drinking age should be lowered to 18 essay

Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?

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, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.

Opponents of lowering the MLDA argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking prior to 21. They contend that traffic fatalities decreased when the MLDA increased. Read more background…

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1 18 is the age of legal majority (adulthood) in the United States. Americans enjoy a range of new rights, responsibilities, and freedoms when they turn 18 and become an adult in the eyes of the law. [ 58 ] 18-year-olds may vote in local, state, and federal elections; may serve on juries; and may be charged as an adult if accused of a crime. 18-year-olds are responsible for any legally binding contracts they enter; are liable for negligence; and may be sued. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] [ 60 ] 18-year-olds must register with the Selective Service if male and may be drafted into service at times of war. However, 17-year-olds may enter US military service. [ 60 ] [ 62 ] 18-year-olds may get married without parental consent; buy a house; and enjoy new privacy rights including the shielding of medical, academic, and financial information from parents. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] [ 62 ] However, drinking alcohol remains regulated under a legal age of license. An 18-year-old may legally be responsible children and legally allowed to make life decisions with years of impact, but may not legally drink a beer. [ 58 ] Todd Rutherford, South Carolina State Representative and Democrat House Minority Leader, who filed a bill on Nov. 10, 2021 to lower South Carolina’s MLDA to 18, stated: “This is a personal freedom issue. If you are old enough to fight for our country, if you’re old enough to vote, if you’re old enough to sign on thousands of dollars of students loans for a college education, then you are old enough to have a[n alcoholic] drink.” [ 64 ] Read More

Pro 2 MLDA 21 is ineffective because young adults will consume alcohol regardless, leading to dangerous behaviors. By the time 60% of people are 18, they have had at least one alcoholic drink. 32% of 18-20 year olds admitted to alcohol consumption, according to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] Prohibiting this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior. [ 7 ] Rather than criminalizing an act that is legal for other adults, lowering the minimum legal drinking age could allow for more regulatory oversight of drinking by 18- to 20-year-olds, whether by a graduated drinking license (a sort of “drinking learner’s permit”) or simply the enforcement of laws other adults are subject to. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] Read More

Pro 3 MLDA creates a mindset of non-compliance with the law among young adults. Lowering MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something to be done responsibly and in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the workforce. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] High non-compliance with MLDA 21 promotes general disrespect and non-compliance with other areas of US law. MLDA 21 encourages young adults to acquire and use false identification documents to procure alcohol. It would be better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law. [ 17 ] Further, MLDA 21 enforcement is not a priority for many law enforcement agencies. Police are inclined to ignore or under-enforce MLDA 21 because of resource limitations, statutory obstacles, perceptions that punishments are inadequate, and the time and effort required for processing and paperwork. An estimated two of every 1,000 occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 results in an arrest. [ 18 ] Combine a lack of consequences with the thrill of breaking the law, and MLDA 21 actually encourages underage drinking and potentially other illegal activities, such as driving while intoxicated and illicit drug use. Lowering the MLDA would make 18- to 20-year-olds subject to the same laws enforced for those 21 and over. Read More

Con 1 Alcohol consumption before age 21 is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol consumption can interfere with development of the young adult brain’s frontal lobes (essential for emotional regulation, planning, and organization) which can increase the risk for chronic problems such as vulnerability to addiction, dangerous risk-taking, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, depression, violence, and suicide. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] MLDA 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities. 100 of the 102 analyses (98%) in a meta-study of the legal drinking age and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower rates of traffic accidents. [19] In the 30 years since MLDA 21 was introduced, drunk driving fatalities decreased by a third. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that MLDA 21 has saved 31,417 lives from 1975-2016. Lowering the MLDA would surely increase traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths. [ 50 ] A 2019 study of alchol consumption in India found “a causal channel between alcohol consumption and domestic violence,” in that men who were legally allowed to drink were “substantially more likely to consume alcohol” and “significantly more likely to commit violence against their partners.” Lowering the MLDA is likely to raise domestic abuse rates. [ 71 ] Read More

