Canada has had great success with the legal drinking limit being that age. A study published in 2002 by the journal Addiction, found that while alcohol use was more pervasive among Canadian students ages 15 to 24, heavy drinking was significantly less prevalent than among those in the United States (scrippsnews.com) The United States should learn from Canada’s success with this age limit and use it as an example of what good things could come for us. Foreign countries have exhibited such success because children learn to appreciate the alcohol at such a young age. If the US suddenly decided to abolish the drinking age however, it would take a good 15 years for the utter chaos of underage drinking to settle down. For almost two decades the law has been 21.
People find it bizarre that the tobacco age is 18, but the drinking age is 21? People care more about alcohol than they do tobacco products, but tobacco is one of the leading killers in the U.S. today. Allowing 18 year olds to start ingesting tobacco products, such as cigarettes or chewing tobacco, at the age of only 18 will give them an earlier start to becoming addicted, and in the long run, shorten their life span. Some think it is absurd letting people smoke, but they cannot go out with friends and drink. Smoking and drinking are both addictive and can have negative effects if used improperly, but smoking one cigarette is more harmful than drinking one beer.
Teenagers are reckless and we must do everything reasonable to prevent deaths. Raising the driving age will cut the number of accidents on the roads. Teenage drivers are much more likely to have accidents than older drivers. In the USA there were over 30 000 deaths in crashes involving 15-17 year old drivers between 1995 and 2004 (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, RMIIA). Raising the driving age by a year or two will greatly reduce these accidents and deaths.
However many of them had opinions, but no facts to back it up. I realize that many people under the age of 21 cannot handle alcohol. I believe that at the age of 18 you should be able to consume, and purchase alcohol. If you’re able to smoke cigarettes or fight for your country there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to drink. Substance abuse is a huge factor, but that is the choice the user made.
Since the government gives 18 year olds those responsibilities, young American adults should legally be allowed to drink alcohol. The drinking age needs to be lowered from 21 to 18 because it could prevent alcohol-induced accidents and more enforcement should be put on preventing drunk driving. Drunk driving is a serious issue that occurs in the United States. According to the website The Cool Spot, “…alcohol is linked with an estimated 5,00 deaths in people under age 21 each year” (Too Much Online). Something must be done to reduce those innocent children from dying and it can happen by lowering the drinking age.
While under the influence of alcohol, most people find their ability to think rationally leaves them, especially those who are under age and are not prepared for the feelings alcohol can bring out. A decision given to us to make while drunk may have a negative emotional outcome, compared to the outcome from making that decision while we are sober. For example, I remember being an under age teen on the weekend nights hanging out with some of my older friends; drinking always got me into trouble. They would supply the beer and later on that night my ability to think rationally usually flew out the window. I thought since they were older they must be wiser, so what ever they told me to do I pretty much did it.
Hanson, and I believe that some of the reason why students drink to excess is because of that adrenaline rush they get from breaking the rules. My parents, among many other adults, have told me that once you reach the legal drinking age, getting excessively intoxicated loses its thrill. Perhaps if we were to lower the drinking age to eighteen, we would see less college students admitted to hospitals with alcohol poisoning and other alcohol related issues. Overall, a lower drinking age seems like a good idea to me. It would allow students in college to go out and enjoy themselves without being stressed out about breaking the law, as well as possibly lower the number of alcohol related injuries and incidents.
Why? Is the main question asked? Many Americans believe the underage drinking age percentage would drop if the age is lowered. Some reasons of why Americans under 21 drink: peer pressure, enjoyment, etc. But the main reason for doing so is “breaking the law.” 87% of high school seniors have used alcohol.
The first point people have against lowering the drinking age make is that most 18-year olds are mature enough. They believe that young adults do not know when to stop and that they will just drink until they have alcohol poisoning. The second point opposes make is that lowering the drinking age will create alcoholics. They believe that even at 18-years old people are susceptible to gaining a dependence on something like alcohol. If the drinking age is 21 then by that time they will have a strong mind to not be dependent.
The law knows people are going to drink in college and a little bit in high school. There’s no way of stopping that. But teenagers these days drink to get drunk, and they don’t drink all that often so when they do, they get very intoxicated. If the law lowered the age, then teens would not look to drink to get drunk all the time, they would drink to relax like adults do. Plus teens wouldn’t be as broke, because they are not getting in trouble by the cops and getting minors.