Pros And Cons Of Raising The Drinking Age

In 1984 Ronald Reagan proposed a new law that declared that the legal drinking age must raised up to 21 instead of the age of 18. The law was forced upon the states by threatening them by stating that the government will reduce their highway funding until the states passed the law. Of course all the states eventually change their legal drinking age to 21. Some critics believe that this law’s results have been very successful, however the law possesses many insecurities, but certain programs can be arranged to help educate teenagers on alcohol.

At this age the brain is almost fully developed. This age group is more responsible than those of the teenage category, and they should know how to handle their alcohol. Raising the age would most likely cause more people to illegally purchase or obtain alcohol through someone of the legal age. This would cause more crime, and possibly making it more irresponsible. There are studies that show many people under age try to obtain alcohol illegally because they are doing something that is against the law. It gives them a sort of thrill being able to do something the majority of their age group

The first reason I think the drinking age should be raised is because the human brain isn't fully matured until the age 25. Its not fully developed and matured until age 25, yet the drinking age stands at 21 in the U.S. Why let someone drink if their brain hasn’t got to its full development and maturity. If someone drinks before their brain is fully matured then they have a higher risk of making bad decisions. People under 25 (not fully developed or matured brains) often do not consider the consequences of their actions, and adding alcohol to the situation doesn’t

A lower drinking age law would save even more lives and also stop minors from drinking under the limit. Having it higher will result in more traffic injuries and fatalities among youth. A lower drinking age is effective in preventing alcohol-related deaths and injuries among youth. Young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heavy drinking age. According to John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibility, the legal drinking age does not eliminate consumption among young people. Instead, it only drives underage drinking underground, creating a dangerous culture of irresponsible and extreme drinking. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood."Keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will not dissuade young people who want to indulge in reckless alcohol intake. If anything, the age limit encourages binge drinking. Lowering the drinking age could make it easier to regulate consumption among younger adults as well as encourage healthy drinking habits. “For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers.” “Among drinkers only, 32% of underage compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.”

Stating that drinking at a younger age causes more health hazards proves that having the drinking age higher would be safer for oneself and the community as a whole. In addition, younger adults could easily become exposed to alcoholism. It is stated by the National Highway Institute in a study done on alcohol abuse among teens that “the overall risk for alcoholism decreases 14 percent with each year of age that drinking is postponed” (Boulard 52). The drinking age should not be lowered because the higher the drinking age, the less risk there is for alcoholism. Not only does drinking cause health related problems, but it also produces risks of injury or death. It has been proven that “youth alcohol use contributes to higher incidences of drunk driving, traffic accidents, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)…” (“Update: Alcohol Issues” 1-2). Not only is underage drinking illegal, but drinking and driving is as well. Therefore, maintaining the drinking age would prevent the number of accidents and deaths. However, some believe that drinking wine is good for the heart. This is only true for drinking in moderation. If one drinks more than a couple of glasses, this does not go into effect, and the number of bad health related consequences outnumbers the good. Studies have shown that “The lower death rate among moderate drinkers is due to the reduction in heart disease, specifically atherosclerosis or

Lowering the drinking age will result in life and death consequences. By keeping the drinking age at 21, the rate of fatalities for drinking and driving decrease drastically. During the short period during the late 1980’s when the drinking age was lowered to 18, the number of fatal car crashes involving young adults who were under the influence dropped from 61% to 31% (Wil Fulton). By bringing the age down to 18-years-old, alcohol would be more accessible to the lower age group. For example, an 18 year old, who is still in high school, is more likely to sell alcohol to a 16 year old than a 21 year old, who is away at college. In recent studies, researchers found that 77% of the population are opposed to lowering the drinking age to 18 (Brandon Griggs). MADD is supported by influential government companies such as the American Medical Association, National Transportation Safety Board, National Safety Council, International Association Chiefs of Police, Governor's Highway Safety Association, Surgeon General of the United States, and U.S. Transportation Secretary to name a few (John H. Barnhill, PHD). Overall, young teenagers lack the proper wisdom collected to make right judgments about alcohol. The 3 years between the age 18 and 21 are filled with change and responsibilities, making one more suitable to make appropriate

There has always been a big controversy on the legal drinking age and what it should be. The consumption of alcohol can be seen has dangerous or has a medicine. The legal drinking age should be raised due to violent crime, domestic abuse, and DUI all related to abusing alcohol. Raising the legal drinking age will decrease the amount of violent crime, domestic abuse, and DUI related deaths.