Con 2 MLDA 21 lowers alcohol consumption and illicit drug use across age groups. 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. Studies indicate that when the drinking age is 21, those younger than 21 drink less and continue to drink less through their early 20s, and that youth who do not drink until they are 21 tend to drink less as adults. The number of 18-to-20 year-olds who report drinking alcohol in the past month has decreased from 59% in 1985 – one year after Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act – to 39% in 2016. [ 19 ] [ 42 ] [ 49 ] [ 51 ] Many point to lower MLDAs in Europe as proof that the United States should have a lower MLDA. However, a study found “significantly increased alcohol consumption – particularly among boys and those from underprivileged backgrounds – when drinking becomes legal. Raising the minimum legal drinking age in Europe could reduce alcohol poisonings and the early socioeconomic gradient in teenage binge drinking.” [ 68 ] Additionally, lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds. The younger a person begins to drink alcohol the more likely it is that they will use other illicit drugs. Lowering MLDA 21 would increase the number of teens who drink and therefore the number of teens who use other drugs. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Alcohol consumption should be based on age of license (legality), rather than age of majority (adulthood). Many rights in the United States are conferred on citizens at age 21 or older. A person cannot legally purchase a handgun, gamble in a casino (in most states), or adopt a child until age 21. No one can rent a car (from most companies) at age 25, or run for President until age 35. Drinking should be similarly restricted due to the responsibility required to self and others. [ 24 ] Purchasing and smoking cigarettes and vaping e-cigarettes are similarly regulated. The age of license was raised to 21 on Dec. 20, 2019. Robin Mermelstein, Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, explained, “I think that you would be able to see lots of improvements in reduction of tobacco use among teens, all of which is good because the longer you delay any kind of initiation, the less likelihood there is to develop addiction and the less likely it is that use will escalate.” The same goes for alcohol. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] Other things are similarly regulated throughout life. Kids can’t play Tee Ball until they’re four and basketball players can’t play for the NBA until they’re 19. In most states, teens can’t obtain a restricted license until they’re 16. Senior citizens can’t collect social security until age 62. Rarely are these age restrictions arbitrary. [71] [72] [73] [74] [ 71 ] [ 72 ] [ 73 ] [ 74 ] Read More

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Why the drinking age should be lowered

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Alcohol Research and Health History

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

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. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon research that I have been involved in for over thirty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.

Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.

The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among university students. Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy -- sometimes called "binge" -- drinkers (consuming over 5 drinks at least once a week). For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under-age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.

Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease, and then leveling off, in drinking and driving related variables which has parallel the nation's, and also university students, decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws.

The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc.

While there has been a decrease in per capita consumption and motor vehicle crashes, unfortunately, during this same time period there was an INCREASE in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college age youth. Most of these reported behaviors showed little change until AFTER the 21 year old law in 1987. For example from 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%. All of these behaviors are indices of irresponsible drinking. This increase in abusive drinking behavior is due to "underground drinking" outside of adult supervision in student rooms, houses, and apartments where same age individuals congregate. The irresponsible behavior is exhibited because of lack of knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors, reactance motivation (rebellion against the law), or student sub-culture norms.

Beginning in the first decade of the 21st century, distilled spirits [hard liquor] began to be the beverage of choice rather than beer among collegians. Previously beer had been the beverage of choice among students. A 2013 study of nursing students, for example, revealed that they consumed an average of 4.3 shots of liquor compared to 2.6 glasses of beer on a weekly basis.

This change in beverage choice along with irresponsible drinking patterns among young collegians has led to increased incidences of alcohol toxicity - in some cases leading to death from alcohol poisoning. However, the percent of students who consume alcohol or are heavy or binge drinkers has been relatively stable for the past 30 years.

Based upon the fact that our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches from the experience of other, and more ancient cultures, who do not have these problems need to be tried. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking. Because the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages.

Research articles that support this opinion are found in the Indiana University Repository at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17133/browse?type=title

and https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17130/browse?type=title

Some material here also used in: Engs, Ruth C. "Should the drinking age be lowered to 18 or 19." In Karen Scrivo, "Drinking on Campus," CQ Researcher 8 (March 20,1998):257.

Alcohol Research and Health History resources

(c) Copyright, 1975-2024. Ruth C. Engs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405

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Pro and Con: Lowering the Drinking Age

To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether the drinking age should be lowered in the United States, go to ProCon.org .

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.

The repeal of alcohol prohibition by the 21st Amendment on Dec. 5, 1933 allowed each state to set its own alcohol consumption laws. At that time, most states established the MLDA for alcohol at 21 years of age, although two states set an MLDA of 21 for men and 18 for women: Illinois (1933-1961) and Oklahoma (1933-1976). 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. Following the July 1, 1971 passage of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18 years of age, 30 US states lowered their MLDA to 18, 19, or 20; by 1982, only 14 states still had an MLDA of 21

Reports in the 1970’s showing that teenage car accidents increased in states where the MLDA had been lowered from 21 prompted Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.

Although the Act did not require a national MLDA of 21, it effectively mandated it by stipulating that some federal transportation funds would be withheld from states that failed to make 21 their minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcohol. Since 1984, all states that had previously lowered their MLDA from 21 have all raised their MLDA back to 21. South Dakota and Wyoming were the last states to do so in 1988.

While the MLDA is 21 in all 50 states, in 47 of 50 states age 18 is the “age of majority,” which entails having the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Every state sets its own age of majority that often corresponds with the age at which one can vote, join the military, serve in jury duty, sign contracts, marry, apply for loans, make decisions regarding medical treatments, and be prosecuted as an adult. Alabama (age 19), Mississippi (21), and Nebraska (age 19) are three states that have an “age of majority” above 18, although certain rights such as the right to vote remain at 18 in these states.

136 college and university presidents have signed a pledge stating that the drinking age of 21 is “not working,” citing binge drinking, fake IDs, and the fact that adults age 18-20 are able to vote, serve on juries, and enlist in the military. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three million deaths annually (5.3% of all deaths) result from the harmful use of alcohol. WHO also reports that 13.5% of all deaths among people ages 20-39 are attributable to alcohol.

The discrepancy between the MLDA and the age of majority–and its many responsibilities and authorities–along with continued incidents of alcohol abuse reported on college campuses have fueled debate on whether or not setting the MLDA at 21 is fair, smart, and effective.

• 18 is the age of adulthood in the United States, and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption.
• Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity.
• There are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities in many countries with MLDA of 18.
• The decrease in drunk driving fatalities as a percentage of total traffic fatalities in the United States does not correlate to the MLDA.
• Lowering MLDA from 21 to 18 would diminish the thrill of breaking the law to get a drink.
• MLDA 21 is largely ineffective because teens consume regardless.
• High non-compliance with MLDA 21 promotes general disrespect and non-compliance with other areas of US law.
• MLDA 21 enforcement is not a priority for many law enforcement agencies.
• MLDA 21 is not statistically associated with lower rates of suicide, homicide, or vandalism.
• Drinking alcohol is an enjoyable activity.
• Lowering MLDA 21 would reduce the number of underage people who are hurt from alcohol-related injuries or accidents due to fear of legal consequences if they sought medical attention.
• State governments should have the right to establish a lower legal drinking age that reflects their unique demographics, legal context, and history.
• Lowering MLDA 21 would be good for the economy.
• Lowering MLDA 21 would be medically irresponsible.
• Lowering MLDA 21 to 18 will irresponsibly allow a greater segment of the population to drink alcohol in bars and nightclubs, which are not safe environments.
• The right to drink should have a higher age of initiation because of the dangers posed by drinking.
• MLDA 21 reduces traffic accidents and fatalities.
• MLDA 21 reduces alcohol consumption and the number of underage drinkers.
• 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.
• MLDA 18 is not a right.
• The American public overwhelmingly supports MLDA 21.
• Lowering MLDA 21 would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol.
• MLDA 21 helps prevent underage binge drinking.
• MLDA 21 exerts valuable social pressure on potential underage drinkers and those who may serve them.
• The MLDA should stay at 21 because people tend to be more mature and responsible at 21 than 18.
• Lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds.

This article was published on April 2, 2019, at Britannica’s ProCon.org , a nonpartisan issue-information source.

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Why the Legal Drinking Age should be Lowered?

This essay will explore the debate surrounding the proposal to lower the legal drinking age to 18. It will discuss the current legal drinking age’s implications on youth behavior and social norms, comparing it with drinking age laws in other countries. The piece will analyze arguments for and against lowering the age, considering factors such as alcohol-related accidents, maturity levels, and cultural attitudes towards drinking. It will also examine the potential impact on public health, education systems, and law enforcement, drawing on research and case studies to provide a comprehensive view of this contentious issue. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Binge Drinking.

How it works

One of the biggest arguments in the country today is the legal age of consuming alcohol. All across the world, there are different drinking ages which differ from country to country. Each country with their own reasoning’s behind the age restrict. In the United States we know, the legal drinking age is 21. In England and Australia, the drinking age is 18. Spain and Austria, have the drinking age at 16. I believe the legal drinking age for the United States should be lowered to 18.

Some of the reasons I believe this is because it would improve the economy, it would decrease the unsafe drinking activities, it would reduce the numbers of arrests, and I believe that adults should be able to make their own decisions.

First of all, lowering the drinking age would be to improve the economy. With allowing more people to legally drink, there would be an increase in revenue. There would be more alcohol purchases from stores and licensed businesses. An increase in alcohol purchases from bars, clubs, and restaurants. More people would be inclined to do more activities that are not directly associated with drinking. For example, festivals, concerts, and sporting events. There would also be an increase in the manufacturing of alcohol. New jobs would be created for the faming, brewing and distribution of alcohol. In all aspects of the economy there would be an increase in revenue.

Second of all, lowering the age limit it would decrease the unsafe activities that follow underage drinking. With young adults not being allowed to drink in public, this leads to very unsafe and unsupervised drinking activities. Instead of being in a situation that would offer protection for new drinkers and have people who know the signs of bad drinking habits like, binge drinking, and other unsafe practices. They are forced to be in situations with no supervision and the possibility of harming themselves or others.

Third of all, lower the age restriction would also lower the number of young adults breaking the law and getting arrested. With making lowering the age, it would make drinking less of a taboo activity and eliminate the reckless use of it during college and young adult years. As seen is the history of the United States, when prohibition was taking place, it was repealed because it was enforceable and received a lot of backlash from the people. Now as we can see the United States are making the same mistake. Binge drinking and heavy drinking are at alarming high rates compared to ages above 21. If the limit was lowered young adults would be better educated and be able to learn the safe and healthy ay to drink with friends.

Lastly, the age of adulthood in the United States is 18 years old. At that age, it is legal to fight and possibly die for the country. Smoke cigarettes and be fully responsible for your own actions. You can marry and serve in juries. Vote for elections and receive many responsibilities of being an adult. With all of these responsibilities that are gained, there is no logical reason on to why legal adults should be banned from consuming alcohol. Some argue that the brain doesn’t fully develop until age of drinking at 21. As I do agree with that statement, as there is scientific evidence, I still believe that if we are allowed to make life or death decisions for themselves, shouldn’t we choses to but again, as adults that is our choice to make.

