argumentative essay on drinking age

Argumentative Essay On The Drinking Age

Over the years, the legal drinking age in the United States has been heavily debated. Some argue that the legal age to drink should be 18 or 19 because people at that age are recognized as adults; others argue that the drinking age should be 21 because people who are able to drink should be more mature and have their lives better planned out. Although people are legally adults at 18, they are not yet mature adults; in fact, according to NRP, “emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don’t reach full maturity until the age 25” (“Brain”). Before earning the right to legally drink, people should allow their bodies to fully develop and gain a better knowledge of how to organize their lives. The drinking age should remain …show more content…

Drugs such as alcohol have an effect on all users, regardless of their age; however, alcohol has an especially harmful effect on teens since their bodies are still developing. Studies have shown that alcohol has numerous negative effects on a teen’s body and mental health; for example, a study conducted by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention stated that “alcohol consumption affects the brain’s frontal lobes, which is essential for functions such as emotional regulations, planning, and organization” (“Age”). Teens already have high emotions and difficulties planning and organizing; alcohol will only enhance teens’ struggle. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention also found that alcohol consumption at a young age can potentially cause chronic problems such as memory loss, depression, suicidal thoughts, and poor decision making (“Age”). Teens have a difficult enough time making decisions and organizing their lives, but adding alcohol to the mix will only make matters worse; their bodies are still developing, and they are still learning to be adults. Teens already struggle deciding what clubs to join, what colleges to apply for, what college to attend, what to major in, and much more. Teens should not be allowed to legally drink because alcohol consumption can affect their health and

Rhetorical Analysis: Joyce Alcantara's Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Robert Voas states teen pregnancy, sexual assaults, and crime rates have increased due to underage drinking. Alcohol consumption at a college age leads to 600,000 physical assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults yearly according to a study (464). Joyce Alcantara claims if the age were lowered back to eighteen then it would put younger teens at risk (468). People tend to have friends around their same age. So, if eighteen year olds were allowed to drink then their friends which are roughly around the age of sixteen or seventeen would likely have an alcoholic drink in their hand as well.

Pros And Cons Of Drinking Age To 18

I understand that teenagers can make bad decisions. I also realize that you should be in jail if you have committed a serious enough crime no matter the age. I don’t agree, however, that you are considered an adult at age 18, but can’t drink until you’re 21. If you ask any little kid who can drink alcohol, they will probably say mommy, daddy, or maybe even just a grown up. Well according to law you are a grown up and you can legally be married and have a child.

Argumentative Essay: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act

The eighteenth of June, 2015, just ten days after my eighteenth birthday my plane landed in Germany. By ten o’clock I was being offered a beer by a very attractive stranger. A jolt of excitement rushed through my body as I remembered it was legal for me to drink, in Germany. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. This required the states to raise the legal drinking age to 21 by October 1986, failure to do so would result in the loss of ten percent of their federal highway funds.

Michael Gonchar's Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered?

At the age of eighteen, teens are allowed to enlist in the military, virtually putting their life on the line to defend our country. With this great responsibility, another questions continues to rise; if eighteen year olds are mature enough to sacrifice their lives for the country, shouldn’t they also be mature enough to drink at the age of 18? Michael Gonchar, an author of Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? from the New York Times, wrote an objective article looking at both pros and cons of lowering the legal drinking age. On the other hand, John McCardell wrote an article in support of lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen. To persuade the audience, both authors use numerous rhetorical techniques.

Explain Why The Drinking Age Should Be 18

According to a survey by National Public Radio, young people can be identified as young adults at the age of 18 as the brain is fully developed and the young adults can think and make decision like another mature person. Almost each and every country has its legal voting and driving age as 18. If a person has the right to choose the president of a country and drive on the roads which requires a lot of responsibility because its the question about the safety of other people on the road as well the leader who has to lead the country in each and every possible way which requires maturity. If a person is capable of taking responsibilities like electing the president and driving then I think that the legal age to drink should also be 18 instead

Essay On The Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age

One con of lowering the drinking age is that it may interfere with the development of an young individual’s brain. Especially the frontal lobes, emotional regulation, planning, and also organization. When a young adult consumes alcohol it increases the potential of having chronic issues, like greater vulnerability to addiction. It also plays a role in depression, violence, and reduced decision making ability (Ives2008).

