Why The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered To 18 Years Of 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.

Every year, thousands of minors die from the use of alcohol. Many young adults abuse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not be lowered because it would decrease maturity, promote poor behavior, and damage reputations.

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

On February 3, 2017, Tim Piazza, a sophomore here at Penn State, tragically lost his life at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house. This horrific event was a result of irresponsible consumption of alcohol and binge drinking. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Around the nation, countless young adults have lost their life due to the thoughtless consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately, the common census between the majority of the average day Americans is that the most effective way to make drinking safer for young adults is enforcing a minimum drinking age of twenty one. This law, as well as the common census, are a direct result from the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) more than thirty years ago (“Drinking Culture”). MADD’s objective and goal is quite understandable; they want the young adults of today’s world to be safe and not put themselves into dangerous situations with alcohol, but they doing more harm than good. (“The Problem”). Safety is the single objective from each side in this argument, but MADD’s flawed logic and ignorance to reality has formed a belief that results in an unsafe drinking culture, resulting in more deaths, such as the tragic passing of Tim Piazza, unless the drinking age is lowered to eighteen, as well as establishing an open dialogue about drinking itself.

Every year, thousands of deaths occur as a result of drunk driving, and every day people are facing the consequences of irresponsible drinking. Because of the issues caused by irresponsible drinking, the US government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which raised the minimum drinking age to twenty-one to prevent drinking-related accidents and violence. Despite the intent of its passing, it was a counterproductive decision. Because of the higher age restriction, high school upperclassmen and college underclassmen see drinking as an exciting, rebellious act. Consequentially, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act resulted in an increase in dangerous and irresponsible drinking which continues to this day. Not only does the

The debate of the drinking age has been long discussed throughout America. The drinking age has been 21 for the last 22 years, and people around the country have wondered weather or not this was the right call. People say that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and might not know when to stop. It isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but rather have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old will take the thrill that teens get from breaking the law while drinking, will no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and will no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised

According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not

Half the United States population starts drinking at the age of 14.When you are 18 you have privileges like joining the army. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) You can go to war and die for your country but you still can not enjoy an ice cold beer. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) How is being 21 different from being 18? How does three more years of not drinking make you mature enough to drink? The longer you drink the more you start to drink responsibly. (Katherine Reilly Why 21? Page 1) The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because most teens under 21 drink, when you turn 18 you get tons of privileges, at you 18 are considered an adult and what is so special about the

Let’s face it; alcohol is an excessively abused drug. Underage parties involving alcohol are increasing in popularity among high school and college-aged students. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because adults can legally marry, begin a career and support a family, as well as serve in the military and prison. Along with these and many other reasons, the rebellious nature for wanting to participate in illegal activities is an immense driving force for why teens and young adults drink illegally.

Underage drinking has been occurring since laws were set in place for age qualifications, but it is better serving American society by continuing it because we can’t accept lowering the national age? Ruth C. Engs, a professor for Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University, finds that the mandated drinking age should be lowered to 18 or 19. If young adults were legally allowed to drink in controlled environments, then responsible drinking methods could be taught, resulting in mature behavior when consuming alcohol (Engs, 1). By keeping the drinking age so high, students or young adults are forced to hide drinking and more often than not, turn to binge drinking, an unhealthy, addictive, and extremely dangerous form of drinking that often results in blackouts and alcohol poisoning. Engs states, “For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers.” This is not the only issue that arises from underage drinking. Newsweek writer, Jeffrey A. Tucker, sees that this law is only causing “over-indulgence, anti-social behavior, disrespect for the law, secrecy and sneaking and a massive diversion of human energy.” To diminish these issues, people are turning towards the examples of other nations that have managed to maintain low drinking age laws, with low risk results. In other countries, alcohol is seen as a cultural norm and are taught at young age how to responsibly consume. However, it is treated the opposite in America, instead, it is seen as how Wil Fulton from the Huffington Post sees it, “forbidden fruit”. Fulton states through a claim made by the World Health Organization, that while Europeans tend to consume more alcohol, Americans still die from more alcohol-related causes. In efforts to change this law and hopefully encourage safe and responsible drinking, many are turning towards the Amethyst Initiative, a movement created by John

