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.
Maturity plays a big part of the reason why the MLDA should stay the same. Anyone under the age of 21 is most likely to be not mature or responsible enough. Being responsible as a teenager can be tough, especially when there is alcohol involved. The article “The minimum drinking age: facts and fallacies” by Traci Toomey, Carolyn Rosefeld, and Alexander Wagenaar states that from 1970 to 1975 the legal drinking age in the United States was lowered to eighteen, nineteen or twenty in 29 states. The article goes on to say that several studies show that the lowered MLDA in the 29 states had an immediate impact on motor vehicles crashes increased among teens.
Lately, this topic has become a big deal. There are great things that come out of the drinking age of twenty-one, but gratifying things would also come out of lowering it. By keeping the minimum drinking age at twenty-one, it would save countless lives. This reason alone should be enough to persuade one’s mind to want to keep it at twenty-one. Pros and Cons of Lowering the Drinking Age In today’s society, many young adults turn to alcohol to self-treat depression, stress, and other psychological illnesses.
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 need for more promotions on alcohol and teenagers is indicative by costs to the NHS is estimated at £2.7 billion (NHS, 2011). Fears of a further rise in the consumption of alcohol by teenage drinking will lead to more people suffering from alcohol related ailments at a much earlier age (Casswell and Thamarangsi, 2009). The need to target parents and children are pivotal in breaking cycles of drinking alcohol which perpetuates from one generation to the next (Naidoo and Wills, 2007) In conclusion this summary has shown the impact that binge drinking has on a young adult their family and society as a whole. The need to further raise the profile of illness prevention is a critical necessity (Frances and Mzwandile, 2009). Health promotion is an essential tool directing services at persons and societies making them more suitable and acceptable (Hubley and Copeman,
Clearly there are many reasons why drinking age should be lowered to 18, the most obvious being that too many people are drinking before they are 21. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money, and if they can get away with selling to underage teens, then they will. By now is it obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? There are multiple facts that provide reasons why the
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.
Before the age of twenty one the brain is still developing and shouldn’t be destroyed with alcohol beverages. Early drinking can lead to early deaths; but some people become drinkers at an early age because of their social culture, not knowing it increase health and government laws. Lowering the national drinking age to eighteen is not a good idea. It’s too many bad side effects, such as lower percent of high school graduates. Therefore there will be more unsuccessful people in the world.
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.
Leaving the drinking age at twenty-one will not necessarily stop underage drinking, but will definitely continue to disable many underage drinkers from drinking more. Finally, if teenagers being more prone to being seriously hurt, dropping out and/or going to jail, or even just hurting his/her athletic or academic potential is a good thing, then do not be one for lowering the drinking age to twenty