Essay On Why The Drinking Age Should Stay At 21

The current alcohol laws both statewide and nationwide, prove unsuccessful and a more efficient way to handle the situation is to educate teens about alcohol to influence them to make wise

Persuasive Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

Over the years, there have been debates about lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen. People argue that if a person can fight in the military or vote in elections, then he or she should be allowed the right to drink alcohol. Others feel that it is not wise to lower the legal drinking age because the results would be dangerous. Although there are arguments for lowering the drinking age, there is also an abundance of research that proves lowering the drinking age would be destructive. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because it will give high school and even middle school students greater access to alcohol, interfere with brain development, adult rights begin at twenty-one, and increase traffic accidents among the youth.

Drinking In Religion

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism seems like an issue that keeps getting increasingly worse each year in the United States. According to USA Today and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both say that approximately 6 people die from alcohol poisoning, caused from binge drinking, each day, which amounts to roughly 2,200 people each year. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that “In 2013 an estimated 697,000 adolescents ages 12–17 (2.8 percent of this age group) had an [alcohol use disorder]” (“Alcohol Facts”). Something has to stop and something has to change from preventing this more because 6 people dying each day from binge drinking alone is a lot, not to mention that 12-17 year olds are having alcohol problems at such a young age. Lowering the drinking age will enforce this act even more, promoting more drinking in fact.

Drinking Age To 18 Persuasive Speech

To address this drinking age should not be lowered to 19. Many people in families think that drinking can harm their life. It’s people jobs to take care of your health and live a happy life with families and friends. Many parents take care of their children and evidence is that an average family spent $24,164 for paying for college and kids don’t know that. People of this world it is more important that you can be more efficient that you can be of not drinking.

Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.

Essay On Why The Drinking Age Should Be 18

People will oppose to this law, but at the age of 18 an adolescent's brain is not fully developed yet. Underage drinking is a common action in today’s society. What kids do not know is the effect that underage drinking has on their brain. Since the brain is not fully developed at the age of 18, drinking

Argumentative Essay: Lowering The Drinking Age

Across the country, college students participate in an illegal activity known as underage drinking. The drinking age in America is an ongoing debate of whether it should be kept at 21, or reduced to 18. While some believe lowering the drinking age would make drinking for young kids safer, others presume the opposite. According to Alexis Aguirre, a journalist at the Texas State University Star, “The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Once 18, a person is legally considered an adult and should be able to drink.”

Argumentative Essay On College Drinking

The Higher Education of Drinking College is a place for higher learning. It is a time when young adults are exploring themselves as individuals, expanding not only their academic horizons but for many, it’s their first time being on their own socially. Young adults find themselves making many decisions. These choices involve attending class, completing assignments and possibly engaging in behaviors that could impact their own personal health and safety. Sometimes they are faced with decisions that involve the use of various substances including alcohol.

Teenagers And Teenage Drinking

Everyday is a new beginning full of opportunities which entail decision making. Now, there are a multitude of choices that can be made, some smart, some quick, and the list goes on. However, when the question comes up about teens and drinking, the answers should always be smart - this is just not the case in most instances. Alcohol comes with consequences, regardless of age. The impact on lives is almost always negative, with the ability to ruin lives within just a few drinks.

More about Argumentative Essay On The Drinking Age

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?

All 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons.

Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.

Opponents of lowering the MLDA argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking prior to 21. They contend that traffic fatalities decreased when the MLDA increased. Read more background…

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1 18 is the age of legal majority (adulthood) in the United States. Americans enjoy a range of new rights, responsibilities, and freedoms when they turn 18 and become an adult in the eyes of the law. [ 58 ] 18-year-olds may vote in local, state, and federal elections; may serve on juries; and may be charged as an adult if accused of a crime. 18-year-olds are responsible for any legally binding contracts they enter; are liable for negligence; and may be sued. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] [ 60 ] 18-year-olds must register with the Selective Service if male and may be drafted into service at times of war. However, 17-year-olds may enter US military service. [ 60 ] [ 62 ] 18-year-olds may get married without parental consent; buy a house; and enjoy new privacy rights including the shielding of medical, academic, and financial information from parents. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] [ 62 ] However, drinking alcohol remains regulated under a legal age of license. An 18-year-old may legally be responsible children and legally allowed to make life decisions with years of impact, but may not legally drink a beer. [ 58 ] Todd Rutherford, South Carolina State Representative and Democrat House Minority Leader, who filed a bill on Nov. 10, 2021 to lower South Carolina’s MLDA to 18, stated: “This is a personal freedom issue. If you are old enough to fight for our country, if you’re old enough to vote, if you’re old enough to sign on thousands of dollars of students loans for a college education, then you are old enough to have a[n alcoholic] drink.” [ 64 ] Read More

