Effects of Underage Drinking on Society Essay

Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations.

Vivian Jones, the author of “Underage Drinking”, questions the drinking age limit, and wants to decrease the age limit for consuming alcohol from twenty-one years old to eighteen. Firstly, Jones defines underage drinking as a danger to young adults and teenagers that are developing. Secondly, Jones states that raising the age limit for drinking is a controversial topic in society. Thirdly, Jones acknowledges that drinking underage is banned and as a result the young adolescents are more allured to drink alcohol and rebel. The author also states that more young Americans are drinking in excess with comparison to the UK. Then, Jones also states that raising the drinking age will not stop the violence and crime, it would only help slightly. Finally, Jones states that underage drinking is a major issue in today’s society. I disagree with the author, the drinking age should be twenty-one because it would first reduce crime, it would prevent death, and finally it would decrease medical problems.

Vivian Jones, the author of “Underage Drinking,” questions the drinking age limit, and wants to decrease the age limit for consuming alcohol from twenty-one years old to eighteen. Firstly, the author defines underage drinking as a danger to young adults and teenagers that are developing. Secondly, Jones states that raising the age limit for drinking is a controversial topic in society. Thirdly, Jones acknowledges that drinking underage is banned and as a result the young adolescents are more allured to drink alcohol and rebel. The author also states that more younger Americans are drinking in excess with comparison to the UK. The author writes that raising the drinking age will not stop the violence and crime, it would only help slightly. Also, Jones conveys that underage drinking is a major issue in today’s society. I disagree with the author, the drinking age should be twenty-one because it would first reduce crime, it would prevent death, and finally it would decrease medical problems.

There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).

Alcohol is usually sought after within the adolescent community and has been an issue among young people. On July 17th 1984, congress passed The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which enforces the legal drinking age and purchasing of alcohol in the United States to be twenty-one. Since then, the debated idea of whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen has been an ongoing topic for decades. Alcoholism affects many people in the United States but promoting it at such young age would not be such a great idea for the youths in today’s society.The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact that it poses many dangers in the lives of teenaegers especially brain damages, underage drinking has declined since 1984, enforcing alcohol among teenagers may cause an increase in drunk driving and deaths and most importantly, teenagers who start drinking at an early age are more than three times more likely to develop alcohol dependency later on in life than those who started at the legal age of 21 or later.

Alcohol is a drink that possesses a seducing effect to tempt many citizens. Adults worldwide consume countless cans of beers, wine, vodkas, and other alcohol beverages. However, its luring quality has been secretly shared to minors, resulting to a problem called Underage Drinking. This situation has existed for quite some time. In the past, underage drinking was considered a miniscule crime, and wasn’t strictly restrained or monitored. As we continued to remain oblivious, numbers of adolescent drinkers have gradually increased as they used the tolerant rules to their advantage. Now, the problem has become significantly noticeable, and we can no longer neglect it. High school, even middle school students have been found with

drinkers," or people who have had more than four drinks in a row. Also, alcohol

A serious epidemic is overtaking this country. Underage drinking is spreading like a virus. It is not just teenagers in college that are drinking; there are numerous kids in high school, middle school, and even elementary school! How have we let it get this far? There is no excuse to be oblivious anymore. Underage drinking is right in front of our faces. It is killing our children. The good news is that this is a problem that can be fixed. There is no way of completely eliminating underage drinking, but it can be greatly reduced. With efforts from the government, parents, and the media, we can diminish underage drinking a great deal. We need to start educating our children that alcohol is a dangerous drug. We need to start setting better

Alcohol’s reputation varies from one culture to another. By some cultures, it is perceived as a “forbidden fruit” while others view it as an essential complement to their diet. Its complicated nature has caused modern countries to attempt to alleviate its harmful effects by setting restrictive laws. However, with the creation of these laws also arose imminent opposition and doubt over their effectiveness. While today’s minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21, it has been proven that the ideal minimum drinking age is 18, because it is safer for the health and it demotes crime.

“Every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries” ( “11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse”). That is 5,000 more teens or young adults that could be saved from this plague in this society (11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse). Underage drinking and alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States, and as a society need to make a change with how everyone sees this problem. Adults and young teens take this topic too lightly, and it should not be taken lightly because of how many deaths there have been from poor decision making. There are many programs or events that could help this problem by fundraising, however people think this is not a very important problem. Underage Drinking and Alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States because it causes major health issues that can be very costly, personal life problems that can lead to more problems later in life, and major risks that have no benefit, but can put someone else’s life in danger.

Underage alcohol drinking can have devastating effects on teenagers. It can affect teens' grades, health and many other things as well. The reasons why teenagers consume alcohol are pretty clear. What aren’t clear are the solutions to eliminating, or at least reducing the number of underage drinkers. It is vital that we do something to at least suppress this problem. By taking action, we can greatly reduce the number of underage drinkers and it could also save not only their lives, but also someone else's life as well. Underage drinking can cause many health problems as well as educational problems in a teen’s life; therefore our country needs to decrease the number of underage drinkers by increasing both the price of alcohol as well as the legal drinking age.

     Some alternatives to this high and strict minimum drinking age could be to give all students a state funded alcohol awareness program while in high school. If students are taught about the risks and dangers of excessive drinking, they will be more likely to refrain from doing it. Nowadays, the courses concerning alcohol awareness are more

There are some complex causes to teenage drinking. There are social, emotional, and physical causes that influence teens to drink alcohol. The most prevalent cause of teenage drinking is peer pressure.

Underage drinking is very common in the United States. Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States, even more so than illicit drugs (Marijuana, Cocaine, etc…) and tobacco. “In 2012 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 24% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink alcohol and 15% reported binge drinking. In 2013, the Monitoring the Future Survey reported that 28% of 8th graders and 68%

Social and cultural factors play roles in to establishing drinking patterns and the development of alcoholism. In some cultures, there is conflict between abstaining and accepting the use of alcohol as a way to change moods or to be social, thus making it difficult for some people to develop stable attitudes about and moderate patterns of drinking. Society tends to aid in the development of alcoholism by making alcohol seem glamorous, showing that by drinking, you will become more popular, more glamorous and more worthy of respects from others.