Why Drinking Age Limit Should Be 21 The legal drinking age limit should remain at the age of 21 because it helps prevent physical confrontations, the development of health problems, and the perpetration of immature acts.
Why is the legal drinking age 21 instead of 18?
The concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight. Since a person was an official adult at age 21, it seemed to make sense that they could drink then, too.
Why should they change the drinking law to 21?
Teens naturally overdo it and binge more often than adults. Enforcing the legal drinking age of 21 reduces traffic crashes, 4-6 protects young people’s maturing brains, 12,14 and keeps young people safer overall. 4.
Should the legal drinking age change from 21?
The NHTSA estimates that raising the national legal drinking age from 18 to 21 has saved more than 500 lives each year. “Research shows that it saves lives,” agreed MADD National President Jan Withers. “In fact, it is one of the most researched public health laws on the books.
Why did they change the drinking age to 21?
Organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving began agitating for a uniform national drinking age of 21 to help eliminate these blood borders and keep alcohol out of the hands of supposedly less-mature 18-year-olds. As a result, President Reagan signed the aforementioned National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Why is 21 a good drinking age?
Why is 21 a good age to drink?
Teens get drunk twice as fast as adults,9 but have more trouble knowing when to stop. Teens naturally overdo it and binge more often than adults. Enforcing the legal drinking age of 21 reduces traffic crashes,4-6 protects young people's maturing brains,12,14 and keeps young people safer overall.
Why is the drinking age 21 and not 18?
The drinking age was raised back to 21 over federal highway funding. In 1984, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act passed, which stated federal highway funds would be withheld from U.S. states that failed to set the minimum legal drinking age back at 21. By 1988, all the states had adopted the age minimum.
Why can't people drink until 21?
According to the CDC, drinking below the age of 21 is linked with death from alcohol poisoning, car crashes, drowning, suicide, school performance problems, etc.
Why should the drinking age be higher?
Prevents Drunk Driving Fatalities Data shows that since the drinking age was raised to 21, there has been a significant decrease in alcohol-related car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that raising the drinking age to 21 saved 31,959 lives between 1975 and 2017.
What is the youngest drinking age?
The youngest legal drinking age in the world is 15, with both Mali and the Central African Republic allowing folks to drink at that time. Seven countries do not have a government-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban the consumption of booze entirely.
Why we shouldn't lower the drinking age?
Evidence also suggests that a lower drinking age leads to higher levels of binge drinking later in life among men. Any move toward increasing alcohol availability to young adults must consider its adverse effects, including traffic fatalities, unplanned pregnancy and crime.
Why is America's drinking age so high?
The legal drinking age was set to 21 years of age because studies showed that the leading cause of death of people age 1 to 34 accounted for one third of deaths due to unintentional injury from alcohol consumption.
Is it OK to drink before 21?
Drinking before 21 can dramatically increase your risk of alcohol abuse and dependency. While factors like genetics and environment do influence the risk of a substance use disorder, the biggest contributor is behavioral.
Who has the highest drinking age in the world?
Similarly , Brunei and Gambia prohibit Muslims from drinking alcohol, but 17-yearold non-Muslims can legally drink in Brunei, as can 18-year-olds in Gambia. Indeed, the legal drinking age of 25 that prevails in some Indian states, including Maharashtra and Delhi, is by far the highest in the world.
What is the most common age to drink?
Among those 12 and older who began drinking before age 21, the mean age at first drink was 15.9 years. Further, of the 4.7 million people who began drinking in the past 12 months, 82.9% began drinking before age 21 and 61% began drinking before age 18.
What should the drinking age be?
Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.
Is the drinking age at 18 better?
Statistically, fewer drunk driving accidents and deaths occur in countries with a minimum legal drinking age of 18. In the United States, 31% of car accidents result from driving under the influence, or DUI, the third-highest rate in the world.
What happens to your body if you drink under 21?
Drinking during puberty can also change hormones in the body. This can disrupt growth and puberty. Too much alcohol at one time can cause serious injury or death from alcohol poisoning. This can occur with having as few as 4 drinks within 2 hours.
Is it possible to drink 21 shots?
Drinking 21 shots of alcohol in one sitting can be life-threatening for anyone. It's dangerous and it can kill you! The average shot is 1.5 ounces and has at least 30% alcohol.
Why can't 16 year olds drink?
The teen brain goes through a significant maturation process until the mid twenties. During this vulnerable time for the developing brain, alcohol use can significantly impact the structure and function of the developing brain, and some of the impacts can be long lasting.
Can a 20 year old drink alcohol?