Pro 2 MLDA 21 is ineffective because young adults will consume alcohol regardless, leading to dangerous behaviors. By the time 60% of people are 18, they have had at least one alcoholic drink. 32% of 18-20 year olds admitted to alcohol consumption, according to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] Prohibiting this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior. [ 7 ] Rather than criminalizing an act that is legal for other adults, lowering the minimum legal drinking age could allow for more regulatory oversight of drinking by 18- to 20-year-olds, whether by a graduated drinking license (a sort of “drinking learner’s permit”) or simply the enforcement of laws other adults are subject to. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] Read More

Pro 3 MLDA creates a mindset of non-compliance with the law among young adults. Lowering MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something to be done responsibly and in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the workforce. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] High non-compliance with MLDA 21 promotes general disrespect and non-compliance with other areas of US law. MLDA 21 encourages young adults to acquire and use false identification documents to procure alcohol. It would be better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law. [ 17 ] Further, MLDA 21 enforcement is not a priority for many law enforcement agencies. Police are inclined to ignore or under-enforce MLDA 21 because of resource limitations, statutory obstacles, perceptions that punishments are inadequate, and the time and effort required for processing and paperwork. An estimated two of every 1,000 occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 results in an arrest. [ 18 ] Combine a lack of consequences with the thrill of breaking the law, and MLDA 21 actually encourages underage drinking and potentially other illegal activities, such as driving while intoxicated and illicit drug use. Lowering the MLDA would make 18- to 20-year-olds subject to the same laws enforced for those 21 and over. Read More

Con 1 Alcohol consumption before age 21 is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol consumption can interfere with development of the young adult brain’s frontal lobes (essential for emotional regulation, planning, and organization) which can increase the risk for chronic problems such as vulnerability to addiction, dangerous risk-taking, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, depression, violence, and suicide. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] MLDA 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities. 100 of the 102 analyses (98%) in a meta-study of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower rates of traffic accidents. [19] In the 30 years since MLDA 21 was introduced, drunk driving fatalities decreased by a third. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that MLDA 21 has saved 31,417 lives from 1975-2016. Lowering the MLDA would surely increase traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths. [ 50 ] A 2019 study of alchol consumption in India found “a causal channel between alcohol consumption and domestic violence,” in that men who were legally allowed to drink were “substantially more likely to consume alcohol” and “significantly more likely to commit violence against their partners.” Lowering the MLDA is likely to raise domestic abuse rates. [ 71 ] Read More

Con 2 MLDA 21 lowers alcohol consumption and illicit drug use across age groups. MLDA 21 reduces alcohol consumption and the number of underage drinkers. 87% of studies, according to a meta study on MLDA, found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower alcohol consumption. Studies indicate that when the drinking age is 21, those younger than 21 drink less and continue to drink less through their early 20s, and that youth who do not drink until they are 21 tend to drink less as adults. The number of 18-to-20 year-olds who report drinking alcohol in the past month has decreased from 59% in 1985 – one year after Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act – to 39% in 2016. [ 19 ] [ 42 ] [ 49 ] [ 51 ] Many point to lower MLDAs in Europe as proof that the United States should have a lower MLDA. However, a study found “significantly increased alcohol consumption – particularly among boys and those from underprivileged backgrounds – when drinking becomes legal. Raising the minimum legal drinking age in Europe could reduce alcohol poisonings and the early socioeconomic gradient in teenage binge drinking.” [ 68 ] Additionally, lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds. The younger a person begins to drink alcohol the more likely it is that they will use other illicit drugs. Lowering MLDA 21 would increase the number of teens who drink and therefore the number of teens who use other drugs. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Alcohol consumption should be based on age of license (legality), rather than age of majority (adulthood). Many rights in the United States are conferred on citizens at age 21 or older. A person cannot legally purchase a handgun, gamble in a casino (in most states), or adopt a child until age 21. No one can rent a car (from most companies) at age 25, or run for President until age 35. Drinking should be similarly restricted due to the responsibility required to self and others. [ 24 ] Purchasing and smoking cigarettes and vaping e-cigarettes are similarly regulated. The age of license was raised to 21 on Dec. 20, 2019. Robin Mermelstein, Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, explained, “I think that you would be able to see lots of improvements in reduction of tobacco use among teens, all of which is good because the longer you delay any kind of initiation, the less likelihood there is to develop addiction and the less likely it is that use will escalate.” The same goes for alcohol. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] Other things are similarly regulated throughout life. Kids can’t play Tee Ball until they’re four and basketball players can’t play for the NBA until they’re 19. In most states, teens can’t obtain a restricted license until they’re 16. Senior citizens can’t collect social security until age 62. Rarely are these age restrictions arbitrary. [71] [72] [73] [74] [ 71 ] [ 72 ] [ 73 ] [ 74 ] Read More

