Underage Drinking Persuasive Essay

The issue of underage drinking has become a major problem, especially on college campuses. But, underage drinking is not purely the root of all accidents related to alcohol. The real problem lies within the unsafe underage drinking habits amongst youth. There are ways that these alcohol-related accidents can be avoided. Several organizations have been created that are targeting a change in the legal drinking age laws. One key way to lower the risk of unsafe drinking is to lower the minimum legal drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen.

“’ Were seeing kids coming in with blood alcohol see levels in the mid-.3s, even .4, which four to five times the legal limit for driving. That’s the level at which 50% of people die,”’ says Dr. Mary Claire O’ Brien, an emergency medicine physician and associate professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Underage drinking has become an issue in young teens. Teens are drinking large amounts of alcohol in short periods of time. The effects of alcohol in adolescents are much more life threating then an adult. In the article “The Underage Drinking “, Emily Listfield acknowledges that binge drinking is common in adolescents, it causes long term effects, physical injury and death.

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.

Most people would concur that alcohol should not be given to teenagers. Despite the fact that we concede to this essential truth, underage drinking is still a noteworthy issue in our nation. Since adolescents need development and information with regards to liquor, they put themselves, as well as others in incredible danger when they decide to consume. Regardless of the risk, there are individuals out there who believe that the drinking age should be lowered.

Alcohol is usually sought after within the adolescent community and has been an issue among young people. On July 17th 1984, congress passed The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which enforces the legal drinking age and purchasing of alcohol in the United States to be twenty-one. Since then, the debated idea of whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen has been an ongoing topic for decades. Alcoholism affects many people in the United States but promoting it at such young age would not be such a great idea for the youths in today’s society.The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact that it poses many dangers in the lives of teenaegers especially brain damages, underage drinking has declined since 1984, enforcing alcohol among teenagers may cause an increase in drunk driving and deaths and most importantly, teenagers who start drinking at an early age are more than three times more likely to develop alcohol dependency later on in life than those who started at the legal age of 21 or later.

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

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

In the article Why the Drinking Age should be Lowered, Ruth Engs believes that the drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19. Engs is a Professor at Indiana University in the Health and Sciences department. In this article Engs makes a valid point in that “responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs.” Engs also states facts about the different drinking ages in other countries, and that the United States has the highest legal purchasing age for alcoholic beverages in the world.

Approximately 2 out of every 3 high school students have drank to the point of getting intoxicated (binge drink), in more than one occasion (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Binge drinking has become increasingly common for youth under the minimum legal drinking age, making it increasingly dangerous because of the lack of supervision that young adults have that can consequently, lead to death because of fear of the law (Bonnie & O’Connell, 2004) The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it is a reasonable societal age limit that can be supervised and used by most of the world and is seen as the age of majority in the United States (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], 2001).

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”

An average of 88,000 people die from alcohol related deaths each year and nearly 5,000 of those deaths and 189,000 emergency room visits are due to underage drinkers (“National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism”). In 1984, when The National Minimum Drinking Act was passed, the drinking age was raised from age 18 to age 21. Even though the drinking age had only been raised a total of three years, it brought room for mental growth in the people that would then have to wait to be able to legally drink. Because of The National Minimum Drinking Act, fatalities and injuries lowered substantially in the following years creating a safer environment for everyone, especially those under the influence of alcohol. Even though alcohol is advertised to young, underage adults as a way to have fun, make friends or even relieve emotional pain, it is a killer and a serious threat to those that are not mentally ready to handle the effects it can have on the human brain. Allowing the drinking age

I don't believe that youngsters have the obligation or capacity to handle drinking while attempting to grow up and adapting new things all in the meantime. Would you have the capacity to handle everything? I feel that bringing down the base drinking age will impact more strategic alcoholism and more youngsters to misuse liquor. Bringing down the drinking age might likewise prompt more motor vehicle accidents among teenagers. If the drinking age is left where its at, then there may be less deadly mishaps than if United States brought down the Minimum Legal Drinking Age to 18. The writer of the essay, " Redefining the Problem Won't Make it Go Away", Linda Chavez, believes that, the drinking age should be left as it is, because he thinks that lowering drinking age is not a solution. Chavez say's, " Lowering the drinking age to eighteen won't solve these problems and would likely make them worse."(334). Moreover, the fact suggest that, in the 1970's 30 states brought down the drinking age, on the other hand it didn't keep going long. On the

To the government of Canada, Concerning Canadian youth, it is unquestionable that the leading cause of car accidents comes from the age group of 16-19 years. It is said that Canadian youth begin to first consume alcohol ordinarily at the age of 16. 22% of drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2015 had been drinking. Furthermore, in 2015, 60% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seatbelt. Ultimately youth are clearly irresponsible to obtain a legal drinking age of 19.

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

Underage alcohol drinking can have devastating effects on teenagers. It can affect teens' grades, health and many other things as well. The reasons why teenagers consume alcohol are pretty clear. What aren’t clear are the solutions to eliminating, or at least reducing the number of underage drinkers. It is vital that we do something to at least suppress this problem. By taking action, we can greatly reduce the number of underage drinkers and it could also save not only their lives, but also someone else's life as well. Underage drinking can cause many health problems as well as educational problems in a teen’s life; therefore our country needs to decrease the number of underage drinkers by increasing both the price of alcohol as well as the legal drinking age.