Now that I explained the few reasons on why the United States should lower the drinking age to 18, hopefully it is clear on why this would be a good choice for the country. The reasons I believe that it should be lowered is because it would improve the economy, it would decrease the unsafe drinking activities, it would reduce the number of arrests, and I believe that adults should be able to make their own decisions.

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The Opinion Pages

February 10, 2015

Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered?

Introduction.

In an effort to address student misconduct, the president of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., announced last month that hard alcohol would be banned on campus. But many critics found the announcement bizarre, since at least half of college age kids are underage. And singling out hard liquor seemed like an ineffective solution to bad behavior.

Is there a better way to deal with underage drinking? Should the drinking age, perhaps, be lowered?

Return It to 18, and Enforce It

Gabrielle Glaser, author, "Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink"

Raising the drinking age to 21 hasn't reduced drinking -- it’s merely driven it underground, to the riskiest of settings.

Keep the Drinking Age High

Tamika C. B. Zapolski, assistant professor of psychology

The key to preventing alcohol abuse is to communicate the risks, harm and disapproval of its use among young people.

Lower It to 19

Laurence Steinberg, adolescent brain researcher

That would keep it illegal for high school students and legal for most college students.

Lowering It Has Serious Consequences

Tara Watson, health economist

Any move toward increasing alcohol availability to young adults must consider its adverse effects, including traffic fatalities, unplanned pregnancy and crime.

Raising It Was a Disaster

S. Georgia Nugent, former college president

The ubiquity of noncompliance has led to a diffidence toward the law — both a sense that it may be selectively obeyed and a perception that one is powerless to change it.

21 Is Working

Christopher S. Carpenter, economics professor

There is clear evidence that assaults increase sharply at age 21, confirming a causal chain between alcohol and physical violence.

Recent Discussions

Argumentative Essay Sample on Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18

Did you know you have to be twenty-one to drink while you have to be eighteen to smoke? Smoking can damage your body much more than drinking. The age of drinking should be lowered because of this. If the age of drinking is lowered, many more people would get DUI’s. Although some people agree with that statement, It should be lowered because at the age of eighteen people are exposed to adult responsibilities and decisions.

If the age of drinking is lowered, that would mean people will have increased knowledge of tolerance. If people at the age of eighteen drink for the first time, they would know when to stop and know their limit when drinking. Drinking would allow them to find that tolerance and are most likely not to overconsume. If somebody over consumed even one time, they would know to drink less since they know even more about their tolerance. Exposing things like alcohol and beer to eighteen-year-olds is convenient for their future since they are more knowledgeable about tolerance.

Lowering the age will reduce the amount of alcohol-related accidents among underage drinkers. If somebody underage gets in an accident because of alcohol, they would not get medical help. The reason they wouldn’t get medical help is that they might fear getting in trouble with the law. They wouldn’t get medical attention no matter how severe their injuries were.

Lowering the age would allow more people to seek medical attention if caught in an accident.

Keeping the age to drink at twenty-one improves people’s health. Over time you will start to get chronic diseases from drinking regularly. That would only happen if you drink alcohol regularly. The PLOS Medicine study reports that sipping a maximum of three drinks per week isn't bad. People that are eighteen have adult choices to make such as If they are going to drink regularly. It’s fully up to the person if they are going to drink a lot of alcohol or not but most people would find their tolerance and not drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

At the age of eighteen, you’re exposed to adult responsibilities. If the age of drinking was lowered, people’s knowledge of their tolerance would improve. Underaged people who get in accidents would seek medical attention if caught in an accident. In studies, it's also been found that it's not bad to drink once in a while. Overall, lowering the age of drinking has many pros it.

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At 18, Is It Time for a Drink? Argumentative Essay

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An American teenager who is eighteen years old is allowed to do several things, such as vote, join the military, and get married; however, drinking is not allowed until he or she is twenty-one years old.

The officially permitted drinking age in the U.S. was raised from eighteen to twenty-one in 1988 due to the National Minimum Age Drinking Act that had been signed into law four years earlier by President Ronald Reagan.

