more mature and have their lives better planned out. Although people are legally adults at 18, they are not yet mature adults; in fact, according to NRP, “emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don’t reach full maturity until the age 25” (“Brain”). Before earning the right to legally drink, people should allow their bodies to fully develop and gain a better knowledge of how to organize their lives. The drinking age should remain

A lot people question whether the legal drinking age should be lowered, or remain at 21. Some may think it isn’t such a good idea, because of the lack of maturity, and others may think it a good idea, because some people are going to do it anyway. However there are many pros and cons of lowering the legal drinking age.

Lowering the age for drinking would lead to a disaster. The law needs to remain at an age of 21 to keep the next generation safe as long as possible. Drinking is extremely harmful and potentially fatal, this is coupled with its addictability, add young adults and the consequences are terrible. Many people follow the law and other countries experience more issues with underage drinking than the US. Keep the drinking age as is, there is no need to expose young adults to something so

Should the legal age for alcohol consumption be lowered? In the United States, The legal drinking age is 21, but in my research, I have found that it is actually allowed, under certain circumstances and situations, to people of even lower age. Though all 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21, exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons. In fact, all but 5 states, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, under age drinking is permitted. Parents are allowed to furnish alcohol to minors if they are under proper supervision. Also bartenders are allowed to drink at 20 years old, which is the lowest legal bartending age.

Accustomed to such inconsistent treatment. ……young people are bombarded with mixed signals about the scope of their rights and the depth of their responsibilities. And most of those mixed signals come from the laws of state and local government.” (Governing.com Page 1) These confusing laws make nothing easier and in fact they make young people’s lives more difficult. My opinion on the whole situation is that the drinking age should be lowered because of binge drinking. Since the drinking age has been twenty-one it has not stopped underage teens for drinking and has actually caused more problems. Binge drinking has especially been caught in college. With the mix of ages ranging anywhere from around 17-24 years old it’s easy for teens to fall under peer pressure. The opposing side to this argument says however that lowering the drinking age would be...”Pushing the drinking problem further down to 16-and 17-year olds.” However there is another problem with the law of the drinking age being

Why drinking age should be lowered? If one is considered an adult at age eighteen in most of the country, are they not allowed to purchase and legally consume alcohol? The minimum legal drinking age needs to be lowered, and not just for that reason. The amount of teenagers with drinking problems and alcoholism is far greater than in Europe, where drinking ages are far lower. Also, studies show that the current minimum age drinking laws have been ineffective to a high degree. By the time they are high school seniors, seventy-two percent teenagers say they have already consumed alcohol. Proper education at younger ages is needed for our country’s youth to learn the proper use of alcohol through experimentation with their own limits in safe environments.

Today in the United States about 4,358 people under the age of 21 years old die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and even drowning. More than 190,000 people under the age of 21 visited an emergency room for alcohol related reasons in 2008 alone. Alcohol related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes. That’s a lot of people gone because they wanted to go out and party and not think about the consequences ahead. In this essay I’m gonna give you information to why Underage Drinking is very very bad for you.

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism seems like an issue that keeps getting increasingly worse each year in the United States. According to USA Today and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both say that approximately 6 people die from alcohol poisoning, caused from binge drinking, each day, which amounts to roughly 2,200 people each year. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that “In 2013 an estimated 697,000 adolescents ages 12–17 (2.8 percent of this age group) had an [alcohol use disorder]” (“Alcohol Facts”). Something has to stop and something has to change from preventing this more because 6 people dying each day from binge drinking alone is a lot, not to mention that 12-17 year olds are having alcohol problems at such a young age. Lowering the drinking age will enforce this act even more, promoting more drinking in fact. It would be a more acceptable thing to do and people would be more open about it. Yes, it might be good that underage people are not drinking in private and are open about their drinking habits, but that still doesn’t mean it is healthy physically or