...Currently, the United States has set the legal age to drink at 21. The age was once 18; however, society has changed its views concerning this issue. Because the legal drinking age changed to 21 there was an increase in mortality rate at age 21, increase in motor vehicle accidents, and increase in suicides. Even though 18 is considered an adult and a person should be able to make his or her own decisions, the drinking age should not be lowered because teens lack the maturity to handle alcohol and teens are at a higher risk of alcohol-related deaths. This debate has two sides as some people are for lowering the age to 18 again and some against. Many will argue that the average drinking age around the world is 18. According to International Center for Alcohol Policies (2011), “Minimum drinking and purchase ages in countries around the world range from 16 to 25 years of age, with 18 being the most common age limit” (para. 6). Others say that if a person age 18 is old enough to serve and die for his or her country, he or she should be permitted to consume alcoholic beverages. Should the drinking age be lowered to 18? This paper will weigh the pros and cons as well as identify potential issues associated with this debate. Pros on the Debate Many people still hold to the belief that the drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18. This argument is not without validation. When a person reaches the age of 18 that person is...
Words: 2686 - Pages: 11
...At this time in America, there are teenagers participating in underage binge drinking, because of this they are either dead or in jail. This new media culture has glorified the consumption of alcohol among the youth will ultimately will lead to their deaths. Even though it is illegal to purchase alcohol for anyone under twenty-one. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because drunk driving accidents would occur more often, adults are more mature at the age of twenty-one, and students in high school would be able to buy alcohol, resulting in even more underage drinking. If the minimum drinking age is lowered, a substantial amount of drunk driving would occur more often. When the drinking age was lowered, during the...
Words: 980 - Pages: 4
...Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of twenty-one die as a result of underage drinking; this includes approximately 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, and as well as hundreds from other injuries (NIAA). In today’s society we are presented with a real epidemic, underage drinking. As children grow older they are brought into different environments where they are presented with different obligations. Children bring alcohol into their lives to be cool or to fit in, but dying of alcohol poisoning leaves young people to fit into which group? Teenagers begin drinking as early as middle school or even sooner. (NLM) It is said that teens who drink are more likely to be victims of violent crimes. They are more likely to have serious problems in school. They are more likely to be involved in drinking and driving accidents. Children who start drinking young are also more likely to develop problems with alcohol later in life. With such a huge epidemic in underage drinking, why would law makers want to lower the legal age? Throughout the United States, most seventeen year olds receive their drivers’ license. Seventeen year olds are still in high school and still testing different waters; some of the “water” is alcohol. It is hard to believe, but 70 percent of all teenagers drink alcohol, and 60 percent of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol-related (Eagle). Most parents want to believe that when they...
Words: 2193 - Pages: 9
...essay drunk driving[Writer’s name] [Professor’s name] [Course title] [Date] DRUNK DRIVING: PROBLEM SOLUTION ESSAY Drunk driving also called driving under influence is a crime because it is illegal to drive with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a certain limit. Drivers having high blood alcohol content (BAC) are at higher risk to death or injuries due to accidents. According to National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. 32 percent of accidents are the results of drunk driving (NCADD, 2014). In America drunk driving has taken lives of many citizens the drivers not only hurt their selves but also are threat to other’s safety. In the year 2000, 16,653 accidents occurred due to using alcohol during driving. Due to drunken driving almost 17,274 people were killed in 1995 (PBS, 2002). Moreover almost one million people are injured due to alcoholic driving (PBS, 2002). Alcohol is the major cause of accidents and more deaths are likely to occur due to use of alcohol during driving as compared to instances where alcohol was not used. Alcohol when take in absorbs quickly throughout the body fluids and affect physical ability of a person. It affects the vision and reduces peripheral vision. During driving a person has to be more active and attentive but alcohol can make sleepy and confused. It is hard to track visual search and number monitoring during driving. Alcohol affects the brain greatly so you lose control over your speech and walk and ability to think and...
Words: 1394 - Pages: 6
...In July 2009, eight people died in a car accident caused by a thirty year old mother who was driving with her 5-year-old son, his sister and their three cousins from Long Island. The intoxicated mother crashed into another car containing two men and a boy. The only person who survived was the son of the mother while his sister and cousins were burned to death. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required all states to raise their drinking age from 18 to 21. By doing this the United States planned to decrease the number of deaths due to intoxication. This method has had positive effects but some people plan to change this current law because they feel that if young adults are allowed to vote they should be allowed to drink. It is proven that there are countless...
Words: 1781 - Pages: 8
...Drinking Age to Eighteen Seventy six percent of seniors in the United States admitted to drinking before the end of their senior year in high school. The legal drinking age in all fifty states in the United States is twenty one years old. The legal drinking age did not always used to be twenty one. Up until nineteen eighty four the drinking age was eighteen (“The Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age”). Today, seventy four percent of Americans favor the drinking age being lowered to eighteen (“Drinking Age”). The drinking age should be lowered from twenty one to eighteen because at the age of eighteen one legally becomes an adult, it would reduce the amount of unsafe drinking activity, and statistics show countries with lower drinking age laws...
