Alcohol: Lowering the Legal Drinking Age Karita Lockwood Professor O’Quinn COM 323 October 29, 2012 Introduction Alcohol is a drink that is made from corn, barley or a beverage containing ethyl. There is currently an ongoing debate as to if the legal age limit for alcohol consumption should be lowered. Despite the dangers, everyday in the United States more than 13,000 children and teens consume alcohol. The age range between eleven and eighteen is the most influential period when youths are susceptible to outside influences such as friends, classmates, family members and the media. Many young children start consuming alcoholic beverages before the age of fifteen. Drinking alcoholic beverages at a young age could lead to a …show more content…
The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord and it tells the body what to do. When alcohol is consumed it is absorbed quickly into the blood stream through the stomach lining and could travel to the brain in a matter of minutes. If the brain is introduced to alcohol at these early stages, it will interrupt brain development. According to information issued from the U.S. government publication entitled Prevention Alert, “Subtle alcohol- induced adolescent learning impairments could affect academic and occupational achievement. In one study……..short term memory skills were evaluated in alcohol dependent and non dependent adolescent’s ages 15 and 16 showed that the dependent youth had greater difficulty remembering words and simple geometric designs after a 10 minute interval” (teendrugabuse.us). Alcohol is a depressant that affects every part of your body because once it’s consumed, twenty percent is absorbed in the stomach and eighty percent is absorbed in the small intestine. Excessive use of alcohol could cause other health problems such as, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, kidney disease, liver disease, nervous disorders, obesity and psychological disturbances. Alcohol related liver disease is a major cause of death in the United States. There are three primary types of alcohol induced liver diseases, including: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Fatty liver is the accumulation
The liver is next to be severely impacted by alcohol. The liver is fundamental to the process of maintaining a healthy system. “The liver stores vital energy and nutrients, manufactures proteins and enzymes necessary for good health, protects the body from disease, and breaks down and helps remove harmful toxins, like alcohol, from the body.” (Sutton, 2007) If the liver becomes damaged, the person will develop muscle cramps, fatigue, jaundice, and even reduced brain function due to unfiltered toxins in the blood stream.
Everyone knows that it is illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21. Why is 21 the "magical" age that makes a person intelligent and mature enough to consume alcohol? Sure, some adults abuse alcohol and some teenagers would be perfectly able to drink responsibly, but why not 18 or 35 or 40? This seemingly random number, 21, is associated with adulthood, as if the day a person turns 21 they know everything and are mature. The drinking age should be lowered to where one can learn to drink responsibly.
When people think of drinking, they think of fun games and parties. However, this depiction is wrong. When individuals under twenty-one drink, consequences emerge. In the United States, the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is twenty-one. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), the legal drinking age set at twenty-one saves about 900 lives on the road annually (James C. Fell). By having the drinking age at twenty-one, the amount of alcohol consumed decreases. Less drinking results in a drop in potential risks and dangerous acts often associated with alcohol. Individuals under the age of twenty-one are not mature enough to make good choices. Therefore,
“Eighty percent of twenty-one year olds admit to purchasing alcohol for younger friends (Bonnie 5). If twenty-one year olds give alcohol to their younger friend, what makes people think that eighteen year olds wouldn’t do it too. If the legal drinking age is lowered to eighteen, eighteen year olds in high school might have sibling that is in middle school so those middle schools will also have access to alcohol. Surveys show that the most common source for alcohol among eighteen to twenty year olds is their twenty-one to twenty-four-year-old peers (Clark). Teen drinking can cause suicides. There is more pressure on teen than adults and when alcohol is added to the mix is only increases those effect (Arguments). Alcohol an affect you being a good student and it can also increase the risk of depression, violence and suicide. “Drinking and drug use may begin very early for young Americans. A new study has shown that by the time a teen reaches late adolescents, most of them have drank alcohol and use illicit substances”(National Institute). The younger you start can increase the risk of alcoholism at a young age. This can eventually lead to death.
Studies show that keeping the drinking age at twenty-one improves lives. When the United States raised the age limit to twenty-one in 1985, a shortage of drinking occurred at a whopping 40% by 1991. As a result, fewer students drop out of high school, less motor accidents occur, and suicides rates dropped significantly. However, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will bring serious consequences on young adults by reversing these statistics. Lowering the drinking age will cause significant health problems, draw youth to poor judgment situations, before they are even old enough to handle the responsibility of drinking.
However, there are those who remain persistent in their requests to drop the drinking age to a slightly lower option. Opposition to the legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown to have some support from mostly younger groups of people, without much validation as to why a lowered drinking age would be beneficial to our country as a whole. Yet, there are still some interesting arguments for those in favor of dropping the age at which it is legal to drink to eighteen.
