Lowering the Drinking Age - 1523 Words

According to Andrew Herman, â€Å"Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders† (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in â€Å"binge-drinking† (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not†¦show more content†¦In the U.S., eighteen is the age at which person becomes a legal adult. He or she may then vote, buy cigarettes, join the military, or be arrested. So, why is it that drinking alcohol holds a much di fferent standard? A United States soldier can go to war at eighteen years old. He may then fight for his country and freedom; however, while being away from home for over a year, he is denied the right to enjoy a beer with his buddies. Some nonbelievers try to contradict this argument with the fact that alcohol is damaging to a young brain. It’s true--excessive alcohol can damage a young and developing brain. However, what about smoking? Young adults are permitted to buy cigarettes at the age of eighteen. Cigarettes, a habit that is just as much, if not more, damaging than alcohol, may be purchased by a legal adult. If a person eighteen years of age or older can smoke, despite the fact that smoking is harmful, why can he not drink? Where is the consistency? If twenty-one is to remain the legal drinking age of adults, then all age laws should be raised to twenty-one. It is just that simple. Finally, a lower drinking age would diminish the temptation factor in young adults. Everyone has heard the infamous story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Adam and Eve were given a beautiful garden full of every kind of fruit, vegetable, and animal. They were given the powerShow MoreRelatedNot Lowering the Drinking Age1642 Words   |  7 PagesBryan Blejski ENG 101-010 Ms. Abbott 28 July 2011 Not Lowering the Drinking Age Many teenage deaths in the United States are caused in some way by the influence of alcohol; however, many people still believe that the legal drinking age should be reduced to eighteen. This issue has been going on for years, but the law has not been changed since the change to twenty-one in 1980. States have become stricter about preventing under-age drinking, but teenagers have no problem getting alcohol. There areRead MoreNot Lowering The Drinking Age989 Words   |  4 PagesNot Lowering the Drinking Age There are many different views on drinking alcohol, especially underage drinking. Everyone has different views on the drinking age. Some think it should be lowered and others believe that it should be raised. Then some believe that it should remain the same at the age of twenty-one years old. Keeping the alcohol consumption age at twenty-one limits the dangers of not only those under twenty-one, but other people in the community. Lowering the drinking age will causeRead MoreLowering the Drinking Age1223 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"What we’re doing now to prevent underage drinking isn’t working; it’s time to try something else.† Although many people argue that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1964, which lowed the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one, was a good idea. David J Hanson a professor in the State University of New York believed that something needs to be done to make the United States a safer place to live. Is it fair that people in the United States can serve in the military, vote in elections, serveRead MoreLowering the Drinking Age1576 Words   |  7 PagesComposition I April 6, 2014 Why the Drinking Age Should Stay at Twenty-One The United States drinking age throughout all 50 states has been the same since 1984 when a law was put in place by the U.S. Congress punishing all states who did not abide by the legal age limit of 21. Since this law was put into place, it has become one of the most widely studied laws in history. While there are many arguments and new bills being created to reduce this age, especially among college universitiesRead MoreLowering The Drinking Age1336 Words   |  6 PagesStudies show that keeping the drinking age at twenty-one improves lives. When the United States raised the age limit to twenty-one in 1985, a shortage of drinking occurred at a whopping 40% by 1991. As a result, fewer students drop out of high school, less motor accidents occur, and suicides rates dropped significantly. However, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will bring serious consequences on young adults by reversing these statistics. Lowering the drinking age will cause significant healthRead MoreLow ering The Drinking Age Of The Age981 Words   |  4 PagesHowever, there are those who remain persistent in their requests to drop the drinking age to a slightly lower option. Opposition to the legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown to have some support from mostly younger groups of people, without much validation as to why a lowered drinking age would be beneficial to our country as a whole. Yet, there are still some interesting arguments for those in favor of dropping the age at which it is legal to drink to eighteen. Consider how many young adults chooseRead MoreLowering The Legal Drinking Age903 Words   |  4 Pageshelp myself get a better understanding about how others feel about lowering the legal drinking age in the United States and to better understand what role alcohol plays in people’s lives. The first question I asked for in my survey, was what the participant’s age was. I used this question to see if there was a difference on how different generations felt towards lowering the legal drinking age. I was expecting more people over the age of 25 to take the quiz because I didn’t know if younger adults wouldRead MoreLowering The Minimum Drinking Age1380 Words   |  6 PagesOnce a person reaches the age of 18, they are allowed to tattoo their bodies, smoke tobacco, gamble and even enlist if they wanted to! As an adult, they want to be treated as one but how can they feel like an adult if hanging around with their friends and drinking beer while watching TV is illegal ? Of course, that does not stop them, though. The United States is one of the few countries in which still have such a high minimum drinking age. Although most people think young adults (18-year olds) areRead MoreLowering The Minimum Drinking Age1429 Words   |  6 Pagesand Thailand are others – with a minimum drinking age over 18† (Griggs, 1). When Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, its goal was to reduce less-mature adults from consuming alcohol and performing reckless acts (Cary, 1). However, despite the current drinking age, 17.5 percent of consumer spending for alcohol in 2013 was under the age of 21. It is estimated that â€Å"90 percent of underage drinking is consumed via binge drinking†¦with alcohol abuse becoming more prevalentRead MoreLowering The Legal Drinking Age857 Words   |  4 PagesAs we know, the United States has the highest drinking age in the world. By 1988 the entire U.S had adopted the Federal Unifor m Drinking Age Act, which set the drinking age to twenty-one. However, in 1920 the United States banned the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcohol. This era known as the Prohibition sparked the popularity of hidden underground bars and events. The Prohibition Era is a prime example of how people did anything to intake alcohol and eventually this led