and the comparison of their underage drinking with the European underage drinking. Many young people between the ages of 18-20 want to be able to drink and use the argument of saying how the European countries have a driving age of 18 and they 're fine. There was a European school study survey back in 2007. The amount of 15-16 year olds who had a drink the past 30 days was determined. The U.S. had 33% of the study say they did have a drink. All other European countries, with the the exception of Iceland, had a higher percentage than the U.S. (Grube). Now this could of course be due to that most European nations have a drinking age of 18, so the closer kids get to the age, the more they 'll drink. This only further backs up lowering the drinking age would result in younger age groups drinking sooner, and more frequently. Seddon Savage says, "... there is clear evidence that a lower drinking age would result in an increase use of alcohol by children in younger age groups." The earlier someone starts to drink, the worse off they are when they get older. Neurobiological research suggests that the younger someone begins to drink, the more likelihood of them developing a problem and developing alcohol use disorder (Savage). It seems people are drinking younger and younger nowadays and the lowering of the drinking age is preposterous. This puts younger kids, those even still in elementary school at risk. It is shown that the younger someone …show more content…
There are so many risks with just underage drinking in general, but the long term effects are what people seem to not realize when teens drink because they have a serious impact on the rest of the teen 's life. Being an alcoholic can ruin someone 's life, and drinking at a young age will increase the likelihood of someone becoming an alcoholic. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry warns and also believe that out of the 20 million alcoholics in the U.S., more than half began as teenagers (Castello). If more young people were to know what alcoholism does to someone later in their life, then perhaps they 'd be more hesitant to drink. Underage drinking can risk heavy drinking later in life, and could lead to medical problems. Youth who drink before the age of 15 are 5 times more likely to abuse or alcohol dependent later in life than those who wait until 21 or after (Lynsen). It 's shown that alcoholics can tear their families apart so why risk it while drinking