Why the drinking age should be lowered? Alcohol has been part of our culture for thousands of years, it is also a harmful substance. Due to this, almost all the countries around the world have placed an age restriction on it. In Australia the age required is 18, some countries allow drinking at the age of 16 for beer, not for spirits. The purpose of a minimum drinking age is to act as a deterrent from drinking alcohol, as young people face legal punishment if they break the law by drinking underage. However, underage drinking remains a problem. The law is often difficult to enforce if people drink in their own homes, rather than in a public place. Though establishments such as bars or supermarkets often have the policy to ask for identification when selling alcohol in the Australia, levels of sales to teens are still not considered to be low enough. I think drink age should be lowered. Due to how high the drinking age is teens have started to turn away from drinking and have become interested in other dangerous substances and drugs. A study found in the US states that after the drinking age was increased from 19 to 21, 22% of students reported that “they are going to take drugs.” Teens are always trying to show off to their friends how cool they are by taking these substances and drugs which will just lead them to an unhappy live in prison and or a rehab …show more content…
Australia lets teens under the age of 18 have the right to do other things. A few examples of this would be getting your piercings with permission at 10-16 of age, allowed to drive on your Ls while supervised and finally be employed at 13 or 14. If teens are mature enough to do these things why are they not allowed to drink at a lower age? Teens have not broken the laws for driving, pricing or employment because they know it is one step to becoming a mature adult. But they-they break the law for drinking because they know they are mature
There are several controversies in the world today, but one that really catches my attention is on the topic of whether or not the drinking age in the United States should be lowered from 21 to 18. Many people have debated about this topic for several years, and there are several different opinions on this topic. Some people think it is dangerous to lower the drinking age; some people support it. Some children think it is stupid to lower the drinking age; some children support it. However, I strongly believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 for several reasons, such as 18 year olds are allowed to do several other adult activities, other countries have the legal age at 21, and people who are under the age of 18 are still going to drink alcohol whether it is illegal or not.
Did you know that in the year 1980 the legal drinking age was only 18? In 1987 there was a law passed that said in order to drink legally and to buy alcohol a person had to be 21. At the age of 18 people are allowed to buy tobacco, vote, get married without parental consent, and even join the armed forces, so why can’t some one who is 18 by alcohol. This is a question I have; I believe that the legal drinking age should be 18. Dr. Ruth Engs, a professor of Applied Heath Sciences at Indiana University, agrees with me also. She states, “the legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments.” (Engs) These controlled places include
In the U.S. the minimum drinking age is at 21 and I believe it should be lowered to 18. People 18 years and older are considered adults and should be treated as such by being allowed to legally purchase and consume alcohol. Lowering the drinking age will not only give 18-year-olds the rights and recognition they deserve as adults, but will also obliterate a largely ineffective law that only serves to create more red tape. At the age of 18, a U.S. citizen can vote in an election, defend and possibly die for their country and make all kinds of decisions regarding their life and body. If I want to vote democrat, I can. If I want ink up my body, I can. If I want to fill my lungs with smoke, I can do that too. Going wine tasting with some friends,
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.
Well, you are telling me that I can legally kill someone at the age of eighteen, while I sign up with the military and go to war but I can’t have a sip of alcohol. Due to this none senseless situation, age should be equaled. In other words, if voting and military sign up is eighteen, then drinking should also be eighteen. Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult. Why can’t we drink then? Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine. In fact, Dr. Ruth Engs; professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, uses this examples to propose the following: “……the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environment such as restaurants and official school and university functions” (direct quote from Dr. Engs).
First, I will discuss why 18 year olds should be entitled to the right to consume alcohol when they hit adulthood, rather than waiting until the age of 21. When you turn 18 years old you’re allowed to vote in elections, get married, smoke, get tried in a court of law as an adult, gamble, get life insurance, and fight in the armed forces
The drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because there has been many problems that have caused life threatening dangers to these teens. The age eighteen is where you start to become an adult so people should have the right to drink when they turn eighteen (“Drinking Age”). It also should be allowed
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.
Teenagers are irresponsible. Young adults can not handle real life situations. New generations do not know how to use things in moderation. These are all stereotypes of America’s youth, yet they all seem to refer to teachable things. They are all things that need to be learned. Most of the time, the young are looked down on for messing up in life, yet the reality is that anyone can screw up, it just is more likely to happen to someone who has less experience as opposed to someone who has more. The more time a person is given to learn about something, and the more guidance they have, the more experienced and reliable they will become. This applies to many things, but one specific example is alcohol. Typically teens are seen as too irresponsible to have access to substances containing alcohol, but if they were to legally have it in their lives, it may educate them sooner as to how to use it properly and in moderation. In the United States of America, the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years old.
On July 1, 1971 the 26th amendment was passed which lowered the minimum age to vote from twenty one to eighteen years old. Shortly after the amendment was passed twenty nine states across America started lowering the drinking age from 21 to either 18,19, or 20 years old. This new freedom for young adults only lasted for a brief time by 1984 the Uniform Drinking Age Act was passed. The Uniform Drinking Age Act forced states to change the drinking age back to twenty one years old; by reducing the federal transportation funding, for each state that did not have a minimum drinking age of21. This act has caused controversy for years, there even is group of 136 college presidents called Amethyst Initiative that support a lower minimum legal
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.
We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music rattled the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my sister. It was not my first time drinking. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced – after all, it’s college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a guy she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of
Many people believe lowering the drinking age to 18 would be very beneficial for our country. 18 year olds are seen as adults in the United States. If they can do so much at this age why can’t they be able to make the choice of purchasing a drink? At 18 you can sign leases and move out of your parents home. You can also get inside of a club.
A very controversial argument amongst Americans is determining that the current legal drinking age which is 21 should be lowered to eighteen or not. Researching the following propaganda made me understand the dangers to the youth and people in America if the drinking age were to lower. Therefore i will argue with whoever disagrees with me that the drinking age should be lowered.
Neil I. Bernstein the author of “How to keep your teenager out of trouble and what to do if you can’t” details some of the core issues and influences behind teenage alcohol use. One of the most commonly reported influences is because they see so many other people doing it including their parents and other adults, popular young famous icons, movie and music stars, and of course, their friends. Furthermore there is an acknowledgement that it can also come down to boredom, rebellion, or the instant gratification provided by alcohol. For these young adults there is the extra added bonus that it is also not particularly difficult to access alcohol here is New Zealand. Since the legal drinking age was lowered to eighteen years old in 1999, the availability of alcohol to younger adults has been an on going point for debate, with many claiming that the law change has made it easier for younger teens to purchase alcohol (Claiborne & Drewery, 2010). Not only is the legal drinking age lower than some other countries (e.g. United States) it is also more accessible through the high number of suppliers in New Zealand. Unlike Australia you can walk into a supermarket seven days a weeks and purchase a cheap bottle of bubbly or a fairly cost effective dozen beers. For most young adults it is acknowledged that drinking alcohol, and often becoming heavily intoxicated, is just part of the teen scene and part of the normal young adult