According to Alexis Aguirre in The University Star, “Keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will not dissuade young people who want to indulge in reckless alcohol intake. If anything, the age limit encourages binge drinking. Lowering the drinking age could make it easier to regulate consumption among younger adults as well as encourage healthy drinking habits” (Aguirre). Sure enough, if the drinking age were lowered to 18 it would avoid the illegal, abused intake of alcohol by 18 year olds. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, “Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking” (U.S Department of Health and Human Services). A way of avoiding such tragedies is lowering the drinking age to 18, teaching younger

The actions being taken are creating sobriety checkpoints, ignition interlocks, mass media campaigns, car services, school-based instructional programs, and the upcoming innovations in self-driving cars. Sobriety checkpoints can help in a major way because they can prevent drunk driving accidents from occurring and it can also lead people to not drink or take a car service. Ignition interlocks can also be a big help because if the person in the driver’s seat has over a certain BAC then the car won’t start. Mass media campaigns also work because they show the consequences of driving drunk and the possibilities that can happen. I remember seeing mass media campaign commercials of people who drove drunk and killed someone and they ended up being jailed for years. This strongly advised me at a young age to not drive drunk when I get to the legal age of consumption. School programs can also solve this issue because it can give the students an emotional and first hand experience that will strongly advise them to not drink and drive. The thing that I think contributes most in the area that I live, to prevent drunk driving, is “Uber” and “Lyft.” Most of the time people know if they’re going to go out and drink, and if you plan to take an “Uber” or “Lyft” then you can go out and drink without having to drive home. These car services are also extremely easy to use because you can get a ride with the click of a button. With all these alternatives to drunk driving, this is a perfect time to lower the drinking age. I would lower it even further than 18, but the main reason why I didn’t decide to make it lower is because of brain development in young teenagers. These are the main reasons why the drinking age should be lowered to age 18. If people still decide to drive drunk with all these alternatives, then they’re just “stupid”, and people

Eliminaiting the drinking age will also help prevent less people from becoming alcoholics. Even though this fact can be hard to comprehend it is a true and proven fact. There are many different reasons why a person drinks, such as depression caused by the death of a loved one, to forget bad memories, to" fit in"socially and to follow their role

There are statistics that alcohol consumption has lowered since 1984. Some attribute this to the fact that drinking age is set at 21, but this is not absolutely the reason because even where it is set at 18 people make their own choices of whether to drink or not. It is also evident that setting the drinking age at 21 against 18 does not eliminate teenage drinking problems; instead it just keeps them on hold until the teens get to 21 years of age. In some cases keeping the minimum drinking age at 21 encourages teens to drink more. Hence drinking age should be set at the age of 18. Here are some of the reasons why.

The feasibility of why the drinking age should be changed from 21 to 18 can be shown in a variety of reasons, which would show that the drinking age should be changed.

Reviewing these statists one may be able to analaze and see that even drivers between 21 to 24 were high at risk. What would make a person want to lower the drinking age to 18. Young adults at eighteen are new drivers and less expierenced then the 21 + drivers and logically would produce more fatal crashes.

The legal drinking age should not be a common controversial topic of debate that people argue about time and time again. It is so obvious to see that when the law was passed to make the legal drinking age twenty-one years, it was the best decision for our nation. Alcohol is the main drug problem for the youth in the United States and as well as the world. This problem is carried over when teenagers get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Although, from studies carried out, young drivers are less likely to drink and drive however the severity of accidents caused by drunken teens outweighs the accidents caused by adults. The legal drinking age should remain as is and there are countless reasons to back this claim.

While people want to lower the drinking age, they are right not doing so because this could cause more car accidents. In an article titled Study: Lowering The Drinking Age Increases Car Crashes Among Youth by Join Together Staff, the author states “Several studies in the United States have shown significant reductions in alcohol-related traffic crashes since the Uniform Drinking