The main reason was maturity; that is, at eighteen one is not mature enough to drink responsibly (Kiesbye, 2). However, I agree with the verdict of the group of university and college presidents that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen.

Opponents of lowering the legal drinking age usually refer to the dangers of binge drinking. They say that the practice is increasing and that any person who is below eighteen is simply not responsible enough to have an alcoholic beverage.

This type of drinking most of the time occurs in the underground and hidden places where the teenagers cannot be discovered. However, although binge drinking is a problem in America, the root cause is the high drinking age that our lawmakers have instituted ignoring certain realities.

Let us face the reality: if a person wants to drink, he or she will definitely find a way to do that. And since legal adults (those over eighteen) are unable to get hold of alcohol themselves, they will inevitably go to hidden places and drink excessively without any supervision or guidance.

When the drinking age is lowered, teenagers can drink responsibly without having to hide themselves. Therefore, “the current limit ignores the reality of drinking during college years and drives it underground, making binge drinking more dangerous and students less likely to seek help in an emergency” (Gordon and Holland, para. 2).

I think it is of essence to question this law: why is it that the age of twenty-one is the “magical’ age that a person is considered as intelligent and mature enough to drink alcohol? Truly, some adults consume alcohol irresponsibly. On the other hand, some young people are able to drink responsibly.

At eighteen, Americans are regarded as adults. It may seem odd to allow those above eighteen years to marry, drive their own cars, and do other sorts of things, and yet to be prevented by the same law from taking a glass of wine in a café or even a glass of champagne at their own wedding party. I feel that it does not make sense to have a limit that is higher than the legally recognized age of maturity.

Young people look at alcoholic beverages as something exciting (Bishop, 19). They consider it an activity preserved for the adults; however, young people want to be adults As Soon As Possible. Therefore, as is the case in most institutions, they usually carry fake identity cards to drinking dens; thus, leading to more problems, or steal the drinks from their parents’ drink cupboard.

Maintaining the drinking age at twenty-one does not encourage responsible drinking. In addition, when the opportunity to take alcohol arises, “Let us compensate for the lost time” attitude crops in resulting in binge drinking, which leads to results that are even more disastrous.

By reducing the legal drinking age, it would inevitably water down some of the temptation to take alcohol since the young people often say that it is more fun when it is illegal.

And, more so, in most cases, young people tend to engage in illicit activities. Therefore, lowering the age will reduce this tendency. In reality, increasing the drinking age is even worse than not doing anything at all simply because most individuals would want to get drunk as a sign of rebellion to the authority. “Not much can be done to control student drinking.

Americans younger than 21 casually defy the law by secretly drinking. If the law was changed, the practice can take place in the open, where it could be better monitored and moderated” (Snelgrove, para. 22). I think that the obsession of wanting to consume alcohol would lose its appeal if drinking were not regarded as purely an adult thing.

As pointed out by the article, “At 18, is it time for a drink?” teen drinking is longstanding problem, which has affected the American society and the drinking age limit has not done enough to cut short.

The American society does not care to instruct the teenagers’ on limits or responsibilities; however, they apparently assume that the teenagers will know their limits and be responsible consumers of alcoholic beverages upon attaining the lawful “magical age” of twenty-one.

A number of developed countries in Europe, such as France, Belgium, and Italy, have established a legal minimum drinking age at sixteen years. It is interesting to note that in those countries one is allowed to drive at eighteen years of age.

If the American society can focus more on educating the youth on responsible drinking habits rather than restriction, then several problems can be prevented (Gordon and Holland, para.16). The youth in the U.S., unlike their counterparts in Europe, are not able to learn how to consume alcohol and other substances gradually, safely and with caution.

Even though the average daily consumption of alcohol in some European nations such as France and Spain is higher than in the United States, the percentage of alcoholism and irresponsible drinking is much lower due to education on safe drinking habits and enforcement of gradual drinking behavior.

