Keeping The Drinking Age At 21 Essay

In conclusion by lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age, more positive outcomes exist than negative ones. A lower drinking age will allow for those of age to have a chance to learn a better sense of responsibility, decrease alcohol related incidents and provide several health benefits. As a legal adult those between the ages of 18 and 21 deserve the right to make the decision of whether they would like to participate in the consumption of alcohol or

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.

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.

On the flip side, if the age restriction were lower, young adults will not view alcohol as a forbidden fruit, so they will feel less encouraged to drink for the sake of rebelling or exploring. In addition, they will have the comfort of knowing they can drink again in the near future, so they will be less likely to drink large quantities at once. Not only will the intent of drinking change, but also it would be more acceptable for educational programs to teach high school upperclassmen a thorough understanding of what it means and how to drink responsibly. Proponents for the current age minimum counter this by saying that the lower age minimum would increase drinking among young adults and result in more drinking-related violence and accidents; they do not believe lowering the age restriction will help increase responsible drinking. In response, when looking at similar countries such as Europe which have lower drinking age minimums, there are fewer issues with alcohol-related traffic accidents and violence, showing that a less strict

There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive

An obvious outcome of underage drinking is drunk driving, which we know kills thousands every year. But an effect of lowering the drinking age that escapes the minds of many is the easy access that younger teens and tweens will have to alcohol when their senior friends are allowed to partake of alcohol freely. When 18 year olds are still in high school, they can have legal alcohol at their social events and house parties. There’s no doubt that underclassmen will be allowed in to these events to enjoy the privilege of the older peers. The danger in young drinking makes itself clear in a CDC Fact Sheet: “About 2 in 3 high school students who drink do so to the point of intoxication, that is, they binge drink (defined as having five or more drinks in a row), typically on multiple occasions.”

Also, the drinking age shouldn’t be lowered because it can affect people’s memory, decision making, coordination, and judgement. Which means, some of these effects can be permanent. Adolescent brains are still developing so who knows what the side effect can be in the future?

Lowering the drinking age will be good for the economy because since there will be more people drinking, there will be a need to buy more thus increasing the flow of money throughout the system. Traffic accidents alcohol related are most common under newly legal drinkers. “In 2009, the 21- to 24-year-old age group had the highest percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of .08 or higher – 35 percent. Any increase in traffic accidents or fatalities in 18- to 20-year-olds would be offset by a decrease for those 21 and older.” (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Once you turn 18, you are considered an adult and held with the same responsibilities of everyone older. Once you turn 18, you are an adult and should not be denied the pleasure of

Second, lowering the drinking age may lead to lowered perception of risk.” (Tamika Z.) Teens will most likely go on a binge of drinking alcohol, due to it being lowered. This would cause more accidents associated with alcohol, such as, kidney failure or addiction to drinking. Teens who happen to do drugs may even have more deadly problems.

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.

Studies suggest that if the legal drinking age was lowered, then young adults would go about drinking safer due to it taking away the thrill of breaking the law. Binge drinking is often done at parties, but with the drinking age being lowered, parties would not be stopped. However, they would be more controlled. Lowering the drinking age would lead to young adults drinking in moderation (“Post Letter” 1). Main stated that before the drinking age was raised the drinking and driving rate among young adults skyrocketed (Main). Now with the increased awareness about drinking and driving that young adults are shown, studies have proven that the amount of people drinking and driving has decreased (“Why Colleges”

In Australia when a person hits eighteen, he or she is considered an adult in the eyes of the government. Being an adult, according to the government, means one is mature enough to vote, buy cigarettes and property, sign up for the army, and drink alcohol. I believe that the legal drinking age should be raised to twenty-one. Alcohol consumption in Australia started at an annual high point of about fourteen litres of pure alcohol per person in the eighteen thirties. It reduced to about six litres a year during the economic downturn in the eighteen nineties. Before nineteen seventy Western Australia drinking age was twenty-one.

If the drinking age was lowered, then even more people would be medically irresponsible. For example, “[a]lcohol consumption can interfere with development of the young adult brain's frontal lobes, essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization. Drinking alcohol at that age can cause chronical problems in the head,”(US) Changing the drinking age will screw up their heads and most likely before they even get out of high school. When start drinking at a young age it starts

Even though lowering the drinking age would cause a lot more hard ship, there are some good things that could come out of it. If the drinking age was lowered we could start teaching our kids at an earlier age about how to drink responsibility. I’m sure if you went around to twenty one year olds and asked if they had tried alcohol before they were allowed most of them would say yes. Supporters of the AI think that the age should be 18 because they think that the twenty one age restriction leads to underground drinking which causes dangerous drink patterns and unintended consequences (Barnett, 2008). So if this would

Lowering the drinking age to 18 would allow more teenagers under the age of 18 to get their hands on alcohol. Survey shows that 18 to 20 year olds get access to alcohol through their 21 to 24 year old friends, so if the age is lowered to down to 18, 15 to 17 year olds would start drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol is not something kids or teenagers should be allowed to drink just because they want to relax or have fun. Teenagers are more likely to be peer pressured into drinking alcohol because it is the “cool” thing people are doing. Drinking alcohol has serious effects on the human body and consuming too much can be dangerous to your health and life. From childhood to adulthood is when the body starts to transform and the