The Importance Of The Drinking Age

When people turn eighteen they are finally considered an adult. They can join the army, vote, buy cigarettes or tobacco products, get a tattoo and even die for our country. Although everyone considers that person to be an adult, they are still not old enough to buy or consume alcohol. A person can be responsible enough to live on their own, make their own money, pay their own bills, and yet they are still not considered old enough to purchase or consume any type of alcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would help prevent the crime and personal injuries that are caused by alcohol abuse.

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.

What do you think the legal drinking age should be? For years the question, “What should be the legal drinking age,” has been in the air. Many people have been arguing whether or not the legal age to drink should be raised, stay the same, or lowered. Save Us from Youth talks about how there is not a consistency of laws for an eighteen-year-old. As a young adult you are given many rights to be certified as an adult, yet are held back as youth because drinking is prohibited. Different appeals to logic and red herring are used in Save Us from Youth, to give the authors view on consistency of laws and being an adult.

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

Consuming alcohol is considered a rite of passage for the average young individual. The minimum drinking age required to legally consume alcohol varies in each country, ranging from it always being legal to drinking being illegal at any age, but most countries have set the age at 18-19. In the United States, as of 1988, the MLDA is 21 throughout its entire territory, while the age of majority starts at 18. This paper analyzes the arguments to lower the minimum drinking age and unify it with the age of majority. The factors discussed are alcohol-related traffic accidents, encouragement of unsafe drinking habits, and inconsistency between the perception of adulthood and the MLDA.

I believe that the legal drinking age should stay at 21 for many reasons. Underage drinking should not be allowed in any country because it is dangerous, causes health complications and it can be overused, and most of the time misused. As a young adult it will take less time for them to become “drunk” and more likely to put them in negative situations which will harm them later as an adult. If the government were to lower the drinking age to under 21, unprotected sex, sexual assault, and other tragedies would become more predominant in our society. Alcohol is very harmful to our bodies and if given the opportunity to drink at a younger age the effects would be harmful to the young adult and to others in his environment.

In 1984, president Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (McCardell 75). This set the legal drinking age officially to twenty-one. This act was put into order to reduce drunk driving and vehicle accidents. While all of this may be true, times have changed and there is more to consider. Automobiles are now safer with seat belts, airbags and other technological advances. Author John J. Miller states that “Many politicians and lobbyists find the legal drinking age of twenty-one to be a great success, praising it for reducing drunk driving fatalities without considering that other factors, such as seat belt laws and safer cars, have helped” (Miller 25). These advancements should be kept in mind when comparing

Today alcohol, is a huge problem that affects the entire world. In particular, in America it seemed a good idea to increase the legal drinking age to 21 years old, to lower accidents that may be caused by alcohol consumers. The issue is to understand if this decision actually helped, or if the USA should reconsider to lower the drinking age to 18 years old again.

Should the drinking age really be lowered to a younger age or should we keep it the same? Well, my opinion it should be lowered because of multiple reasons. Lowering the MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something do responsibly in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the workforce. The MLDA 21 enforcement isn't a priority for law enforcement agencies. The punishments are inadequate, takes time and effort to do the paperwork. An estimated two of every 1,000 occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 gets arrested. Lowering the MLDA 21 would help stop the accidents and bad results from people who would not fear from consequences if they sought medical

Before the year of 1975, the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was set at eighteen. It wasn’t until 1984 when the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed which required the States to set the MLDA at twenty-one causing no one under the age of twenty-one to be able to consume or purchase alcohol. States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act. Many can argue that ever since the drinking age was set at a higher age limit, there have been less reports of death due to intoxication, both on the road and off the road (Mooney). Young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty are still developing many parts of their brain and if they begin to consume alcohol at such an early age, it can

In 1984 President Reagan signed the Uniform Drinking Age Act requiring that all states return to 21 as the drinking age between the next 5 years. In 1988 all states had put Uniform Drinking Age Act for forever. When the drinking age was set to 21 rather than 18 back in the 60’s it was almost like an experiment. This experiment proved that teens thoughts about drinking and driving underage just to get a sip of alcohol is not the responsible thing to do. Many college students and young people do not understand how much one drink of alcohol behind the wheel can affect the rest of their life forever. They could be instantly killed by the impaired driving or kill someone else by the decisions made on the road. Concluding, the drinking age

The legal age for drinking should be raise from 21 to 25 years old. You may ask yourself why I’m saying this? Well, I think the drinking age should be increase because in my opinion people that are 25-years-old are more mature than 21-year old’s. first of all, I think there would be less crashes if the drinking age increases. There would be less people on the road getting distracted and speeding. Also, people would not fall asleep behind the wheel. A 25-year-old person knows up to what limit they can go to before driving a car. People tend to get clumsy and sleepy when drinking alcohol. Maybe a 25-year-old person is more mature than a 21-year-old and decides not to risk it by drinking and driving. In addition, I think the

The preferred option is to continue with the already implemented strategies. There is evidence to support the claim that the rate is already decreasing. Stakeholders would be more welcoming to this solution as it decreases the amount of violence which satisfies police, health professions, parents and nightclub owners but it does not disrupt the activities of young adults or nightclub owners. The other solutions will cause a disruption in the actions of young adults and nightclub owners. This can be seen in the estimated loss of revenue for nightclubs while limiting the freedom that young adults have. A higher drinking age is good in theory, but as America can demonstrate, does not reduce alcohol-fuelled violence. If passed, individuals under 21 can commit violent crimes while illegally drinking in uncontrolled environments. Although violence on the street is not ideal, there are benefits in having it in the broader community. Police are able to detect it and penalise the individual. Restricting the type of alcohol available to an individual can cause more violence. People who are already intoxicated might react negatively when told they are unable to purchase spirits, causing them to lash out. There is also a high risk of individuals sneaking in spirits, which makes it difficult to monitor the intake of alcohol. Therefore, continuing the current legislation has more benefits compared to the others options

Was it a good decision to choose 21 as the legal drinking age? Research shows that “alcohol consumption, heavy drinking, and daily alcohol use has declined among young adults age 18-20 since the 1980s” (Wechsler). Along with the decline in consumption, the percentage of alcohol-related traffic fatalities has also dramatically declined from the 1980s until 1997 when it leveled off. (Wechsler).

If the drinking age is lowered to eighteen, the number of deaths caused by teen drinking and driving would increase. It has been proven many times that when the drinking age was raised American lives were spared. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration in only sixteen years (1882-1898) 14,886 lives were saved by the establishment of the drinking age at twenty-one. In this time frame the least amount of lives saved in one year was 578 (DeJong). This law prevents inexperienced drivers from taking the wheel while intoxicated. Teenagers alone get into more accidents than mature adults, with the influence of alcohol the odds of them getting into an accident are