Essay on Lowering the Drinking Age - 499 Words

Lowering the Drinking Age In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Purchase Age Act, to encourage each state to enact a minimum legal purchase age of 21 by 1986 for the purchasing of alcohol. As a result, an estimated 1,071 lives were saved in the year 1987 alone. (Hall) Ever since that act has gone into play, there has been a decreased number of DWI arrests, youth suicides, marijuana use, crime, and alcohol consumption by youths. Although there is all this evidence showing how many lives we have saved by increasing the drinking age to 21, there are there some people who argue that the drinking age should go back to 18. These people argue that if a person is able to vote, be drafted to fight in a war, and drive a car they†¦show more content†¦(Why teens use Alcohol) If there are less teens consuming alcohol, hopefully that will lower the alcohol related deaths in teens. The younger a person begins using alcohol, the greater chance of developing alcohol dependence or abuse some time in their l ife. Of those who begin drinking at the age of 18, about 17 percent are classified with alcohol dependency and about 8 percent with alcohol abuse. If a person waits until they are 21 before drinking alcohol, these risks decrease by over 60 percent. (Hall) The earlier a person begins using alcohol, the greater the risk of current and adult drug use and harm to the developing brain. (Hall) All of this hits close to home. Last March, two of my friends got into a car accident at 5 O’clock in the morning coming home from a party where alcohol was served. The driver didn’t make it. If there are still teenage drinking accidents when the legal drinking age is 21 then why would we lower the drinking age and make it easier for teenagers to get a hold of it? More than 40 percent of teenage deaths occur in motor vehicle accidents, 38.9 were alcohol related crashes. â€Å"Between 1985 and 1995, the proportion of drivers 16-20 years who were involved in fatal crashes, and were intoxicated, dropped 47 percent from 23 percent in 1985 to 12.7 percent in 1995.† (Teens and Drunk Driving) Each dayShow MoreRelatedLowering the Drinking Age1523 Words   |  7 Pages 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 asRead MoreNot 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 prevalent