Except as provided in Section 25667, any person under the age of 21 years who purchases any alcoholic beverage, or any person under the age of 21 years who consumes any alcoholic beverage in any on-sale premises, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
A Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21 Saves Lives and Protects Health
Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws specify the legal age when an individual can purchase or publicly consume alcoholic beverages. The MLDA in t...
Drinking by Those Under The Age 21 Is A Public Health problem.
1. Excessive drinking contributes to more than 4,300 deaths among people below the age of 21 in the U.S. each year.10 2. Underage drinking cost the...
Enforcing The Age 21 Mlda
Communities can enhance the effectiveness of age 21 MLDA laws by actively enforcing them.• A Community Guide review found that enhanced enforcement...
What is the legal drinking age?
21 is the Legal Drinking Age. The Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, establishing 21 as the minimum legal purchase age. Drinking by high school seniors has fallen substantially — from 66% to 42% (see chart).
Why did Congress pass the national drinking age act?
After Prohibition, nearly all states adopted a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21. Between 1970 and 1975, however, 29 states lowered the MLDA to 18, 19, or 20, largely in response to the change in the voting age. Studies conducted at the time showed that youth traffic crashes increased as states lowered their MLDA. In addition, the "blood borders" between states with different MLDAs caught public attention after highly-publicized crashes in which youth below the legal drinking age would drive to an adjoining state with a lower MLDA, drink legally, and crash on their way home.
How many teens drink in 2012?
Despite these improvements, too many teens still drink. In 2012, 42% of 12th graders, 28% of 10th graders, and 11% of 8th graders, reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. That same year, about 24% of 12th graders, 16% of 10th graders, and 5% of 8th graders, reported binge drinking in the last two weeks.
Does raising the drinking age reduce drinking?
A review by the U.S. General Accounting Office, conducted in 1988, found that raising the drinking age reduced youth drinking, youth driving after drinking, and alcohol-related traffic accidents among youth.
Why is the drinking age 21?
In short, we ended up with a national minimum age of 21 because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This law basically told states that they had to enact a minimum drinking age of 21 or lose up to 10 percent of their federal highway funding. Since that's some serious coin, the states fell into line fairly quickly. Interestingly, this law doesn't prohibit drinking per se; it merely cajoles states to outlaw purchase and public possession by people under 21. Exceptions include possession (and presumably drinking) for religious practices, while in the company of parents, spouses, or guardians who are over 21, medical uses, and during the course of legal employment.
Why is 21 the legal drinking age?
Organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving began agitating for a uniform national drinking age of 21 to help eliminate these blood borders and keep alcohol out of the hands of supposedly less-mature 18-year-olds. As a result, President Reagan signed the aforementioned National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. MADD's "Why 21?" website touts that, "More than 25,000 lives have been saved in the U.S. thanks to the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age." Traffic reports show a 61 percent decrease in alcohol-related fatalities among drivers under 21 between 1982 and 1998. Raw numbers show that drunk driving fatalities have definitely dropped since the early 1980s; since 1982, drunk driving fatalities have decreased 51 percent. Among drivers under 21, drunk driving-related deaths have decreased by 80 percent.
Why are non-alcohol traffic fatalities down?
Moreover, drinking and driving for the whole population might be down as the result of increased education on its consequences, harsher penalties, improved enforcement, or increased stigmatization of drunk driving.
What would happen if colleges lowered the drinking age?
They contend that by lowering the drinking age, colleges would be able to bring booze out into the open and educate students on responsible consumption. Such education might help curb alcohol poisoning, drunken injuries, drinking-fueled violence, and alcoholism on campuses.
How much has drunk driving decreased since 1982?
Raw numbers show that drunk driving fatalities have definitely dropped since the early 1980s; since 1982, drunk driving fatalities have decreased 51 percent . Among drivers under 21, drunk driving-related deaths have decreased by 80 percent. Teasing out the underlying cause of this reduction in total fatalities is no mean feat, though.
What age can you become an adult?
The concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight. Since a person was an official adult at age 21, it seemed to make sense that they could drink then, too.
When did the voting age go down to 18?
Thus, in 1971 the states ratified the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18. Legislators started applying the same logic to drinking.
When did the drinking age go back to 21?
Incentivizing, or rather, as a way of removing the punishment the government was threatening, all states finally set the minimum age back to 21 by 1988 . Revising the drinking age back to 21 has declined the rate of drunk driving accidents so much that it is estimated an average of 800 lives have been saved every year.
When was the legal drinking age lowered?
By 1966, every state was allowed to manufacture and sell alcohol again, which brought back the question of how to determine the legal drinking age. Throughout Prohibition, and up until 1984, the legal drinking age was determined by each state. 30 states lowered the drinking age from 21 to 18 due to the fact that the war drafted at the age of 18.
