Essay On Raising The Drinking Age

Once a person turns eighteen, he or she receives many rights and privileges. One major right that all of these teenagers are missing is the right to buy and consume alcohol. The question is posed is whether lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen would be a better or worse idea. Jeffery A. Miron, a senior lecturer at Harvard University’s economics department, and Elina Tetelbaum, a law student from Yale University, write in their argumentative article in Forbes Magazine, “The Dangers of the Drinking Age”, in which they believe that the minimum drinking age of twenty-one is not working. After conducting studies, they found that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has little or no effect on traffic fatalities. Lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen would likely have the same effects as the minimum age of twenty-one; it is reasonable to assume that underage teenagers may feel less rebellious knowing that they can legally buy and consume alcohol at the age of eighteen.

When it comes to the subject of drinking and teenagers, what is the first thing that comes to mind? To me it's the legal age limit of when teens should be able to drink. Having it lowered is controversial because according to prior experiences, data shows that younger age drinking is well known for its fatalities. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), "on one of the most popular prom nights in 1999, as many as 62 percent of the traffic deaths were alcohol-related" (). The most important question is whether or not the drinking age anywhere in the United States should be lowered, raised or if it should stay the same. Statistics prove that the legal drinking age should remain at the age of twenty-one in the United States.

With the thought of drinking at a legal age, typically you will think about responsible adults. There are many reasons why raising the legal drinking age to 25 years old could help support this change. All things can change for the better.

Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make a lot of sense in the world. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would make more sense. It would be better for the teens that drink on college campus. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because you can vote at eighteen, buy tobacco, it’ll reduce the thrill of breaking the law, evidence supports that early introduction of drinking is the safest way to reduce juvenile alcohol abuse, and college people that are not 21 drink also.

There always has been controversy as to should the united states lower the drinking age to 18. Eighteen year olds should have the right to drink. By lowering the drinking age to eighteen it will give people supervision, teach responsibilities, and eighteen years olds are already considered adults; however, it may cause binge drinking, it will lead to more deaths, and drinking damages brains cells and especially the body itself.

Do you think young ones should drink alcohol? Mostly the percentage the people drinking in America. Can we stop young people from drinking? Yes, because it’s illegal for young age to drink. This topic isn’t everyone agreed of. The enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age. Purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds (GPO Access). We should stay the high age to drink because it lower MLDA 21 not responsible on medical, reduce the number of underage, and lower the program age of 21 to 18 cause irresponsibility to let in great more crimes.

People may be old enough to vote and fight for our country, but at the age of eighteen,

Unfortunately, more than a third of these drinkers are unable to remember what happened the night of a big drinking session. The youth particularly, are vulnerable to the effects of heavy drinking. Harms include an increased risk of traffic accidents, injuries from violence, death, health problems, and some studies suggest suicide. If the legal drinking age is raised to 21 then at least one will have finished the major part of their education. Therefore if people start drinking later in life, they may be more likely to drink in moderation and not get addicted at an early

The legal age for drinking alcohol is 21, but people want to change it to 18 and think it’s a terrible idea. People think that changing the drinking age to 18 is a smart, but it really isn’t. There’s many reasons it shouldn’t be changed like, even more people would be irresponsible with alcohol, it will increase car accidents on the road, and younger teens will be able to have access to it.

The drinking age in the United States is a contradiction. At the age of eighteen, one can drive a car, vote in an election, get married, serve in the military and buy tobacco products. In the United States you are legally an adult at eighteen. An eighteen-year-old, however, cannot purchase alcoholic beverages. The minimum drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one in the United States.

In 1984 Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole lobbied for all states to raise the legal drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one. The consequence for a state not raising the age was to lose a portion of their federal highway funding. I personally believe that the drinking age being twenty-one is just like when the voting age was twenty-one, if I can go to war and die for my country, then I should be able to go to the bar and buy a beer.

J Some would argue that the drinking age should be lowered to 18, while others would argue the drinking age should stay 21 or make the drinking age even higher. I believe that if you’re old enough to vote, get married, and honorably have the right too to serve and die for your country then you have the right to have a beer.

Discussions arise among Americans in regards to changing the drinking age to 18. Is this a good idea, or are we just trying to accommodate for the way we treat young adults? Several studies show that when the drinking age is 21, older adults are happier about it. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that National Minimum Drinking Age of 21 decreased the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18- to 20-year-olds by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008” (ProCon.org). With information as previously stated, it is in good reason that we changed the drinking age to 21, and that we should keep it that way.

Drinking alcohol is a privilege,but it should be a right of an adult citizen. Thousands of people abuse it everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we should limit all adults from drinking because that's not reasonable for the people that won’t exploit that opportunity. I have a strong view that if you are 18 you are considered an adult so shouldn’t you be able to have all the rights and responsibilities associated with adulthood. If you’re considered an adult at 18 shouldn't you be old enough to purchase alcohol? Having a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) hasn’t prevented teenage drinking.

The controversy on the proper drinking age is one that has been repeatedly discussed and researched over the years. Its common to hear the argument “If someone is old enough to take a bullet for their country, they should be allowed to drink alcohol.” But is that enough justification? Some would say no. “According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it is estimated that in 2004 there were more than 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually associated with excessive drinking” (Fennell 247). Given these numbers, would lowering the drinking age really be the best thing for America’s youth?