What Are The Arguments For And Against Lowering The Drinking Age Essay

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

There always has been controversy as to should the united states lower the drinking age to 18. Eighteen year olds should have the right to drink. By lowering the drinking age to eighteen it will give people supervision, teach responsibilities, and eighteen years olds are already considered adults; however, it may cause binge drinking, it will lead to more deaths, and drinking damages brains cells and especially the body itself.

SUMMARY Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will delay underage drinking, as well as terrible injuries or deaths that result from such conduct. Keeping the drinking age at 21 is driving to more cases of binge drinking in a short time because it has become a ritual among this

The controversy on the proper drinking age is one that has been repeatedly discussed and researched over the years. Its common to hear the argument “If someone is old enough to take a bullet for their country, they should be allowed to drink alcohol.” But is that enough justification? Some would say no. “According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it is estimated that in 2004 there were more than 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually associated with excessive drinking” (Fennell 247). Given these numbers, would lowering the drinking age really be the best thing for America’s youth?

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.

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

Lowering the Drinking Age In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Purchase Age Act, to encourage each state to enact a minimum legal purchase age of 21 by 1986 for the purchasing of alcohol. As a result, an estimated 1,071 lives were saved in the year 1987 alone. (Hall) Ever

“Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” - Abraham Lincoln

There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of

When you become an adult you can vote, join the military, jury duty, sign contracts, marry, apply for loans, make decisions regarding medical treatments, and be prosecuted as an adult (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered From 21 to a Younger Age?”). Adults have the right to make their own decisions, and there are many arguments on why 18-year-olds should be able to consume alcohol legally. In other countries like Europe with an MLDA of 18, there are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities than an MLDA of 21 in America (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered From 21 to a Younger Age?”). Many argue that the government and the police should worry more about every legal person’s alcohol consumption instead of just underaged

In the united state, anyone after the age of eighteen is considered as an adult. They are expected to be counted as a responsible grown person, which means that one is responsible for making their own decisions, education, bills, and goals. Also, at the age of eighteen in the united state; a person can vote and enlist to fight and protect for the love of their home country, but they are not allowed to have a drink of a beer legally. In the article “The Gallup Briefing” by author Carroll agrees that if the government lowered the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen the number of young people who gets hurt from alcohols or other related accidents that happens due to fear of legal consequences would decrease lot faster. Even though, the government have ruled the drinking at twenty-one, personally, I strongly agree with the statement by author Carroll. For that reason, I will be discussing about the goods and bad of lowering the drinking age, and the consequences that has among people and surrounding.

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.

Introduction Alcohol has been a large part of society for many years. Currently out of the 190 countries in the world, 61% of them have drinking ages of 18 or 19. While 12 other countries have their drinking ages set at 21. In those 12 countries is the United States, who after 1984 raised their national minimum drinking age when Congress passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act. The drinking age in recent years has became a topic of controversy with people arguing that it showed be lowered back to 18 or 19. Their reasoning for this is that when a citizen in the United States turns 18 they are allowed to vote, enlist for the draft, serve in the armed forces, and get married, and serve on a jury. They are now considered adults in the eyes of the government. However while being considered a legal adult, individuals cannot drink. The argument for lowering the drinking age is that if an individual is treated as an adult and can die for their country, individuals should be able to drink alcohol legally. While there is support for lowering the drinking age, there is also support for keeping the drinking age where it is currently set. The common argument for keeping the drinking age at twenty-one is that the brain is not fully developed and alcohol usage before a developed brain can cause side effects. There are studies supporting both sides’ arguments for lowering the drinking age and keeping the drinking age.

In 1971, the United States ratified the 26th amendment which lowered the voting age in America to 18. As a result of that change many people believed the drinking age should be lowered as well, and because the drinking age was the power of the states, many states country wide began to lower the drinking age to 18, 19 and 20 years old. By 1983, 28 of the 50 states had lowered their legal drinking age but on July 17th, 1984 President Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act, increasing the legal drinking age to 21. As a result, States were given an ultimatum which was to either raise their legal drinking age to 21 or face a 10 percent cut to their federal highway funding, and all states eventually raised their drinking age. Ever since

Should alcohol drinking age be decreased of increased? In my opinion it should be decreased because if we are classified as an adult and we are allowed to get married and etc. Why are we not allowed to drink. Lowering the drinking age would teach kids how to be more responsible at a younger age. If kids are just cut off from things, they are just going to find a way around it anyway. Kids just need to learn to do things in moderation. Because unfortunate, adults aren't responsible with alcohol either. Maybe if they were not taught that drinking was a "rebel" thing at a young age we wouldn't have so many alcoholics or so many kids over doing it at parties.