...Jordan Bryant-Smith 10/23/14 English 120 John Small Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 19 seems to be an automatic yes for college students under 21, but is it actually anything genuinely wrong with lowering the drinking age? Are there any potential benefits to restoring the drinking law to pre-1984 levels? In an article written for CNN, William Cohan argues that the standard drinking age is “all a farceâ€(Cohan), when alcohol consumption should be the first step towards responsibility. Robert Voas from CSMonitor, however, believes there is no possible benefit to lowering the drinking age. Both authors want to solve the problem of underage binge drinking. Cohan and Voas also agree that the minimum drinking age is not enforced strongly enough, however, they disagree on the effectiveness of the law. Robert Voas believes that the minimum drinking age is effective as it stands and lowering it would be a huge mistake. He feels particularly that society would be beneficial would be better off with the current law. In contrast, William Cohan argues that the national drinking law is incredibly ineffective and should be lowered to 19. William Cohan wants to solve the issue regarding underage binge drinking by simply lowering the law to 19. Cohan referred to the minimum age law as a “national joke†(Cohan), after considering the frequency of its violation, “every week if not every dayâ€(Cohan). He asserts that we should completely refocus our attention instead...
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...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...
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...Age Is Not The Problem, We Are As midnight struck on November 4, 1998, the eve of Brad's 21st birthday, he went with a group of friends to Rick's American Caf� to celebrate his birthday. He began to play a game of “drink your age.” ;When he had finished 21 shots and knowing that the record among his friends was 23, he drank 3 more for a total of 24 shots of liquor. He drank them in about 1-� hours. The Media's Effect on Underage Alcohol Abuse The Media’s Effects on Underage Drinking The use of alcohol is a major aspect of our society. It is used in religious ceremonies, during socialization, and its presence ...His friends took him home and put him to bed as he passed out. His BAC continued to climb to a lethal level of .44 g/100ml, as the depressant did its work. His breathing stopped and the coroner estimates that he died at approximately 4:30 AM. He died on his 21st birthday, November 5, 1998. Tragedies similar to this one happen too often. People say that the age of 21 is an age of responsibility, and one is now responsible The Media's Effect On Underage Alcohol Abuse The Media’s Effects on Underage Drinking The use of alcohol is a major aspect of our society. It is used in religious ceremonies, during socialization, and its presence is seen ...to drink. Well in this particular case, responsibility was not there. Having an age limit for alcohol use does nothing if individuals are not educated to use alcohol properly. Lowering the age limit to 18 will not cause any more...
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...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...
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...Lowering the Drinking Age It’s a fact that most kids try alcohol before they are around 16. In Europe the drinking age is around 16-18 years old. The legal drinking age really hasn’t stopped young teens before. It’s talked a lot about in schools and other states of why it should be lowered. Lowering the drinking age will give these teens the responsibility that some of them are looking for. The drinking age within the United States should be lowered to allow people to begin legally consuming alcohol at the age of 18 as a measure to combat binge drinking, to boost the economy, and to be more reflective of an 18 year old person's status as an adult. Lowering the drinking age to 18 years old can diminish the thrill of breaking the law by underage drinking. There is a lot of excitement that some kids feel knowing they are breaking the law and most likely not going to get caught. Not wanting to admit to drinking “…Which can make rebellious teenagers sneak off to basements and backwoods to binge drink far from adult supervision” (CNN). A lot of teens feel the thrill of breaking the law and having their parents not know. Knowing that they shouldn’t be drinking is that “rebellious” side of the teens. If...
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...In all 50 states of the United States, the legal age to consume alcohol is 21. However, there have been disputes to change the age from 21 to 18. Two authors show their different points of view in this matter. Ruth C. Engs is a professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University. Tara Watson is an associate professor of economics and she's the chairwoman of the Program in Public Health at Williams College. The article "Why the drinking age should be lowered" by Ruth C. Engs explains why adults 18 and older should be allowed to drink. The article "Lowering the Drinking Age Has Serious Consequences" by Tara Watson shows how the legal age for drinking should stay at 21. The article "Why the drinking age should be lowered" starts off by Engs explaining that young adults should be able to drink but taught how to drink responsibly. Throughout the article, Engs stays with an intelligent tone...
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...at or reconsidered, the law prohibiting the consumption of alcohol until the age of 21 in any state is the one needing to be reconsiderred to help the progression of this era. This law has been in effect since the 40th president Ronald Reagan signed the bill to become a law in 1984, and since then many people have agreed with its material as it seems to have bettered the way of life. Even though many are for this ordinance other people have fought against the legal drinking age being 21 and feel it should be lowered to the beginning of adulthood, the age of 18, as this is the...
