ipl-logo

Legal Drinking Age Essay

874 Words4 Pages

Should the U.S. Legal Drinking Age be lowered from 21 to 18 Years of Age? Alcohol is considered the drug of choice for many American youth. Statistics provide that there are more than 10.1 million underage drinkers in the U.S. with 85 percent of college students and 72 percent of 12 graders having tried alcohol. As a result, underage drinking contributes to death from injuries, increases the risk of sexual and physical assault, as well as playing a role in risky sexual behavior. However, there have been increasing debates over whether the minimum legal drinking age should be reduced from 21 years to 18 years. These debates have also shaped two paradigms whereby one is for the opinion that if 18-year-olds are legally allowed to join the armed forces, to vote, join the jury, and drive, why can’t they be allowed to drink alcohol? The other paradigm holds that reducing the minimum legal drinking age to 18 years would not guarantee responsible drinking and as such may result in serious injuries or death. Paradigm 1 It is unfair to allow 18-year-olds to fight enemies in battle fields but yet deny them the right to have a drink. Therefore, if the law feels that 18-year-olds are capable of joining the armed forces, driving, and voting, then …show more content…

This would also impair their organization and planning capabilities and may even lead to depression and suicide. The MLDA should not be lowered due to the responsibility required to an individual and others. Lowering the MLDA would lead to more use of illicit drugs among the persons between 18 and 21 years old. It follows that the younger a person starts to engage in alcohol, the higher the chances of using other illicit drugs. Moreover, when the drinking age was 18 years, the cases of fatal crashes caused by underage drunk drivers were twice as many as

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis: Joyce Alcantara's Mothers Against Drunk Driving

    1789 Words  | 8 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis This essay represents an effective piece of argumentation. The author states her purpose by saying teens are not mature enough to handle a lower age to legally drink alcohol. Tag? Joyce Alcantara tries to convince the readers that the age to legally drink should not be altered and assumes that the audience agrees that “Our youths today are the leaders of tomorrow” (468). With that, we must protect our years ahead.

    Read More

  • Drinking Age In Australia Essay

    604 Words  | 3 Pages

    If young Australian who are under the age of 21 are drinking alcohol, it is too soon, too much and too risky for them. Therefore, the legal drinking age in Australia should be 21 years of age. Something that many Australian have forgotten is that all Australian states had an age of 21 drinking law in the late 60s, and that law was reduced to 18. When the age was reduced, Australian actually started to experience the rising rates of youth alcohol problems and more deaths on the road. Alcohol can have toxic effects on young people 's body.

    Read More

  • Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Analysis

    863 Words  | 4 Pages

    On the other hand, the age of 18 is enough to drink alcohol because people who are 18 years old are regarded as legal adults and therefore they are able to get married, smoke cigarette or drink alcohol by their own decision. In this essay, I read and evaluate two essays that are written about different positions for MLDA21 and figure out which essay is more convincing, clear, strong logical and so on by the skills that I have

    Read More

  • Military Drinking Age

    974 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Main in ¨Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age” from the Policy Review, lowering the drinking age to eighteen from twenty-one would increase the harsh effects that are currently impacting our society and our military. Main insists that the United States should not get rid of the laws that set 21 as the mandatory minimum age for drinking, known as the ¨21 laws.¨ Although there are laws and severe consequences for those who drink under the age of 21, underage drinking is a huge concern, especially at college. When the undergraduates binge drink, drinking five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion, they not only have the potential to hurt themselves, but also their peers. For example, over 474,000 students have unprotected sex,

    Read More

  • Minimum Legal Drinking Age Essay

    853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Now most of these are not significant increases but are still evidence that shows the increase in visits after MLDA. We have a total of approximately 9.6% increase in self-inflicted injuries, a total of approximately 2.2% in assaults, and a total of approximately 3.4% increase in external injuries. All these were recorded while the person was under the influence of alcohol. The one major increase we can all see as the minimum legal drinking age has gone down is that the number of alcohol poisoning related visits has significantly gone up in numbers, for males and females. In males, we saw an increase of about 17.3% in alcohol poisoning related visits to the hospital.