Words: 1016 - Pages: 5
...however, there are some states that have exceptions allowing underage consumption of alcohol in certain circumstances. Underage drinking is allowed if done on private premises with parental consent or for religious purposes. In Ruth Engs’ opinion, based upon her research, “as a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920’s and State Prohibition during the 1850’s. 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” (Engs). On many campuses around the country, led by the so-called Amethyst Initiative, the legal drinking age continues to be a controversial issue since it is believed that “twenty-one is not working” (Sanghavi). The old familiar argument is that turning 18 bestows the rights and responsibilities of adulthood such as voting, serving on juries, getting married, signing contracts, joining the military, buying cigarettes, watching porn and upon prosecution, trial as an adult. If adults from the age of 18 are trusted to do all of these things, they should also be trusted to make decisions about alcohol consumption. Some proponents find this predicament unconstitutional because it...
Words: 1770 - Pages: 8
...Brian Basic Should the Drinking age be reduced? The drinking age goes way back in history. Drinking began to be considered a problem around the 1900’s. When the government decided to pass the 18th amendment in 1919 alcohol became prohibited throughout the United States. This amendment forced all alcohol underground. The crime rate started to rise drastically throughout the country. The crime rate rose because people were buying and selling alcohol illegally. As a result of all the problems evolved, in 1923 the 23rd amendment repealed the 18th amendment abolishing the banning of alcohol from the United States. That established the modern drinking age, but the age was not the same in all of the states. The states government had the freedom of being able to assign what they felt were a good age for people to start the consumption of alcohol. Most of the states chose the age of twenty-one, but several states allowed the purchase of beer to be at eighteen. "The political failure of general Prohibition meant that American adults would increasingly focus justifications for alcohol policy less on the perils of drunkenness and more on the tenuous concept that adults can drink properly but youths cannot or should not" (Males 190). This lead to much discussion over the drinking age and the debate will go on for years to come. Throughout this debate, it lead to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which lowered the United States drinking age to eighteen. After this act...
Words: 4715 - Pages: 19
...Edwin Muniz English 1010 Lowering the Legal Drinking Age There are many controversial topics in today’s news involving the younger generation. One of the most talked about topics is lowering the legal drinking age in the United States. Lowering the drinking age could have a really good impact on society as a whole. Although there are people that believe that lowering the age limit will have a really bad effect on the US, the good outweigh the bad. The drinking age being at 21, makes those underage look at alcohol sort of like the “forbidden fruit,” making them want to drink even more, sort of as a rite of passage. Lowering the drinking age to 18 seems almost undeniable considering that in the US, 18 is considered the age of adulthood. In the United States, turning 18 gives you the right to vote in elections, smoke tobacco, serve on juries, get married, sign legal contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and even join the military. Just imagine being 18 in the military, watching everyone 21 and older having a cold beer while you’re sitting there drinking water because you’re not old enough to drink alcohol. Not only are you risking your life being in the military like the others, you are also able to do everything the older members are able to do but, you absolutely cannot have an alcoholic beverage. In 1984 the U.S. Government raised the legal drinking age to 21 in an effort to decrease instances of drunk driving and related injuries and fatalities. However, this attempt...
Words: 999 - Pages: 4
...For my argumentation paper I plan on discussing the drinking limit and why I feel it should be lowered to 18 instead on 21. There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to 18, like most of the world, or if it should stay at 21. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years; yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen, I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to 18. The most obvious reason is 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. My opinion along with a growing number of people across the country is questioning the reason of the 21 legal drinking ages. Throughout history, people have always wanted what they can’t have. Today, many teenagers experience different things in the world. Teens are always eager to try something different or new. One of the things that teenagers try is drinking alcohol. Around the 1980s many states changed the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. The theory behind this was, that if you increase the drinking age, people will drink more responsibly, because with age comes responsibility. Unfortunately...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...lowering the drinking age has been in the process for quite some time now. Many people argue that it should be lowered to the age of eighteen, and some people have argued that it shouldn’t be lowered and stay at twenty-one. Though there are many reasons that prove both arguments correct, the law still remains where it was set at. Most say the drinking age should not be lowered because it would increase the danger and deaths to underage drinkers, but that all has to do with the main argument for lowering the age, maturity. In the United States, at the age of 18, people are not able to buy alcohol but are able to join the military, vote, be considered adults, and buy cigarettes which can be as harmful if not more so than alcohol. I propose that we also add being able to legally buy alcohol at the age of 18. Prior to 1984, states were allowed to choose their own legal drinking ages. The legal age limit varied from state to state anywhere between 18 and 21 years of age. “One of the more compelling arguments for setting the age to 21was that the prohibition had only exacerbated drinking, particularly among the young”(Seaman 242). In 1984, the United States congress passed the national minimum drinking age act. Ronal Reagan instigated this act when he set up a study to look at the drunken driving problem in the United States. Scientists recommended that there should be a national uniform drinking age of 21. Since then, there have been many that oppose and want to reform the drinking age....