At the age of 18, American Citizens gain the immense responsibility of becoming an adult. When you turn 18 you gain a sense of adulthood and many things that were illegal for you before are now legal. Object lessons are the right to sign a contract, vote in elections, attend on a jury, make a will, get married without parental permission and the list goes on. For what reason is it that you aren 't old enough to purchase and consume alcohol. "The passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 prompted states to enhance their legal age for purchase or public ownership of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds (alcohol policy. Noah. NIH. Gov)."

I am Brian Reed, an undergraduate student at the University of West Georgia. I’m writing to you regarding my concerns on underage drinking in the United States and ways that I believe would help prevent such a jeopardizing act. There is a bill that provides assistance to my concerns and reasoning called the “H.R. 1717: Sober truth on preventing underage drinking reauthorization act.” According to Congress, this bill was created to provide for programs and activities with respect to the prevention of underage drinking. I strongly agree with the idea of this bill because the programs will influence citizens under the age of 21 to realize how dangerous drinking alcohol can be, which can possibly bring this illegal act an end.

Consider how many young adults choose to drink illegally on a regular basis. According to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, by age fifteen roughly half of all teenagers have had their first drink, and that by age eighteen roughly seventy percent of all teenagers have had a drink (“Underage Drinking” np). The truth is, underage drinking is a common issue in America. Lowering the drinking age is believed by many to be a solution to reducing underage drinking. The idea is that if the drinking age is lowered; those under the age of twenty-one who will then fit in the legal drinking age category, will not find drinking as appealing as it was before it was legalized for their age group. Eventually, drinking alcohol will start to become the norm and will not feel like the “cool” thing to do anymore. This will result in a lowered number of teenagers drinking, cutting out the large majority who drink as a way to fit in at social gatherings.

Getting to 18 years of age is an important milestone for a US resident because it is the legal age for independence, allowing the individual to make his or her decisions regarding tobacco smoking, driving and even joining the armed forces while being treated as an adult by the justice system. While this statement is essentially accurate, it is untrue concerning the ability to purchase and drink alcohol. This is because the US law has set the threshold for alcohol purchase and consumption at 21 years of age (Mistral 1980). The question then remains; if an individual is considered an adult at 18 years of age, is it not right to allow them to purchase and consume alcohol at the same age? Answering this question has been a matter of polarizing debate, with those in support of and opposition to lowering the drinking age presenting valid arguments. The present paper discusses the same argument with a subjective bias towards supporting calls for the US legislators to lower the legal drinking age to 18 years.

Though at the age of eighteen a person’s brain has not fully matured, “[s]ystems responsible for logical reasoning mature by the time people are 16,” Laurence Steinberg says. Therefore, by the age of eighteen, citizens are capable of using this “logical reasoning” to cast a vote for president or understand how to operate a motor vehicle. The problems are not stemming from the age at which these rights are given, but rather the lack of teaching the responsibility that accompanies these tasks. These adult privileges must be infused to a person’s life slowly, beginning with “requir[ing] considerably more training and proven skill before new drivers are let loose on public roads,” says lawyer Jamie Lincoln Kitman. Logically, unless the driver is well informed of the dangers of the road and well trained to avoid them, the practice of driving is more dangerous; the same principle applies to drinking. The majority of the time, those who are legally prohibited from drinking do it anyway, and without maturity to guide them. John M. McCardell Jr. asserts, “[i]f you infantilize someone, do not be surprised when infantile behavior — like binge drinking — results.” Instead, he suggests young adults could be given an alcohol “permit” that would teach good judgment and the proper observance of the law. While learning responsibility, it is