What did the prohibition of alcohol do to the economy?
Counter arguing the possibility of a bad economy as a result of Prohibition, they believed that the sales for other goods would rise and make up the difference of the decrease in alcohol revenue. In reality, Prohibition caused many restaurants to close and lowered theatre ticket sales due to the lack of alcohol proceeds many places relied on to survive. This change cost the government $11 billion in tax revenue, while it took $300 billion to enforce the ban on alcohol, which lasted only 13 years before sober America had had enough.
How many lives were lost in the 1920s from drinking illegal liquor?
Illegal liquor was homemade, making drinking rather dangerous. 1,000 lives were taken each year of Prohibition from drinking the toxic, unregulated alcohol. By the end of the 1920’s, Americans were completely fed up with Prohibition. After Roosevelt’s boast about “pledging to end Prohibition,” he was soon voted into office.
Why is America so obsessed with alcohol?
Perhaps consuming so much alcohol is American’s response to the strict laws we have to follow which once was a free for all. However, back before the 18 th amendment was passed, which started the Prohibition era, there was no national legal drinking age. Anyone was free to drink without worrying about legal action, with the exception of some restrictions in dry states like Kansas. This unregulated consumption led to drunken outbursts, neglect of work and family, and uncleanliness, souring the name America had been trying to build for itself.
How much did it cost to enforce the prohibition on alcohol?
This change cost the government $11 billion in tax revenue, while it took $300 billion to enforce the ban on alcohol, which lasted only 13 years before sober America had had enough. Prohibition banned the production and sale of alcohol; however, it did not ban the consumption of alcohol.
What was the drinking age in 1984?
The act of 1984 was put in place for “all States to raise their minimum drinking age to 21 within 2 years or lose a portion of their Federal-aid highway funds; and encourage States, through incentive grants programs, to pass mandatory sentencing laws to combat drunk driving.” Incentivizing, or rather, as a way of removing the punishment the government was threatening, all states finally set the minimum age back to 21 by 1988. Revising the drinking age back to 21 has declined the rate of drunk driving accidents so much that it is estimated an average of 800 lives have been saved every year.
Why was the drinking age raised back to 21?
The drinking age was raised back to 21 over federal highway funding.
When did the drinking age go down?
However, as the legal drinking age fell across the country in the ‘70s, alarm bells started to go off, notes licensed clinical psychologist Suzette Glasner-Edwards, PhD, an adjunct associate professor at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. “Research evidence after that time strongly suggested that an increase in traffic accidents among young people was linked with this downward shift in the minimum legal drinking age,” she explains to Teen Vogue. “As a result, a citizens’ effort began prompting states to re-establish 21 as the minimum legal age.”
What was the drinking age before prohibition?
Before 1984, some states had the legal drinking age set at 18, 19, or 20. At the end of Prohibition in the 1930s, the legal drinking age was 21. This benchmark held steady until 1971, when the minimum voting age was dropped to 18 and buzz began to build for a reduction in the minimum legal drinking age, as well.
What was the drinking age in 1984?
Unbeknownst to many, however, something did happen back in 1984 that affects a lot of us: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, establishing the legal drinking age at 21.
How much more likely are students to stay in school when the legal drinking age is 21?
Interestingly, keeping alcohol further from young people also seems to affect class attendance; compared with states that had a legal drinking age of 18, students were 13 times more likely to stay in school when the legal drinking age in the state was 21.
What are the causes of death for people younger than 21?
These include being a leading contributor to death from injuries (which is the main cause of death for people younger than 21), causing dangerous health problems like alcohol poisoning, having effects on the developing brain, and others. Check this out:
Which country has the highest drinking age?
The United States has one of the highest minimum legal drinking ages in the world. Along with Iceland, Japan, and South Korea, the U.S. is one of just a few developed countries to have a minimum legal drinking age over 18, according to the World Health Organization.
Why is it important to keep the legal drinking age at twenty-one?
The most important reason to keep the legal drinking age at twenty-one is because of the effects it has on the health of the user. Alcohol is very harmful to our bodies if used in huge proportions. But even used in small proportions it can still harm the body, just not as much and not as fast.
When did the drinking age increase?
Almost immediately, states began raising the minimum drinking age again.” “In 1984, Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to have a minimum drinking age of 21 for all types of alcohol consumption if they wanted to receive federal highway monies. The legal drinking age has stayed at 21 since then” (Main).
Why should alcohol be banned at 18?
“Alcohol should be forbidden to 18- to 20-year-olds precisely because they have a propensity to binge drink whether the stuff is illegal or not—especially males” (Main).