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Why the drinking age should be lowered: an opinion based upon research.

Engs, Ruth C. (1997, 2014). “Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. Indiana University: Bloomington, IN. Adapted from: IUScholarWorks Repository:  http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17594

The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon research that I have been involved in for over thirty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.

Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.

The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among university students. 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, and then leveling off, 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.

The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc.

While there has been a decrease in per capita consumption and motor vehicle crashes, unfortunately, during this same time period there was an INCREASE in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college age youth. Most of these reported behaviors showed little change until AFTER the 21 year old law in 1987. For example from 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%. All of these behaviors are indices of irresponsible drinking. This increase in abusive drinking behavior is due to "underground drinking" outside of adult supervision in student rooms, houses, and apartments where same age individuals congregate. The irresponsible behavior is exhibited because of lack of knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors, reactance motivation (rebellion against the law), or student sub-culture norms.

Beginning in the first decade of the 21st century, distilled spirits [hard liquor] began to be the beverage of choice rather than beer among collegians. Previously beer had been the beverage of choice among students. A 2013 study of nursing students, for example, revealed that they consumed an average of 4.3 shots of liquor compared to 2.6 glasses of beer on a weekly basis.

This change in beverage choice along with irresponsible drinking patterns among young collegians has led to increased incidences of alcohol toxicity - in some cases leading to death from alcohol poisoning. However, the percent of students who consume alcohol or are heavy or binge drinkers has been relatively stable for the past 30 years.

Based upon the fact that our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches from the experience of other, and more ancient cultures, who do not have these problems need to be tried. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking. Because the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages.

Research articles that support this opinion are found in the Indiana University Repository at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17133/browse?type=title

and https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17130/browse?type=title

Some material here also used in: Engs, Ruth C. "Should the drinking age be lowered to 18 or 19." In Karen Scrivo, "Drinking on Campus," CQ Researcher 8 (March 20,1998):257.

Alcohol Research and Health History resources

(c) Copyright, 1975-2024. Ruth C. Engs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405

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The Opinion Pages

Return the drinking age to 18, and enforce it.

Gabrielle Glaser is the author, most recently, of " Her Best-Kept Secret : Why Women Drink -- And How They Can Regain Control." She is on Twitter .

Updated February 10, 2015, 10:33 PM

Return the drinking age to 18 -- and then enforce the law. The current system, which forbids alcohol to Americans under 21, is widely flouted, with disastrous consequences. Teaching people to drink responsibly before they turn 21 would enormously enhance public health. Now, high school and college kids view dangerous binge drinking as a rite of passage.

Raising the drinking age to 21 hasn't reduced drinking -- it’s merely driven it underground, to the riskiest of settings.

The current law, passed in all 50 states in the 1980s, was intended to diminish the number of traffic deaths caused by young drunk drivers. It has succeeded in that -- but tougher seatbelt and D.U.I. rules have contributed to the decrease, too. Raising the drinking age hasn't reduced drinking -- it’s merely driven it underground, to the riskiest of settings: unsupervised high school blowouts and fraternity parties that make "Animal House" look quaint. This age segregation leads the drinking away from adults, who could model moderation. The roots of this extreme drinking lie in our own history. Prohibition, which banned most alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933, normalized the frenzied sort of drinking that occurs today at college parties. In speakeasies and blind pigs, the goal was to drink as much and as soon as possible, because you never knew when the feds would show up. Today's law, likewise, encourages young people to dodge the system. Like Prohibition -- and abstinence-only sex education -- it’s been a dismal failure.

A 2009 study published in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that between 1998 and 2005, the number of cases of alcohol poisoning deaths among 18- to 24-year-olds nearly tripled, jumping from 779 cases to 2,290. The study also tracks a rise in fatalities from hypothermia and falls. Some reports link excess drinking to sexual assault .

American 18-year-olds have the right to vote, marry, buy guns and join the military. They're astute enough to defend their country, decide elected officials and serve on a jury -- but not regulate their own appetites? They deserve the chance to learn.

We don't hand teenagers car keys without first educating them about how to drive . Why expect 21-year-olds to learn how to drink responsibly without learning from moderate models, at home and in alcohol education programs?

Join Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on twitter.com/roomfordebate .

Topics: Law , colleges , drinking , teenagers , university

21 Is Working

Keep the Drinking Age High

You must be 21 to drink, return it to 18, and enforce it, lower it to 19.

Lowering It Has Serious Consequences

Raising It Was a Disaster

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Persuasive Essay on Lowering The Drinking Age

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The Debate About Lowering the Drinking Age Essay

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The debate over whether to lower the drinking age has become a controversial issue, with both sides offering reasons and researches to support their viewpoint. The debate was again sparked when Jessica Bush the president’s daughter who is around 19, was caught drinking and using fake identification to buy alcohol. The debate is going on in a number of states, with some states with already formulated legislation for lowering the drinking age which needs to be passed. Examples of where such legislations have been passed are Dakota, Vermont, and Minnesota. However, there are federal laws that will definitely discourage states to lower the drinking age. One such law designed to discourage legalizing underage drinking is that if any state approves such legislation, 10% of its appropriations on the highway will be taken away as a penalty.

The argument about lowering the drinking age started earlier when the drinking age was lowered during the Vietnam War. The logic then was if we are letting 19, 20-year-olds fight in Vietnam it seems a little unfair to not let them drink. However, after lowering the drinking age, the number of highway accidents showed a sharp increase and in a knee-jerk reaction, the US government increased the minimum age and placed the earlier discussed penalty on those states which would not comply. However, some material discussed later points out why the best way to keep a check on excessive drinking by 19, 20-year-olds may be to lower the drinking age. This is also a very important issue now when binge drinking by legally underage drinking has become a serious problem.

The major argument that should be considered in support of lowering the legal drinking age, is that if an individual can be expected to serve in the army and survive the mental trauma that is experienced in wars like Iraq and Afghanistan, then is it really fair to not allow someone of that age to drink. We can further stress the absurdity of this contrast when we analyze some of the impacts that the war has on young men and women even after they return. An example of this impact is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Around 12,422 war veterans have been in VA counseling with this disorder.

Some suggest in response to the logic that if you are old enough to go to war, that alcohol should be legalized only for military personnel. Some states are planning to pass such legislation which legalizes lowering the drinking age only for military personnel. However this kind of legislation also misses the point, if you think that someone is mature enough to handle a gun in their hand in an intense war zone, then why should someone of that age not be mature enough to handle a bear.

Another similar point is again when you let 19 and 20-year-olds vote, a decision which in effect shapes the future of the country, you still think they are too young to handle alcohol. The point is that looking at these two factors the logic for not lowering the drinking age, that kids that age are not responsible enough to handle alcohol seem to be a little weak. This point can be summarized by the following quote

‘It’s one of the stupidest laws in America,” Justin Schmid, 21, a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas told Fox News. “You can be drafted by your country, go to war — yet you can’t have a beer. You can be tried as an adult — yet you can’t have a beer.”

A major reason offered by those who oppose lowering the drinking age is that we tried it before, during the Vietnam War, but as mentioned earlier there was an increase in road accidents, and the age was once again increased to 21. However, a deeper analysis of this point shows that this reason may not be good enough. First of all, it is said that the number of accidents decreased after the law was repealed. However, a closer analysis shows that the decrease in drinking and driving problems since the 1980s, which are generally attributed to the 1987 law which made the age restriction mandatory, actually started happening even before this law was initiated. There has been a decreasing trend due to other variables such as better awareness about drinking and driving and improved safety mechanisms like the safety belt.

Other individuals point out the increase in binge drinking especially on college campuses in which students are engaging in the consumption of hard liquor in unsupervised conditions. They use this observation to point out that 19, 20-year-olds cannot handle alcohol, they are simply not responsible enough. However, some experts give some reasons why not lowering the drinking age may have worsened the situation. For example, according to Professor Engs from Indiana University who has carried out considerable research on this issue, in communities all over the world such as Chinese, Greek, and Italian, the drinking age is lower teenagers manage alcohol a lot better because they are exposed to it at home and it is simply not considered a big deal.

Also, it is obvious prohibiting drinking is not working, binge drinking is still very common. In fact, several College presidents are signing onto the idea of lowering the drinking age, because if it’s legal then it will be consumed in a more controlled and less dangerous environment and also lose some of the allure that it has acquired. The point is that teenagers cannot be told to be more responsible while drinking or drink in moderation, they are simply told to abstain from drinking. All these points appear to be supported by the fact that from 1993 to around 2003, the number of underage drinking students engaged in binge drinking has increased by 56%. Also, another fact in support of Dr. Engs’ point is that in 2003a study showed that teenagers in countries where the drinking age is lower tend to get drunk less.

A quote by another expert points to the same thing “Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes,” said David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert at the State University of New York-Potsdam. “Just like during national Prohibition, the law has pushed and forced underage drinking and youthful drinking underground, where we have no control over it.” Johnson Alex ‘Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up’.

In conclusion, it can be said that there is not very credible evidence or logic that supports not lowering the drinking age. On the one side, Engs’ you have a serious contradiction. To assume that someone of a certain age is old enough to kill and get risk getting killed and that they are old enough to vote, but still not old enough to handle alcohol is not very sound logic. The statement that lowering the legal drinking age would make our highways more unsafe again is a premise derived from contradictory data. Facts point out that the lowering in the number of road accidents was a trend before the law setting the age barrier was passed and also that there are some other factors to which this can be attributed and no to underage drinking. Recent trends indicate that there has been an increase in binge drinking amongst students on college campuses. Experts point out that not lowering the drinking age, actually promotes binge drinking and also results in alcohol consumption only being in dangerous and controlled environments. Evidence from within our country and some from other societies such as Greece and Italy seem to support the viewpoint of these experts.

• Johnson Alex ‘Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up’ msnbc 2007.
• Keen Judy ‘ States weigh lowering drinking age ’ USA Today. Web.
• Pope Justin ‘ College Presidents want lower drinking age ’ Sun Times, 2008. Web.
• Kinzie Susan Hohhman James ‘Lower drinking age is criticized , 2008 Washington Post. Web.
• Engs C Ruth ‘ Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research’ 1998.
• T. Buddy ‘ The lower drinking age debate’ 2008 ABOUT.COM. Web.
• Roan Shari ‘ Tempest in a bottle ’ 2008 Los Angeles Times. Web.
• Welch William ‘ Trauma of Iraq war, haunting thousands at home ’ 2005. Web.
• Recreational Drug Use Analysis
• Juvenile Drinking as a Social Problem
• Binge Drinking Issue among Canadian Undergraduates
• Consequences of Binge Drinking in College
• An Arbitrary Restriction: Current Minimum Age Limits on the Lawful Consumption of Alcohol Are Unreasonable
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse: A Comprehensive Research Study
• The Failure of the Drug War
• Substance Abuse: Inpatient Rehabilitation
• Drugs, Values and Society: Methamphetamine Dangers
• "Twelve Steps" Program Analysis
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IvyPanda. (2021, October 11). The Debate About Lowering the Drinking Age. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lowering-drinking-age/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "The Debate About Lowering the Drinking Age." October 11, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lowering-drinking-age/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Debate About Lowering the Drinking Age." October 11, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lowering-drinking-age/.

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IvyPanda . "The Debate About Lowering the Drinking Age." October 11, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lowering-drinking-age/.

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