Supporters of the legal drinking age often cite possible increase in car accidents as a reason to maintain the drinking age. However, they fail to realize that individuals of all ages get into car crashes, teenagers and adults, when they abuse alcohol.

Educating the public on the dangers of this vice can be more beneficial than simply giving restrictions. In most countries in Europe, teenagers are permitted to drive at eighteen years of age, and also to drink responsibly at the same age.

Therefore, they are able to learn early about the dangers of drinking alcohol and practice good drinking habits. I think that lowering the drinking age would be able to reduce the number of car crashes that are related to excessive consumption of alcohol.

Restrictions can be put to prevent the teenagers from drinking, but can they really be stopped? No one was there to stop the over ten million American teens aged twelve to twenty who have already drunk an alcoholic beverage at present. Out of this number, it is astonishing that about half of them are engaging in binge drinking.

To put more facts on the table, it is estimated that about eighty percent of students in grade nine through twelve will have tasted at least one drink of an alcoholic beverage in their lifetime and about fifty percent of these students have tasted at least one drink of alcohol in the last one month.

So, tell me, are restrictions stopping them from pursing their illicit courses? Abuse of alcohol among the teens is a real problem that we should not ignore the way we are doing now through unfair restrictions.

Since more and more teens are destroying their lives, I suggest that we try something different, something that can ultimately bear fruits since the high drinking age seems to be taking us nowhere. Therefore, I strongly believe that lowering the drinking age and then educating the teenagers on the dangers of alcohol consumption can reduce this problem.

We should all recognize that America has a huge problem with teen drinking. The only way to find a solution to this problem is by stopping to ignore it. “It’s time we look at the issue afresh and see whether there are better solutions than we currently have in place because, after all, we haven’t solved the problem” (Gordon and Holland, para. 8).

The American teenagers should get more education about the effects of alcohol, rather than giving them punishment. The legal drinking age should be restored to eighteen since the current age at twenty-one lacks any real basis. A lowered drinking age will bring us to reality and institute better ways of curbing the vice. Consequently, fewer problems would arise.

Works Cited

Bishop, Bruce. Effects of lowering the drinking age . Salem, Or. : Legislative Research, 1979. Print.

Gordon, Larry, and Holland, Gale. “ At 18, is it time for a drink? ” Los Angels Times . 2008. Web.

Kiesbye, Stefan. Should the legal drinking age be lowered? Detroit : Greenhaven Press, 2008. Print.

Snelgrove, Erin. “18 or 21? Drinking age debate heats up.” Yakima-herald . 2008. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 15). At 18, Is It Time for a Drink? https://ivypanda.com/essays/at-18-is-it-time-for-a-drink/

"At 18, Is It Time for a Drink?" IvyPanda , 15 May 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/at-18-is-it-time-for-a-drink/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'At 18, Is It Time for a Drink'. 15 May.

IvyPanda . 2018. "At 18, Is It Time for a Drink?" May 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/at-18-is-it-time-for-a-drink/.

1. IvyPanda . "At 18, Is It Time for a Drink?" May 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/at-18-is-it-time-for-a-drink/.

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IvyPanda . "At 18, Is It Time for a Drink?" May 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/at-18-is-it-time-for-a-drink/.

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The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18 Years

Updated 21 July 2021

Subject Illness

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Category Food ,  Health

Topic Alcohol ,  Death ,  Drinking

The Need to Lower the Drinking Age to 18

Challenges with irresponsible drinking, ineffective legislation, works cited.

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Young adults' reasons not to drink point to potential for more effective prevention, treatment interventions

by Research Society on Alcoholism

Young adults (aged 18–25) who use alcohol have varying personal reasons for not drinking on some days—reasons that could be harnessed to improve the effectiveness of programs preventing and treating alcohol use disorder (AUD), a new study suggests.

