Alcohol can also have a serious effect on a teen’s academic performance. For instance, underage drinkers tend to miss their classes, fall behind in their schoolwork, and earn lower grades on their assignments (Crowe 7). Also, because of extreme alcohol use, teens could drop out of school, fail classes, or even be expelled from school (Crowe 7). On the other hand, teens who do not drink can also be negatively affected by underage teen drinkers because they have to help their intoxicated friends most of the time, which can also lead to sleep or study time disruptions (Crowe 7). Underage drinking can negatively affect a young teen’s family life and cause serious harm to family relationships at home. For example, a young adolescent struggling
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As previously mentioned, underage drinking cost society an unbelievable $68 billion in 2007. Some immediate economic costs include personal costs and costs to an underage drinker’s family, community, and legal system. (Crowe 8). Some examples of personal costs that may occur because of underage drinking include payment for alcohol abuse treatment, medical services, and higher insurance rates because of traffic accidents or convictions for driving while intoxicated (Crowe 8). Financial costs to parents are also a possibility and can include loss of money because of driving underage drinkers to treatment or taking time off of work to accompany youth on court dates (Crowe 8). There are also several long term costs that must be considered when thinking about underage drinking. One key example could be the future potential earnings or contributions a youth will make to the workforce (Crowe 8). The reason why this is a key economic cost is because the teen could develop alcoholism later in life and become unproductive to the workforce. Society pays these costs because, as the young teenager becomes older, they may have a difficult time being able to sustain a job (Crowe 8). Even if they get a job as an adult, teens who were underage drinkers may have a difficult time being productive and sociable in a work environment. After carefully considering the …show more content…
The drinking age has been 21 in many states for almost 40 years (“History Speaks,” 2015). However, in the late 1960’s and 70’s, many states lowered their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age (“History Speaks,” 2015). The disastrous results were almost immediate as drunk driving crashes and fatalities increased significantly in those states where the legal drinking age had been lowered (Shults, 2001). This was not just a problem in states where the drinking age had been lowered, but also in bordering states, often known as “blood borders” where young adolescents would drive to a state with a lower drinking age, drink, and crash on their return (“History Speaks,” 2015). As a result of these terrible traffic crashes, 16 states changed their legal drinking age back to 21 by 1983. However, encouraging news came in 1984, when, confronted by the failure of the 18 year old drinking age, the President Commission on Drunk Driving, along with the support of then President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Uniform Drinking Act (“History Speaks,” 2015) This law required that all states implement 21 as the legal drinking age again (“History Speaks,” 2015). By the year 1988, all states had adopted 21 as the legal drinking age. Since 1988, there are more than 25,000 people alive today because of the minimum age of 21 drinking law (NHTSA).
As previously mentioned, underage drinking cost society an unbelievable $68 billion in 2007. Some immediate economic costs include personal costs and costs to an underage drinker’s family, community, and legal system. (Crowe 8). Some examples of personal costs that may occur because of underage drinking include payment for alcohol abuse treatment, medical services, and higher insurance rates because of traffic accidents or convictions for driving while intoxicated (Crowe 8). Financial costs to parents are also a possibility and can include loss of money because of driving underage drinkers to treatment or taking time off of work to accompany youth on court dates (Crowe 8). There are also several long term costs that must be considered when thinking about underage drinking. One key example could be the future potential earnings or contributions a youth will make to the workforce (Crowe 8). The reason why this is a key economic cost is because the teen could develop alcoholism later in life and become unproductive to the workforce. Society pays these costs because, as the young teenager becomes older, they may have a difficult time being able to sustain a job (Crowe 8). Even if they get a job as an adult, teens who were underage drinkers may have a difficult time being productive and sociable in a work environment. After carefully considering the …show more content…
The drinking age has been 21 in many states for almost 40 years (“History Speaks,” 2015). However, in the late 1960’s and 70’s, many states lowered their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age (“History Speaks,” 2015). The disastrous results were almost immediate as drunk driving crashes and fatalities increased significantly in those states where the legal drinking age had been lowered (Shults, 2001). This was not just a problem in states where the drinking age had been lowered, but also in bordering states, often known as “blood borders” where young adolescents would drive to a state with a lower drinking age, drink, and crash on their return (“History Speaks,” 2015). As a result of these terrible traffic crashes, 16 states changed their legal drinking age back to 21 by 1983. However, encouraging news came in 1984, when, confronted by the failure of the 18 year old drinking age, the President Commission on Drunk Driving, along with the support of then President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Uniform Drinking Act (“History Speaks,” 2015) This law required that all states implement 21 as the legal drinking age again (“History Speaks,” 2015). By the year 1988, all states had adopted 21 as the legal drinking age. Since 1988, there are more than 25,000 people alive today because of the minimum age of 21 drinking law (NHTSA).