The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia
The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia
These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is rampant in today’s society, Australian Drug Foundation states that, “Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood-changing, recreational drug in Australia.”(Healey, 2002, p. 11). Underage drinking and binge drinking are some of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.
Most countries and cultures across the world experience these issues with 83% of the world population being allowed to drink at the age of 18, and the remaining 17% of the world population are legally allowed
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This is a custom that pervades every class in
the colony, and cannot be departed from without something more than a breach of good manners. (“Drinking Etiquette,” n.d.)
Alcohol helps people remove their barriers; lose their inhibitions, and form friendships, relationships, and acts as a social lubricant. In Australia many business deals have been conducted over a drink or two.
In addition to the Australian drinking culture, at 18-years-old you are legally an adult. Thus, society has many expectations of young adults such as employment and study. Australian policies allow 18-year-olds to vote, marry, drive a vehicle, and obtain a gun license; furthermore, it is 18-year-olds right as an adult to drink. “Eighteen-year-olds could vote to change government, get married, have children, enter into legally-binding contracts and were treated as adults by the justice system,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said on a matter. (News, 2010). Before the Vietnam War in 1962 the legal drinking age in Australia was 21. “The drinking age in Australia was lowered to 18 from 21 during the Vietnam War on the grounds that if 18-year-olds could be conscripted, they should have the right to vote and drink as well.”(Urban, 2009). Therefore, the law has been previously changed and it would be unadvisable to change the law again; these changes
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
Underage drinking is becoming a serious social issue in modern Australia; with 90% of Australian teenagers over 14 that have tried alcohol at least once. Estimates also suggest that half of Australia’s teenagers drink alcohol on a weekly basis. Underage drinking can cause drink driving and unsafe sex if it is misused. Australia seems to be fond of this drug, and find it to be socially acceptable although it is causing the amount of teenage deaths to rise rapidly due to misuse. Heavy use of Alcohol can also cause health issues later on in the lives of teens that are drinking alcohol. It is hard for parents to be able to prevent their teenagers from consuming and experimenting with alcohol, but they can at least kindly encourage their
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,
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).
Society proposes at the age of eighteen an individual is mature and responsible to make decisions without the consent of a parent or guardian. In the United States an eighteen-year-old is considered a legal adult. By law you are able to fight for your country, vote, and buy cigarettes. Some impose, giving a newly young adult the privilege to consume alcohol would enhance their responsibility as an adult. Mary Cary from
In the year 1974, Tasmania changed its legal drinking age from 21 years to 18, following the rest of the countries lead. It was the final state in Australia to change. Previously across the country, the legal age was 21 or there was no legal age for the consumption of alcohol. It was changed at the same time Great Britain changed their drinking age. Since this change many Doctors, families and religious groups have protested for the age to return to 21, nationwide.
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
In the United States, 18-year-olds are considered adults. They can vote, get married and get a license for a gun yet they are not allowed to drink. Many people think that the drinking age should be 18, but others strongly believe it should be 21 for doing all kinds of things. Drinking in the United States has become a controversy for the drinking age; 18 or 21. There are many reasons why the drinking age should stay the same and many of why it should be 18. Even though many Americans think that people under 21 do not have the capacity to handle drinking, in my opinion, drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 because teenagers at the age of 18 can make important decisions, so drinking should be a decision they can too decide whether to
In the United States, the minimum age required to legally consume alcohol is twenty-one years, being allowed in some states for young people under the minimum drinking age to consume alcohol under specific controlled circumstances. This particular age is controversial as it does not correspond to the age of majority of 18 years embraced by 47 states, which entitles the individual to vote, get married and join the army, among other decisions inherent to adulthood. It is thus seen as contradictory to consider a young person mature enough to take decisions of this nature, but not mature enough to drink alcohol.
Based on a research finding, some individuals indicate that when they are sober and others drink around them, it was considered boring (Seaman& Ikegwuonu , 2010, p.21). It is clear that beverages have become an activity as well as apart of socialisation. Its been described as a social facilitator during interaction and when establishing a connection with others. Data explores that peer group activity has lead to a strong connection of peer experience aligned with intoxication Seaman& Ikegwuonu (2010,p.22). This elaborates the effect of drunkenness. (Borsari & Carey 2001, p.392) stated alcohol played a vital role whether its in college , social functions or peer interactions. Alcohol being referred to as an act of rebellion has today been acknowledged as something ‘normal’ in society. (Pettigrew & Donovan, 2003). Alcohol has now been considered as a social fabric that changes ones game. Gender is a general issue where men are known to drink more than females. Why does this occur?. To begin with, the term hegemonic masculinity outlines the dominant form of a heterosexual in the western world (Germov & Poole,2011, p.241). Men are seemed to be
While consumption of alcohol is a socially acceptable practice in our society, issues arise when abuse occurs. Donatelle and Thompson (2011) define alcohol abuse as the "excessive consumption or a level of consumption that interferes with work, school, or social and family relationships" (256). As with other drug addictions, this abuse is disruptive to the alcohol abusers life as well as to those close to them. Moreover, alcohol abuse is accompanied by many devastating effects for all demographics. The harms associated with the misuse and abuse of alcohol includes: harm to oneself, negative effects on friendships and social life, and negative affects to physical
The legal drinking age in the United States is the only age that is above 19 years of age. Everywhere else in the world the age is 19 and under and some countries don’t even have a drinking age. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it will help all the problems that come with underage drinking. There is a numerous amount of reasons to change the drinking age to 18 and there are also many opposing thoughts on it as well. Three reasons
media reports about ‘teenage binge drinking’ and the associated harms and generated debate in the Australian media about raising the legal age of alcohol consumption from 18 to 21 years (Editor 2008;
Drinking underage has only recently increased in the last two decades as the media and alcohol manufactures and companies have portrayed it as “fashionable”. These negative impacts from the consumption of alcohol also have many health impacts on the young drinkers. These young drinkers have been influenced to drink from the older generations. Australia’s younger generations should be waking up sober. As well as not being influenced by society to binge drink. Because its becoming a large hangover for there
The legal drinking age is the age at which a person can legally consume or purchase alcoholic beverages. These laws are implied addressing wide arrange of issues and behaviors when people consume alcohol. The minimum age can be different from country to country. Most laws apply only to drinking alcohol on public places with alcohol consumption in the home being mostly unregulated. 18 is the age of adulthood and it means that a teenager who reaches tis age will receive rights and responsibilities suitable for their age. In Australia the legal drinking age is over 18 years old, but this can be varies by state. Recently in USA minimum age for drinking was lowered from 21 to 18.