    Read More

  • Lowering The Drinking Age To 21 Persuasive Essay

    386 Words  | 2 Pages

    Advocates and supporters of lowering the MLDA 21 to 18 allows young adults the right to make decisions about the consumption of alcohol. As the age of 18 entails an individual to legally become a young adult, receiving the “[rights] and responsibilities [required] to vote… and purchase cigarettes…” (Chiappetta), being prosecuted and tried as an adult, serve on juries, getting married, and drafting to the military – in which dangers the lives of themselves and others surrounding them. As lowering the MLDA from 21 to 18 will lessen the excitement to break the law for consuming alcohol finding the balance between moderation and consumption will become less taboo for workforce individuals and incoming university students. While allowing the consumption of alcohol in regulated and licensed environments and establishments as opposed to unsupervised house parties or fraternity houses “decreases the likelihood of danger and [controversial] actions” (McCardell). Advocates and adversaries of lowering the MLDA 21 both establish the safety of individuals who consume alcohol is always top priority.

    Read More

  • Drinking Age Decreased

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    With all of these resources, it makes it possible to maintain the students’ knowledge of consumption responsibility. Additionally, it assists in insuring the smooth transition of childhood to adulthood. The legal age for alcohol consumption should be decreased back to 18 years old because this is the legal age to register for military, at 18 one is considered a taxpayer, and 18 year olds today already have easy access to possessing

    Read More

  • Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

    1070 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Lowering The Drinking Age

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behaviors by teens. If the legal drinking age was lowered, those teens would be able to drink in a more controlled and much more safe environment where they can be monitored and supervised. Then they will be less likely to harm themselves or others. The second argument that is used is that there are fewer drunk driving accidents in countries with lower drinking ages. In quite a few countries around the world, the legal drinking age is already 18.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Lowering Drinking Age

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    But while it has succeeded in that, it is also believed that tougher rules, such as DUI rules and seatbelt safety rules have also played a part in this decrease. However, this higher drinking age hasn’t reduced drinking, its only “driven it underground,” Gabrielle Glaser states in her NY Times article. It has been driven underground to the riskiest settings, high school parties and frat parties that are unsupervised. This age raise segregates the drinking away from adults that can model moderation in drinking. If an 18-year-old high school senior is shown by his/her parent(s) how to drink responsibly and in moderation, I believe that it would greatly help in reducing the chance of making bad decisions by overdoing it, such as driving while drinking.

    Read More

  • Why The Drinking Age Should Stay At 21

    603 Words  | 3 Pages

    If young adults at the age of 18 are old enough to vote and enlist in the army, then why can they not purchase and consume alcohol? Over the years, the set drinking age has been a controversial topic among society. Some people believe the MLDA (Minimum Legal Drinking Age) should stay at the age of 21 because it is safer for their kids. However, lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 would change the standards of alcohol as it encourages those of legal adulthood to make responsible decisions as adults, learn to control binge drinking and promote less automobile accidents. To further explain, 18 is the age of majority therefore young adults are mature enough to make their own decisions.

    Read More

  • Essay On Why The Drinking Age Should Be 18

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Lowering The Drinking Age

    1300 Words  | 6 Pages

    Across the country, college students participate in an illegal activity known as underage drinking. The drinking age in America is an ongoing debate of whether it should be kept at 21, or reduced to 18. While some believe lowering the drinking age would make drinking for young kids safer, others presume the opposite. According to Alexis Aguirre, a journalist at the Texas State University Star, “The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Once 18, a person is legally considered an adult and should be able to drink.”

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Legal Drinking Age

    1693 Words  | 7 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Lowering The Drinking Age Essay

    903 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Legal Drinking Age Essay

Open Document