Why does alcohol blur your memory?
Because the alcohol spreads through all of the bloodstreams it goes through every organ. The reason that someone’s memory was to blur while using this substance would be because it is affecting the brain which controls all parts of the body. “The organ most sensitive to alcohol is the brain….
Why do young people drink alcohol?
Once they get a taste of this beverage they usually want more. Also, because of peer pressure, young people are more likely to drink alcohol because it is what the “cool” people are doing. Alcohol leads to other drugs and substance abuse, too.
How many college students are raped by alcohol?
Department of Health and Human Services “It is estimated that 90% of college rapes involve the use of alcohol by the assailant, the victim, or both. About 97,000 college students are victims of sexual assault or date rape related to alcohol use each year.
Does drinking alcohol slow down the brain?
It slows down the function of all living cells, especially those in the brain” (Whiting). “Studies show that drinking often begins at very young ages” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). If one is to drink alcohol at a young age this person is put at greater risk of becoming a full-on alcoholic very quickly.
Essay On Why The Drinking Age Should Be 18
When a child turns 18, they open to many more responsibilities than any other teenage birthday. When a child is 18, they are not considered a kid anymore, they are adults. One of the many perks of being 18 is kids can vote and they can enlist in the army.
Why Should Lowering The Drinking Age Essay
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.
Lowering Drinking Age
The public agrees 72 percent of adults think that lowering the drinking age would make alcohol more accessible to kids, and nearly half think that it would increase binge drinking among teens. Lowering the drinking age would worsen the problems of underage and binge drinking.
Should Drinking Age Be Allowed
The Natural Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 has effectively established the drinking age to be 21 in order to drink alcohol in all fifty states. According to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act this law has saved 17,000 on the highways since 1988, and I believe this law should remain. 18-year-olds should not be allowed to drink.
Drinking Age To 20 Research Paper
One issue that I feel passionate about is the drinking age. I think that 21 is too old, however, I think that 18 is too young. It it were up to me I would make the drinking age 20. To start, 20 is a good age to allow people to begin drinking because once you hit 20 you are no longer a teennager.
Persuasive Speech: Lowering Drinking Age
My name is Austin Gansert. I am a high school student at Woodbridge High School in Irvine, CA. I am writing you today to talk about a very controversial topic: the legal drinking age. I believe that there are many benefits to having a lower drinking age of 18, rather than the current drinking age of 21.
Should Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18
21 and older: not younger Image being called at midnight being told your child died in a car accident because of a drunk driver. As a matter of fact, an estimated of 5,000 people under the age of twenty-one die every year from drunk driving (NIH).
Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research
Engs, Ruth C. (1997, 2014). “Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. Indiana University: Bloomington, IN. Adapted from: IUScholarWorks Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/2022/17594
Summary
The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs.
How old do you have to be to drink alcohol?
1. Although many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from consuming alcohol in the United States, underage drinking is allowed in 29 states if done on private premises with parental consent, 25 states if for religious purposes, and 11 states if for educational purposes. [ 1] [ 2] 2.
What is the legal drinking age in the US?
All 50 US states have set their minimum drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for consumption at home, under adult supervision, for medical necessity, and other reasons. Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, ...
What is the drinking age for MLDA 21?
MLDA 21 reduces alcohol consumption and the number of underage drinkers. 87% of studies, according to a meta study on MLDA, found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower alcohol consumption. [ 19] . Studies indicate that when the drinking age is 21, those younger than 21 drink less and continue to drink less through their early 20s, ...
Why is MLDA 21 not lowering?
MLDA 21 should not be lowered to mirror European drinking age limits because the rate of drinking among US teenagers is lower than most European countries. 20% of American youth aged 16-to-17 and 7.4% aged 14-to-15 report drinking alcohol in the past month compared to an average 38% of European youth aged 15-to-16 years.
How many lives have been saved by MLDA 21?
[ 50] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that MLDA 21 has saved 31,417 lives from 1975-2016. [ 50]
What was the drinking age in Illinois in 1933?
5, 1933, Illinois (1933-1961) and Oklahoma (1933-1976) set their state drinking age at 21 for men and 18 for women. The 1976 US Supreme Court case Craig v. Boren ruled 7-2 that this age difference violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Why do youth drink less?
Youth may choose not to drink, or to drink less often, because of decreased social acceptability or increased risks from parental or legal authorities. Older youth and adults may furnish alcoholic beverages to minors less frequently, and licensed alcohol outlets may sell to minors less frequently, because of their perceptions that it is illegal, morally wrong, or because they might be caught. [ 18]