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...Opponent: Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Lozi Ms. Rhodes Comp 2 November 11, 2011 Opponent: Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Introduction At the present time, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) Law is set at the age of 21 years old. Proponents would have the law revoked and the Minimum Legal Drinking Age reduced. This paper intends to prove that the MLDA should remain as it stands. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age of 21 protects our youth and society as a whole. Evaluation of the Present MLDA: Success Drinking and Driving The present MLDA laws set at 21 are effective. “Almost every state has seen a decrease in teenage driving fatalities since the law went into effect” (Hamilton, 2008, para 3). Before the law took effect, many American youths died in car accidents that could have been avoided if this law had been in effect at the time. “Over the past 20 years, the number of 15 to 20 year olds killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes has been cut in half. The number of 15 to 20 year old drinking drivers involved in fatal crashes also has been cut in half” (Hamilton, 2008, para 15). One cannot argue with statistics. Maturity Factor Most teens would argue that we, as adults, really don’t know anything that they don’t already know. The youth of America have a sense of entitlement, and for the most part, we have created a spoiled generation. “Many youth experiment with unlawful drinking-often to disastrous effects” (National Household Survey On...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...Period Drinking Age In all of the articles and political cartoon there are many examples of ethos, pathos and logos. However, some of them are more effective than others. Each of these documents discuss the drinking age in the united states and why it should be either be lowered to 18 or stay at 21. The first source is the least effective out of the three because it does not explain what age the drinking age should be at. On the other hand, the third source, “Lower the Drinking Age Back to 18” is a very affective article because of the facts that it has and the experience that he had growing up in a world were colleges taught you how to drink responsibly In the first source you see a cartoon. This Cartoon shows the drinking age at 21 and what the drinking age would look like at 18 years old. However, both of these cartoons look exactly alike. The repetition of the same image with different captions emphasizes in what happens if the drinking age changes … nothing. Ethos is created because there are less females than males and statistically speaking more men drink binge drink. The symbolism in the shorts "OSU" and a fraternity are all zeugmas for drinking. This cartoon also establishes pathos by showing the emotion each person has in there face. All of the “adults” in this cartoon are very happy and look like they are ready to have fun. On the other hand, it does not show the repercussions of drinking irresponsibly. To improve this cartoon, I feel that it should show the after...
Words: 1244 - Pages: 5
...Arguing Paper 1,542 Words Lowering the drinking age: If 18 equals adulthood, then what is 21? Imagine a world where an eighteen year old cannot get a ticket for simply having a beer in their hand. A world where young people can consume alcohol without worries of getting caught. The place I am describing should be the United States, but unfortunately many nations have lower drinking ages than we do. As a result, they have significantly fewer problems with underage drinking. Seems like reverse psychology, and that is because it is. Young people in America view alcohol as the “Forbidden Fruit”, the taboo of what is suppose to be their adult eighteen-year-old lives. If eighteen is considered adult, then why are they not allowed to purchase alcohol? In Europe most countries have lower drinking ages. Alcohol is a completely normal thing for a young person to be around. Think of two adolescent children, one child is told not to touch the cookie jar before eating dinner and the other has absolutely no restrictions on the jar. The child with rules tends to get in trouble for sneaking a cookie because he or she cannot have it. The child with no limitations tends to leave the cookie jar alone because cookies are available to him or her at anytime. Alcohol is the norm for young people in several countries, but our country’s teens are like the first child who was banned from the cookie jar, they drink alcohol mostly because they are not allowed to. Our nation has attempted to control...
Words: 1438 - Pages: 6
...3/24/2013 Argumentative research paper Why Not Change the Drinking Age Back to 18? In the United States of America you are considered a legal adult at the age of 18 years old. You have all the major rights of a fully grown adult, voting, enlisting in the military, buying a house, buying tobacco products and many more. However there is one right that was taken away from the 18 year old adult back in 1984. In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put into place which changed the legal minimum drinking age from 18 years old to 21. Does this law mean that you are not really a mature adult until you are 21 or should the drinking age be brought back down to 18 when you receive all the other rights of a mature adult. It makes perfect sense that this right should be returned to young adults for plenty of reasons and also holds potential solutions to one of the nation’s biggest alcohol related problems. What does it mean to be an adult? United States law states that you are legally considered an adult at the age of 18. It makes sense right? You can buy a house, enlist in the U.S. military, get married and loads of other rights you don’t have until the age of 18. But United States law also states that all states must enforce a legal minimum drinking age of 21. We are the only major nation to have such a high drinking age. The drinking age wasn’t always this high though. On July 17th 1984 the national minimum drinking age act was passed which meant that 18 year old young adults...
Words: 2220 - Pages: 9
