Preview

Should Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
482 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18
Why the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18

Eighteen is the age that everyone becomes an adult in the United States. Eighteen is also the age when you should be able to decide if you choose to consume alcohol. Turning eighteen is a big responsibility at the age of eighteen you are allowed to choose to smoke cigarettes, vote, get married, serve on juries, sign contracts, and join the military which includes risking one's life. So if you're allowed to choose all of these then I feel like you should be allowed to make the decision on either or not you want to consume alcohol.

The statistics show that there are fewer drunk driving accidents and deaths in other countries that have their legal drinking age at 18. The United States increased the drinking age to 21 in 1984,but the rate of traffic accidents and deaths in the 1980s were less than that of all the other countries whose legal drinking ages were over
…show more content…
Having the drinking age at 21 prohibits this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causing them to drink in unsupervised places such as house parties, and bonfires where they may be more prone to binge drinking, pregaming and other unsafe activities.

Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 would beneficial to the economy. More people would legally be able to drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments. Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected. According to statistics if the drinking age was lowered to 18 in America than smaller businesses and smaller communities would grow. It appears that another benefit to a lower drinking age is an advantage to small business owners because of the increase in client

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would allow 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol safely in regulated places with supervision. Stopping the age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as up in the mountains or house parties where there are no responsible adults around which they are more likely to binge drink and other unsafe behaviors.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The drinking age has a very important history, but this history was not to long ago. Stefan states, “However, beginning in the mid-1980s, states began to raise their legal drinking ages to…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    According to the United States law, people age eighteen and above are considered adults. Likewise, other European countries and developed countries. Why should adults, then be barred from consuming alcohol?, Since adults are capable of making their own life decisions. The minimum age for drinking is set at twenty one in the us. This simply neglects adult choices, rights, desires, and wants. However, it is obvious in the society that alcohol is consumed by individuals age sixteen and above, for recreational uses. The law does not reflect the drinking population and the actual age in which it should be set. I personally started drinking at age fifteen, although…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a huge problem with underage drinking in the U.S. Some states have already lowered the drinking age such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan. One main point on why it shouldn’t be lowered is because of a higher chance of depression in teens. Second, it increases health and educational problems in teens also. Lastly, it would increase the amount of alcohol related accidents because of teens brains not being fully developed.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in environments with supervision, could help decrease unsafe drinking activity. They would not feel like they have to hide and drink that, therefore it could decrease unsafe drinking activity. Less people will end up in jail cause they won't feel like they need to break the law because it is or won't be long until they can legally drink. It would be more safe to drink when citizens are in public places where there are other people if someone needed…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    21 is the correct age since it would reduce the number of underage drinkers. The percentage of underage drinkers has decreased since 1984 when most MLDA 21 laws came into effect. Newly-legal drinkers often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a "trickle-down" effect. Young adults 18 and younger are known for being irresponsible, so in result those who are 18 are more likely to buy alcohol for high school students and younger kids in middle school. This would cause an issues since the earlier someone starts drinking, the more addictive it can become. In a 2002 meta-study, 87% of the analyses found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower alcohol consumption("Drinking Age…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Now people say that the drinking age should stay the same but the legal adulthood age is 18 so why can’t the drinking age be lowered to 18? At the age of 18 you have the right to vote, to get married, join the army, and on top of that you could have contracts, so the drinking age should be lowered to 18 as well.(drinking age procon.org) Once you are 18 you should be able to have the rights to make your own decisions to buy a drink you want a drink.(newsweek.com)…

    • 92 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The problem is the people question why the drinking age is 21 and not 18 when can you buy tabaco legally at the age of 18 and you can’t buy alcohol at 18 too. I believe the drinking age should be 21 because teen’s brains are not done growing at the age of 18 and they could be damaged. My first reason is that when the law was moved to 21 the drunk driving dropped. My second reason is that when teens start drinking at such a young age they can have several health problems when they get older so by making it 21 it will lower the risk of having health problems when you get older. My third reason is that teens could become violent or have destructive behaviors.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When your 18 years old you are considered an adult. You can be drafted, drive, and vote. You also have many of responsibilities. If eighteen year olds are responsible and mature then why can’t they buy alcohol?…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most children are very excited about turning 18 because it means adulthood, running off to college, and gaining freedom. When turning this age, you are allowed to join the military, get married and receive all the rights and responsibilities of an adult. However, having a wedding at this age means that during the celebration, one is not allowed to share a glass of Champaign during the toasts because the drinking age is 21. The United States is one of the few countries in the world to have such a high legal drinking age. Therefore the drinking age should be lowered to 18 because you are able to sign your life away and go to war, young adults in other countries are able to handle the responsibilities, and the different age limits do not coordinate with the responsibilities.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though you must be 21 years old to legally purchase alcohol, a large portion of college students under 21 consume alcohol on a regular basis. This is because…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Drinking Age Set to 18

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    If I am old enough to go to war, vote, have an abortion, give consent to have sex, or have a smoke, then I should be able to have a drink. Those are the types of arguments the proponents for the eighteen drinking age will generally give, but there is more to consider when it comes to the topic of alcohol. In an article published in The Los Angeles Times, Shari Roan explains the pros and cons of the drinking age. She states that “… [there are] approximately 1,700 alcohol related deaths in the United States among college students each year” and if the drinking age gets set to eighteen, this number is more than likely to rise. Alcohol is a dangerous, mind altering substance that if used carelessly, can cause an immense amount of damage both physically and mentally to adults and young adults.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Boston University, research has proven that the legal drinking age of 21 decreases the rates of drunk driving, crashes and underage drinking."If we choose to decrease the legal drinking age, there will be consequences," says Public Health Professor of Boston University William DeJong. There is no downside to the legal drinking age of 21, the effects will only be positive. In the 1970s, many states in the United States have lowered the drinking age and the deaths increased. Meanwhile, the legal drinking age of 21 has reduced deaths according to CNN. After the drinking age nationwide rose uniformly to 21 (from 18) in 1988, there were 5 to 9 percent fewer deaths among drivers ages 18 to 20 says in Dejong’s report. (Singh 2014, Nelson…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol in the hands of an irresponsible under aged person, can be deadly. Furthermore, for anyone to consider lowering the legal drinking age from 21, to 18, in my opinion is simply ludicrous. John Bowersox reports, “Since Colonial times, drinking alcohol has been part of American culture and its use by young people has been accepted by many as part of growing up. In fact, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, many States lowered the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. Following this change, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities among young people increased. In response to these acute consequences, beginning in the early 1980s individual States increased the drinking age to 21. In 1984, Congress passed legislation that would…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drinking Age Debate

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Around the world, many countries have their own views on the drinking age. The most used age is eighteen. In the United States the drinking age is twenty-one, we have many different views, morals, and standards than the rest of the world. We plan for the future and want only the best for our future generations. We ensure the safety of our youth by providing these rules and regulations. Laws that maintain the legal drinking age at 21 save lives on the road, and protect young people from he internal and external effects of drinking.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays