But these ideas are short-sighted. The drinking age should not be lowered due to three very real risks: drunk driving, alcohol intoxication, and violent and/or destructive behavior. Another important reason for not lowering the drinking age is the prevalence of binge drinking, especially on college campuses. A short walk through nearly every major campus in America reveals an abundance of barrel parties, crowded bars with fake ID featuring miners, and rowdy fraternity and sister events raging all night. Seizing this opportunity seems irresponsible. As an article in MADD`s Driven magazine puts it, “Promoting `responsible driving and drinking` is like promoting `responsible driving shootings.` Since the drinking age was raised in 1984, alcohol-related deaths in cars have declined significantly. Younger age is also associated with excessive alcohol consumption. The Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) sets the legal age at which a person can purchase alcoholic beverages. The MLDA in the United States is 21 years. However, prior to the enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, the legal age at which alcohol could be purchased varied from state to state.1 [3] University alcohol consumption.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Accessed by www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking March 15, 2016. My research with Angela Fertig examined the effects of drinking age going back to the 1980s, when many states went from a low of 18 to 21. Our study found that a lower drinking age was associated with a statistically higher risk of unwanted pregnancies and, most importantly, poorer infant health. According to the National Center for Addiction and Drug Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of alcohol consumption spending in the United States. [16] The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that 24.8% of adolescents aged 14 or 15, 46.7% aged 16 or 17 and 68.3% aged 18 to 20 drink alcohol. [49] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that raising the drinking age to 21 reduced the number of road fatalities among drivers aged 18 to 20 by 13% and saved approximately twenty thousand lives from 1975 to 2003. Giving teens access to alcohol at age 18 makes them more vulnerable to a car accident due to drunk driving. A variety of scientific and policy-funded research has been conducted to answer the question: “What age is best for youth safety?” Whichever side of the debate about the drinking age that you agree with, it must be recognized that young adults drink alcohol, regardless of the legal drinking age. According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health[3], about 35% of 15-year-olds report drinking at least one alcoholic beverage in their lifetime, and about four in five students drink alcohol regularly. This argument is not new. Proponents of lowering the drinking age to 18 regularly emerge with arguments that have become all too familiar.
For example, these proponents often point out that if a young adult is old enough to go to war and vote, they should have the power to drink alcoholic beverages. They also cite Europe as an example of a lower drinking age that works. There are even organizations like the National Youth Rights Association that suggest that the illegality of alcohol makes it more attractive. And if she had been arrested for causing an accident in which someone was injured or killed, rather than just trying to use a fake ID, we suspect the national media would have come to the other side of the debate about a lower drinking age. Adults between the ages of 18 and 20 should not be denied this enjoyment if other enjoyable activities are legal by the age of 18. The problem never seems to go away, and New Hampshire and California are two of the latest states to reignite the drinking age debate with policy proposals hoping to garner voter support. The California proposal[1] aims to legalize the purchase and consumption of alcohol for people 18 years of age and older, while the New Hampshire bill[2] would legalize the consumption of beer and wine for persons aged 18 to 20 as long as they are in the presence of adults aged 21 and older. In 2001, when President George W. Bush`s 19-year-old daughter was cited for minor alcohol-related offenses, the debate over lowering the legal drinking age returned to the national spotlight. The evidence for maintaining the drinking age at 21 is so overwhelming that we doubt the debate would have resurfaced if Jenna Bush had been just another student and not the young, attractive daughter of the President of the United States. Any measures to increase the availability of alcohol for young adults must take into account its harmful effects, including road deaths, unintended pregnancies and crime. Measures such as improved availability of public transportation, access to birth control, and educational initiatives focused on harm reduction rather than abstinence have been shown to mitigate the harmful effects of alcohol use among young adults.
Lowering the minimum drinking age will only be successful as part of a comprehensive package of measures to address unintended consequences. The Uniform Drinking Act, which forced states to set the legal drinking age at 21 by withholding ten percent of highway funding from states that left the legal drinking age at 18, is an example of the federal government`s encroachments on state affairs. Many states satisfied with their MLDA 18 have bowed to federal pressure instead of losing millions of dollars in annual funds for highways. [15] Although many believe that if the MLDA were lowered to 18, it would give parents the opportunity to teach their children how to drink safely before sending them to college. A survey for the Center for Alcohol Policy found that 86 percent of Americans support the legal drinking age at 21. [54] Numerous state and national surveys from the 1970s (when states raised the legal drinking age) to the present have shown overwhelming public support for MLDA 21. [30] [31] [32] Normalizing alcohol consumption as something done responsibly and moderately will make alcohol consumption less taboo for young adults entering university and the workforce. [14] [15] The number of alcohol-related deaths began to rise alarmingly, and a high percentage of young drivers were involved. Congress again pressured states to raise the drinking age because of this astonishing increase in road deaths, and the minimum age of 21 was introduced nationwide on July 1, 1988. Jenna Bush`s two arrests in less than a month for drinking alcohol and attempting to buy alcohol with a fake ID card have brought the debate about drinking age to the national media, with the old argument that if an 18-year-old is old enough to vote, sign contracts, Joining the armed forces and getting married, he or she should be old enough. to have a beer.
People who start drinking, who start drinking in adolescence, are more likely to have problems like alcoholism later in life. Police tend to ignore or under-enforce LDL 21 due to resource constraints, legal barriers, the perception that sanctions are inadequate, and the time and effort required to process and paperwork. It is estimated that two out of every 1,000 cases of illegal alcohol consumption by youth under the age of 21 result in arrest. [18] Reports in the 1970s showing that teen car crashes were increasing in states where the MLDA had been lowered by 21 prompted Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. According to the Center For Science In The Public Interest, “44% of students attending 4-year-old colleges drink alcohol at binge levels or higher.” In addition, up to 30,000 students need medical treatment each year to deal with alcohol poisoning. Fox News reports that 157 college-aged people (ages 18 to 23) drank to death from 1999 to 2005. Given the epidemic of binge drinking among minors, lowering the drinking age would be like subjecting a few dozen more Americans to firing squads each year. The MADD website states that parents are the most common alcohol supplier for those under 21. If this is really the case, then parents already have this possibility. By providing their children with enough alcohol to host a party, they allow for occasions when excessive drinking and other dangerous acts can occur. [4] Ramos, Stephanie.
“Study: Lowering the drinking age may stop binge drinking in college.” ABC News. Retrieved from wtnh.com/2015/09/28/study-lowering-drinking-age-may-stop-binge-drinking-in-college/ March 16, 2016. Heavy drinking peaks among 21- to 25-year-olds at 45.4%, while rates of heavy drinking among 12- to 13-year-olds, 14-15-year-olds, 16-17 year olds and 18-20 year olds are 0.3%, 3.7%, 10.2% and 26.2%, respectively. [49] In the United States, 31% of road deaths are alcohol-related. [48] This percentage is higher than in many countries where the alcohol age is below 21, such as France (29%), Great Britain (16%), Germany (9%), China (4%) and Israel (3%). [48] Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, the rate of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in the 1980s declined less than that of European countries with legal drinking age below 21.
