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Pros And Cons Of Legal Drinking Age

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When people turn eighteen they are considered adults. They can vote, get married, buy cigarettes, get a tattoo, and even die for their country. Despite being considered an adult, they still cannot buy or consume alcohol legally. A person can be responsible enough to pay their own bills, live by themselves, have a job at the age of eighteen. Despite all this the U.S. government believes that twenty-one is the time when a person is responsible enough to drink alcohol. The United States is outnumbered by countries that have a lower drinking age. Some people will argue that teenage years are very important in brain development; other people will say drinking at this age would cause more accidents and injuries. In all actuality lowering the drinking age to eighteen would give people a right they deserve.
The U.S. is one of few countries that have a legal drinking age of 21 and up. The article “Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) in 190 Countries” says that nineteen countries have no minimum legal drinking age (MLDA), two countries have a MLDA of 10- 15, twenty-one country have a MLDA of 16-17, and 115 countries have a MLDA of 18-19. So, why do we still have a MLDA of twenty-one if all of these countries have a lower drinking age? People have many different opinions on this question. Some of these countries do not enforce their legal drinking age even though the ages are already so low. In America, one can expect to have their age in almost any establishment that sells alcohol.

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