The Problems of Underage Drinking Essay

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.

Should the legal drinking age be lowered from 21? In all fifty states the legal drinking age is 21 years of age. Now there are exceptions to this law including drinking at home, under parental supervision and for medical reasons. Those who agree in lowering the legal drinking age believe that the set age at 21 has not stopped teens from drinking but encouraged underage drinking to less safe and controlled places. Those who are against lowering the legal drinking age believe that teens are not developed enough to drink responsibly which makes them more likely to harm or kill themselves or others.

appropriations (Haevens). This is the main reason the legal drinking age has not been lower below 21 years of age.a large number of the general population desires a lower drinking age. In the 25 years since the legal drinking age was set at 21, seven states have tried to lower it. (Wechsier ).It is unfair for the federal government to withhold money from states if they exercise their rights to set the legal drinking age to what they think is right. Twenty-six states do allow underage drinking of wine at religious ceremonies ( "Drinking Age" 1). The legal age to drink alcohol should be lowered to 18 to allow for parental guidance, to help prevent binge drinking, and to help reduce the amount of drinking and driving.

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

I. Introduction: Starting in 1970 21 states reduced the minimum drinking age to 18. Another 8 reduced it to 19 or 20. However, these states noticed increases in alcohol-related fatalities among teenagers and young adults. As a result, of the 29 states that had lowered their drinking age, 24 raised the age again between 1976 and 1984. By 1984, only three states allowed 18-year-olds to drink all types of alcoholic liquor. The enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age for purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds. The states who raised it were given highway funding by the

Studies suggest that if the legal drinking age was lowered, then young adults would go about drinking safer due to it taking away the thrill of breaking the law. Binge drinking is often done at parties, but with the drinking age being lowered, parties would not be stopped. However, they would be more controlled. Lowering the drinking age would lead to young adults drinking in moderation (“Post Letter” 1). Main stated that before the drinking age was raised the drinking and driving rate among young adults skyrocketed (Main). Now with the increased awareness about drinking and driving that young adults are shown, studies have proven that the amount of people drinking and driving has decreased (“Why Colleges”

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.

Turning 18 years means that a person has become a responsible adult. Thus one receives the rights and responsibilities of an adult which includes; taking responsible of life and death, be prosecuted as an adult, can join the army, sign contracts and the right to vote amongst others. All these shows that at 18 a person can do all the things that a 21 years person can

Drinking alcohol has been a very controversial activity in America for as long as many can remember. Back in 1919 to 1933 there was a period of prohibition where the manufacturing and selling of alcohol was completely banned, but they realized that banning alcohol wasn’t the answer to the problems they faced. In fact, today many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from drinking alcohol, but that’s not the case. Underage drinking is allowed in 29 states if done on private property with parental consent, 25 states allow drinking for religious reasons, and 11 states allow it for educational purposes (“Drinking Age”). Another misconception is that the minimum drinking age was always 21 in the U.S. Surprisingly, between 1970 and 1976, 30 states lowered their minimum legal drinking age from 21 to 18, 19, or 20. This raises the question, what should the legal drinking age actually be? Is 21 unnecessarily old? This house believes the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 because 18 year olds are legal adults, higher drinking ages make alcohol and drugs attractive to minors, and people need to learn safe drinking habits from a young age.

It has been a rising issue within the past century to have the drinking age set at 21, but many people are more in favor of having the age set at 18. For instance, “’Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes,’ stated by David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert” (Johnson). Many people believe that having the drinking age set at 21 was a smart idea, but it has caused many more deaths and injuries over the years. Most of these fatalities are cause from people who are underage and choose to consume alcohol. Again, “Libertarian groups and some conservative economic foundations, seeing the age limits as having been extorted by Washington, have long championed lowering the drinking age” (Johnson). These groups see that keeping the drinking age set at 21 is dangerous as it causes more problems to the Untied States. If the drinking age was lowered, or set at 18, there would not be such unforgiving outcomes, like deaths and lifelong injuries, which are usually caused from people who are under the age of 21 drinking alcohol. Although there are numerous groups that are fighting to keep the age

Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one

Almost everyone can agree that alcohol should not be given or allowed to children or young adults under a certain age. Alcohol is a substance that is very dangerous and if you used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be great danger to the users or the ones around them. The topic of lowering the drinking age has been in discussion for many decades. “Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their age for drinking alcohol. The results were catastrophic. Highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed. Almost immediately, states began raising the minimum drinking age again.” “In 1984, Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to have a minimum drinking age of 21 for all types of alcohol

When you are a young adult you should be able to make your own decisions, while making these decisions you have to responsible. Young adults seem to experiment lots of things, drinking being one of them because most of the time some of your friends are doing it so you just want to fit in. If the drinking age was lowered to the age of eighteen it would eliminate the thrill of breaking the law because most young adults do it unsupervised. Because young adults do it unsupervised it becomes more dangerous because it can lead to accidents or even death.

There are many arguments on why the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. To some, lowering the drinking age to eighteen makes sense and to others it does not make sense at all. Most people believe that if eighteen year olds are old enough to make big decisions such as enlist in the Army, Navy, or other Military services then eighteen year olds are old enough to drink also. Not only does lowering the legal drinking age put the drinker at harm but also the people around the drinker. There are so many reasons why the legal drinking age should not be lowered, never less, three valid and proven reasons why the legal drinking age should not be lowered is, the effect on the brain, the safety of the drinker and the people around them, and the number of deaths that will increase.

Lowering the drinking age to 18 would allow more teenagers under the age of 18 to get their hands on alcohol. Survey shows that 18 to 20 year olds get access to alcohol through their 21 to 24 year old friends, so if the age is lowered to down to 18, 15 to 17 year olds would start drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol is not something kids or teenagers should be allowed to drink just because they want to relax or have fun. Teenagers are more likely to be peer pressured into drinking alcohol because it is the “cool” thing people are doing. Drinking alcohol has serious effects on the human body and consuming too much can be dangerous to your health and life. From childhood to adulthood is when the body starts to transform and the