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...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...
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...Lowering the Drinking Age in United States Foreign countries like Germany, Greece, and other European countries have set their minimum drinking age lower than 21. The result of this? In European countries with lower age requirements for drinking tend to have less drunk driving happening, less fatal accidents such as car wrecks and overdosing occurs, and there is more responsible drinking. “Why is this?” the reader may ask. Teenagers everywhere are rebellious, and being able to sneak a drink and “break the law” is fun for them. When people turn 21 in the United States, they go nuts and are so excited to hit the bars and get wasted, legally. Whereas the people in foreign countries with a lower MLDA, are used to being able to drink legally. It’s not such a big thing for them as it is for people in the United States. I believe that lowering the MLDA from 21 to 18 is the right thing to do because at 18, people are officially an adult, it will reduce fatal accidents, and MLDA 21 isn’t enforced in most states. When someone turns 18 years old, they enter adulthood. They are able to vote for president, and make the decision to fight for our country. They can’t legally drink alcohol though. Drinking alcohol is an enjoyable activity. When someone is an adult, they should be able to make responsible decisions and enjoy drinking alcohol. Allowing 18-20 year olds to drink alcohol would actually be safer because they could do it in a supervised environment. 72% of all high school seniors...
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...The legal drinking age should be lowered in the United States. This makes the most sense because kids legally become an adult at the age of 18 where they are granted other rights as well, such as the ability to enlist in the army. If we are legally an adult and trusted to protect our country we should be trusted with a couple of drinks. Lowering the drinking age also decreases unsafe drinking in regulated environments and less drunk driving accidents. With regulated drinking kids become more aware with their alcohol tolerance and get used to it in a safe environment without doing it illegally. This creates a safer environment for everyone. With kids more aware of their intake of alcohol less accidents such as drunk driving will happen. The is why the drinking age should be lowered to the age of when you actually become an adult. Kids legally become an adult at the age of 18. At this time in your life you receive the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Some examples of the choices that you might or can make are enlisting in the army, voting for president, buying lottery tickets...
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...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...
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...mean it has to change. For example, the legal minimum drinking age was set at 21 since 1984. Since 1984, “drinking and daily alcohol use have declined among young adults aged 18-20 years” (Wechsler and Nelson 987). This change was needed because alcohol consumption was a major threat to human health. Lowering the drinking age to 18 means that we are just ignoring what our history has presented us. It is common sense that alcohol is a major threat to general well-being. Allowing 18 year olds to legally buy and consume alcohol would simply allow them to harm themselves and others...
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...5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking…” (1). This quote shows that underage drinking is a very dangerous thing and many people should start taking that into consideration. The drinking age should not be lowered for various reasons. If the drinking age was to be lowered it could potentially cause more deaths and interfere with the development of minors along with many other consequences. The drinking age has been 21 since 1984 because of an act that said if states didn’t make the drinking age a minimum of 21 years old they would lose 10 percent of highway funds. “The legal drinking age in the United States has been 21 since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. When President Ronald . . . Reagan signed the act, he issued a blanket requirement for all states to raise their drinking age, or risk losing highway funding from the government” (7). Reagan did find studies that the 18-20 age group are most likely to be in an accident related to alcohol than any other age group...
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...The legal drinking age needs to be lowered because fewer people will abuse alcohol , adult supervision will help teenagers at a young age ,and drinking helps with anxiety and depression. If the legal drinking age is decreased many teens would more than likely start drinking wisely. Adult supervision will tell the teens when enough is enough. If the teenagers suffers with anxiety or depression they could drink and feel better about what they are suffering and going through. If the drinking age is lowered many alcoholics would learn how to control their drinking habits. Even though the majority of humans argue that we should not lower the legal drinking age, but raise it, raising it could be a bad idea. Having the age remains the same or raising...
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...Higher Drinking Age Almost anyone can agree that alcohol should not be allowed to children or young adults under a certain age. Alcohol is a substance that is very dangerous and if used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be great danger to the users or the ones around them. The topic of lowering the drinking age has been in discussion for many decades. Although the age has been lowered and raised again, this topic has not been resolved through the decades. Underage drinking, specifically under the age of 21, should not be allowed in any country because it can be very dangerous, when it comes to substance abuse, traffic accidents and the health risks involving alcohol. The...
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