Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

Improved Essays
There are many effects when it comes to lowering the drinking age to eighteen. Since that is the age that teenagers will legally become adults, they should be able to decide whether they want to consume alcohol or not. There would be less underage drinking, and by lowering the age to eighteen would decrease unsafe drinking activity. Traffic accidents and fatalities could also be lowered by lowering the drinking age. Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would decrease the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Lastly, eighteen year olds should not be denied the enjoyment of drinking, when other pleasurable activities are legal at age eighteen. The subject of lowering the drinking age to eighteen is very controversial. Many argue that since …show more content…
Many people argue that eighteen is way too young to be consuming alcohol, but I disagree. If eighteen year olds are able to go off to the military, smoke, and many other things, then they should be able to drink also. I have actually heard some teens say that lowering the drinking age would solve a lot of problems. Right now teens just go to parties and binge drink, because they don’t know when they are going to receive their next bottle. Instead of letting minors experiment on their own with friends, have parents or other responsible adults show them how to drink. Take them to bars and restaurants, and show them how to consume alcohol and still manage to be responsible while doing it. Many people are on the fence about whether the drinking age should be lowered or not. By lowering the drinking age, we could bring many new positive effects. There would be less underage and binge drinking, traffic accidents and fatalities could be reduced, minors wouldn’t get the same thrill from breaking the law, and when you’re a legal adult you should be able to make your own

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    According to NIH (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism), 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year due to alcohol-related accidents, such as car wrecks, suicides, alcohol poisoning, homicides, burns, falls, and drownings("Under-aged”). However, think of the young men and women who have died to fend for our country, and not being able to have that first drink with their father, or go out and drink with their friends. Yes drinking can be dangerous in situations, but I believe that if a young man or woman can go die for their country, or even be able to make the important decision on who will lead our country. Then at the age of 18 we should be able to drink alcohol if we want. It can help teach responsibility and help us get through tough…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Turing eighteen in the United States is the age teenagers are considered to be adults, they are allowed to join the military, buy cigarettes, get a tattoo, vote and etc. Even though they are considered adults they are not allowed to drink or buy alcohol. In the United States, the minimum legal drinking age is twenty-one. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would cause crimes and personal damages that are caused by alcohol abuse. Keeping the legal drinking age of 21 has helped; the effects of drinking at an early age on the brains development, lowered drunk driving and keep young people safer.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered The legal drinking age should not be lowered as it has been proven it will have negative effects on the individual and society. The legal drinking age started at 21 years old in the 1930’s. During the Vietnam War era the legal drinking age was lowered to 18 to accommodate the soldiers that were in the War. This changed when Ronald Regan proposed the Uniform Drinking Age Act in 1984.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Why not eighteen? Eighteen is an important age; it is when one becomes an adult. It is now legal to vote, buy cigarettes, go to clubs, and do everything else that any adult can do. Hold on, that is not true, purchasing of alcohol is still illegal. Up until 1984, eighteen year olds were able to drink and purchase alcohol legally.…

    • 2226 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Teens can easily obtain alcohol whatever the drinking age may be; which is a simple reason why the drinking age should be lowered. Teens who are eighteen are of legal age to sign up for the military and legally commit murder in order to protect their country, but are banned from having even one little drink of alcohol. Also a teen who is eighteen can vote in any election which is another simple reason why the drinking age mind as well be eighteen because being able to vote and go to war are huge privileges in comparison to drinking…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This fact leads to a bigger desire of the under aged students to consume alcohol and they too got the opportunity to get it from the older students. Lowering the drinking age in this case may not affect the number of people consuming alcohol, but it would affect the amount of alcohol drank by under aged drinkers, because if an eighteen year old does not know when he will be consuming alcohol next time he will be drinking as much as he can that if he gets trouble he gets it for a reason. The Dartmouth study of 2007 shows this relationship, by the fact that in the last month less underage people consumed alcohol in the States, than in Europe, but when they drank they drank more than people in European…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I really think the drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen. If you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. For three main reasons. One, teenagers are going to drink alcohol anyway so we might as well legalize it. Two, people are allowed to vote and fight for our country in the military yet they aren 't allowed to even drink alcohol.…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    If society trust them to vote, fight in wars, and what ever else, then it is only right that this group be allowed to drink at 18. It is important that Americans address their concerns and take a lesson from countries around the globe such as, European countries, where the drinking age is mainly eighteen and the system is doing well. According to the World Health Organization, in Europe one out of ten drinking occasions results in intoxication. On the other hand, when compared to the United States, the numbers rose to five out of ten. Of course, rising the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one may have had some minor successes, like getting fewer young people to drink, but it has also resulted in dangerous behaviors.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Although 18 year olds are considered adults, some think that they are still not mature enough to make to correct choices about alcohol. Those who think that keeping the drinking age at a higher minimum are trying to keep the demand for alcohol down and are also trying to keep the roads safer from drunk drivers. People between the ages of 18 and 20 will have just started college for the most part and don’t need alcohol interfering with their studies and their ability to succeed in life. Condoning the drinking of newly formed adults would only cause chaos and cause more fatalities. To MADD the cost of drinking outweighs the benefits since the highest numbers of fatalities in the United States are due to alcohol related deaths.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18 There is no taboo subject in America quote like underage drinking. The principal problem is not the age of drinking, but the hidden binge side of it. When it comes to the law, there is always an opinion. A reform should be made about the age of drinking for numerous reasons in my personal viewpoint.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The number of DUI’s has slowly increased within the past 5 years; this is without changing the drinking age. The government has already had problems within the last 5-7 years about misuse of alcohol, lowering the age would put more increase the problems. According to Tara Watson, “Research has shown that a drinking age of 21 does reduce alcohol use by those under 21, including high school students.” That goes to show that if the law is enforced the right way then we could help minimize underage drinking. The earlier you drink in your life, the earlier you are to have complications from too much alcohol.…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At eighteen one can vote, join the service, get married, buy tobacco, work in a bar, and do many other things. The drinking age should be lowered back to eighteen because: if eighteen year olds are capable of voting and fighting for their country, they should be able to have a drink, also, lowering the age would help with less college students…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Underage drinking has been pushed to less controlled environments and having the age set at the age of adulthood gives underage drinkers less motive to drink before the legal age requirement. “18 is the age of adulthood in the United States, and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption” however, it would be medically irresponsible to let them drink so early in development, the legal drinking age is now set at twenty one, which is still before full development of the body, and lowering this legal age to eighteen poses an even greater risk towards teens and young…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When a person wants to settle down from a long hard day or week they tend to grab a drink and relax. Eighteen year olds should be able to enjoy the pleasurable activity with others and not be denied. Lowering the drinking age could also help the economy in the long run by increasing revenue. Stated in the article, “Minimum Legal Drinking Age Pros and Cons” (2014), “Revenue would increase for private business owners, and greater amounts of tax revenue would be collected by the government.” (p.1).…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In contrast, lowering the alcoholic drinking age from 21 to 18 will irresponsibly allow a greater segment of the population to drink alcohol in bars and nightclubs. Raising the alcoholic drinking age decreases drinking among young people, it promotes fewer dropout rates and protects adverse birth outcomes, and alcohol drug dependence. Truly,raising the alcoholic drinking age is an effective law that protects young people…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics