The majority of the people voting for the age limit to drop to 18 are the people who are under 18 or who are 18. They feel that 18 year-olds are prepared to make responsible decisions about drinking (Amethyst Initiative). The Amethyst Initiative believes that lowering the drinking age will only make situations worse for society. But the fact is, these people are not thinking about the consequences and are only looking at the pleasure. “More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year—about 4.65 a day—as a result of alcohol-related injuries” (The Marin Institute).
April 21, 2011 Lower Drinking Age To 18 When you turn 18 that means you’re an adult but then why aren’t you able to drink alcohol until you’re 21? (Attention Getter) Growing up in our generation, teen drinking has become an increasingly large problem. It is the cause of many stories we hear on the news, and the information and risks of teen drinking are now taught many classrooms across the U.S. (Credibility Statement) According to adults over 21, teens are not responsible with drinking. (Relevance Statement) I’m informing you on this topic to know that some teenagers aren’t responsible drinkers and dropping the drinking age to 18 won’t help the irresponsible teen drinkers become anymore responsible. (Thesis) Transition: Drinking law is 21 but yet, those under 21 still find access alcohol.
The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered to 18 Sources across the globe have debated the idea of lowering the minimum drinking age in the United States. “There are 10.1 million underage drinkers in the United States... 39% of current 8th graders, 58% of 10th graders, 72% of 12th graders, and 85% of college students have tried alcohol”. ("Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age, “2011)? The current minimum drinking age is 21, and many proponents of lowering the drinking age seek to have it set at the age 18. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18.
If we educate our young adults at the age of 18 that binge drinking is not cool that’s what they will think. If we educate them In large groups of kids, such as anyone who wants to drink legally, then all of them will have seen what can happen. It will unlikely that a large group of college students will think binge drinking is cool, and that they will effect others around them, and eventually starting a trend of binge drinking. http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/8-health-benefits-of-drinking-wine "Every year, there is a flurry of headlines about the health benefits of wine. But can drinking wine really make a difference?
Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy -- sometimes called "binge" -- drinkers (consuming over 5 drinks at least once a week). For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers. Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variables which has parallel the nation's, and also university students, decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws.
And of those participating in the study, 44% participated in binge drinking in the 2 weeks before the survey. In my personal opinion I think lowering the drinking age would definitely curve the whole nature of college life. I think there are many people out there who drink, number one because they like how it makes them feel, and number two, they feel rebellious, like they are revolting against the system. If you watch college students sometimes, if they get desperate in their search for alcohol, many of them will go to great lengths to find a way to get it. You will never see a college student put forth that much effort to something ever again in you life, not even his schoolwork.
But the organization continues to struggle to prevent deaths, eliminate drunk driving, and deal with juvenile drinking. The organization provides the one of the biggest victim support services in the United States. Support is offered to a victim once every eight minutes. A twenty-seven percent decrease in deaths due to drunk driving was noted since 2006. A reduction in juvenile drinking was also noted.
T.R. Reid's May 4 op-ed piece, "Let My Teenager Drink," is a dangerous example of what happens if we let anecdote trump facts. Reid jumps from the comfort he derives from his 16- and 17-year-old daughters "out drinking Saturday night" at a neighborhood pub in London, where it is legal, to the conclusion that the English and Europeans have far fewer problems with teen drinking than we do in the United States, where the age to legally buy alcohol is 21. Let's start with the facts. In 2001 the Justice Department released an analysis comparing drinking rates in Europe and the United States.
The Dangers Of Teen Drinking While alcohol is legal to people age twenty-one and up, most teenagers partake in events that involve alcohol. However teens do not realize that alcohol is a drug. Averaging from the age of twelve to seventeen, alcohol is the highest used drug. (DiscoveryHealth.com) Teenagers may just think of this as a beverage to become more social or to fit in but do not realize the hard facts of alcohol. It has lasting effects on a developing brain of a teenager, it can affect everyday life, and the long term effects of alcohol can permanently damage one's body.
According to alcoholnew.org, 80% of high school students admitted to at least trying a drink. About 50% report to having consumed alcohol in the last month. Giving all the more reason to lower the drinking age down to 18. In the United States, all 50 states have set their legal drinking age to 21. The average drinking age around the world is 15.9 years of age.