The current United States legal drinking age is twenty one. While many United States citizens agree with this age, others don’t. Those who do not agree feel like the age to legally be able to purchase, consume or possess alcohol should be eighteen. A United States citizen is allowed to vote, join the armed forces, obtain their license, and get married at the age of eighteen. Why is it that they cannot drink alcohol beverages? If at eighteen, an individual can have so many responsibilities, why is the legal drinking age twenty one? Does the U.S government not trust those under twenty one? If they trust us with their votes and to die for their country, they should trust us to drink responsibly.
The United States drinking age throughout all 50 states has been the same since 1984 when a law was put in place by the U.S. Congress punishing all states who did not abide by the legal age limit of 21. Since this law was put into place, it has become one of the most widely studied laws in history. While there are many arguments and new bills being created to reduce this age, especially among college universities, all have failed to become law. Over half of adults agree that lowering the drinking age would increase binge drinking among teens, and 72% believe that it would make alcohol more accessible
Alcohol is many people's drink of choice in several different situations. Whether it is a casual get together or a crazy out of control party, it is not hard for adolescents to get their hands on the substance even if it is illegal for them to purchase and drink it. However, even the parents and lawmakers of the most respectful teenagers can not ignore the growing rate of adolescents drinking earlier than 21. While it may be fun in the moment teens miss the steps of drinking responsibility and the long-term effects of partaking in it. Even though some lawmakers claim that lowering the drinking age would negatively affect the country, the long term effects of individuals drinking earlier could
In conclusion, the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. The legal drinking age of twenty-one has not been effective and has not been fully enforced to stop underage drinking. With this in mind, lowering the drinking age will now allow underage drinkers to drink legally. At the age of eighteen the law claims to have many rights and privileges such as purchasing cigarettes, buying property, marriage, voting, and enlisting in the military but they are not able to consume and purchase alcohol. Young adults should be allowed to make their own decisions and the consumption of alcohol should be one of them. Not only will these young adults be able to drink legally, but also they will be more supervised. They are afraid of
Individuals use liquor for various reasons; peer pressure, festivity, nervousness, misery, fatigue, disobedience and a sleeping disorder are only a couple. High schoolers fall under the class of "individuals". The lawful drinking age is as of now twenty-one, yet unlawfully drinking age is as low as zero. Why? Is the fundamental inquiry. I can guarantee you the under age drinking age rate would drop if the age is brought down.
Almost everyone can agree that children and young adults should not drink alcohol until they reach a certain age. Alcohol is a very dangerous substance when it is used incorrectly and immaturely. This can have some very dangerous consequences to anyone who is drinking or anyone around them. This is one of the reasons for the drinking age being 21 in all of the 50 States. Evan though the drinking age has changed many times over the years. This is one instance where civil disobedience should not be exercised. Because of how dangerous underage drinking is to the individual and others who are around that person.
Alcohol can have negative effects on liver function. When alcohol is consumed the body starts trying to metabolize it but has no way of doing so. The liver then has to work detoxify and remove the alcohol from the bloodstream. Once the liver finishes the oxidation process, the alcohol becomes water and carbon dioxide. If the alcohol accumulates in the body, it may destroy cells and organs. The oxidative metabolism prevents this from happening. When too much alcohol is ingested at once, the toxins take a toll on the body, starting with the liver. The oxidative metabolism of the alcohol creates molecules that lead to a condition called fatty liver. Research supports that fatty liver, the early stage of alcoholic liver disease, develops in nearly
The abuse of alcohol over long periods of time may also cause diseases such as cirrhosis, acute alcohol hepatitis, and the most severe liver disease. Cirrhosis is a disease in which the liver becomes so scarred that the patient lacks sufficient healthy tissue to perform the organ?s functions. Once you?ve got it, you are stuck with it. (Gross, 6) The worst thing about these diseases is that you will not know you have them unless you are medically examined on a regular basis. Alcohol consumption is a large contributor to the development of several types of cancer- mostly dealing with the neck and brain. We know that cancer kills and therefore it is safe to say that in some cases, alcohol can be deadly. It is important to realize that alcoholism is a disease. A heavy drinker will experience the effects of withdrawal syndrome (which include hypertension, anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, and seizures) if he decides to stop drinking. Being addicted to alcohol is similar to being addicted to any other drug in that once one starts using, it is tough to live without. It is also a ?gateway drug? just as marijuana and other sedatives. (Bennett, Woolf, 13-23)
Alcohol has no beneficial attributes on a person’s health. Alcohol can have several harmful effects on human organs. Some organs in the human body that are damaged by alcohol consumption are the brain, kidneys, and liver. The human liver is the one organ that suffers the most damage. As stated in an article published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “Because the liver is the chief organ responsible for metabolizing alcohol, it is especially vulnerable to alcohol – related injury” (NIAAA, 2005). Regular use of alcohol can lead to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). The severity of ALD can vary based on several different factors. Some of these factors include gender, age, the amount consumed, and how often alcohol is used. “ALD includes three conditions: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis” (Alcohol Alert, 2005).