Although alcohol use is declining among young adults , rates of hazardous drinking and its harmful consequences remain high. In this age group, daily drinking patterns fluctuate. The bulk of relevant research has focused on motivations for drinking, with scant attention to motivations for not drinking.

In addition, previous studies have not represented both the college and noncollege young adult population. For the new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research , investigators explored young adults' day-to-day reasons for not using alcohol and whether those differed by demographic factors, days of the week, typical drinking motivations, and participants' recent alcohol consumption.

Researchers in the U.S. worked with 614 young adults who, in the last month, had consumed alcohol but gone at least one day without drinking. Their average age was 21, and 54% were men; 22% were Hispanic, 64% non-Hispanic white, and 13% were other races/ethnicities; 65% were 4-year college students.

The participants filled out an online survey about their past-month alcohol use and typical motives for drinking. Alcohol use was categorized as binge drinking (having five or more drinks in a row) (31%), high-intensity drinking (having 10 or more drinks in a row) (19%), or moderate drinking (fewer than four drinks in a row) (50%).

Motives for drinking were social (e.g., to socialize), coping (e.g., to forget problems), enhancement (e.g., for a pleasant feeling), and conformity (e.g., to fit in). Over the next two weeks, the participants filled out daily surveys on the previous day's alcohol use and their motives for not drinking.

The surveys offered 12 motives for not drinking. The researchers used statistical analysis to look for links between participants' stated reasons for not drinking on any given day and factors that might influence those decisions.

The surveys yielded 5,546 reports of nondrinking days. The participants' most common reasons for not drinking (expressed in 84%–49% of those daily reports) were, in decreasing order, a lack of interest in alcohol, not wanting to get drunk, not usually drinking on that night of the week, not wanting alcohol to interfere with school or work, and needing money for other things.

Less common motivations included using another drug instead (overwhelmingly cannabis), a recent hangover, and medical reasons. These reasons not to drink were linked in varying ways to biological sex, race/ethnicity, weekend (vs. weekday), and typical drinking motives. For example, women were more likely than men to report a lack of interest in drinking, not wanting to get drunk, and recent hangovers.

Hispanic participants and 4-year college students were more likely to not drink because of possible negative consequences, including alcohol interfering with school or work. Non-Hispanic white people were more likely to express a lack of interest in alcohol that day.

People who engaged in binge drinking or high-intensity drinking were more likely than moderate drinkers to report recent hangovers. On weekends, participants were more interested in drinking and less concerned about its negative consequences.

People who reported stronger social motives for drinking were more likely to report a lack of interest in alcohol and were less concerned about consequences, and people who reported stronger coping motives for drinking were more likely to be dissuaded by possible negative consequences, e.g., upsetting family and friends.

People who reported stronger enhancement motives were more likely to report using other drugs instead. People who reported stronger conformity motives were more likely to report situational barriers (e.g., having no one to drink with).

The study enhances our understanding of young adults' reasons for not drinking. It could inform interventions that address motivations to drink and not to drink, potentially strengthening public health messaging and providing opportunities to tailor prevention and treatment strategies to certain groups or individuals.

The vast majority of participants said that on some days, they weren't interested in drinking and didn't want to get drunk. Programming could, for example, emphasize this lack of interest in alcohol while also highlighting the benefits of avoiding negative consequences (such as getting drunk) and the value of self-imposed situational barriers (such as saving money).

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Can parenting styles affect whether a child uses drinking to cope with stress? New Northeastern research says potentially

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Robert Leeman, chair of the health sciences department at Northeastern, was part of a study that found permissive behavior around teen drinking put kids at risk for problems with alcohol.

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Every parent wants their kid to have a healthy relationship with alcohol. But how do you help them get there? Is it by letting them drink while they’re young in hopes of making alcohol less alluring? Or by taking a strict no-drinking approach when they’re underage?

The answer is neither, according to research from Robert Leeman , professor and chair of the health sciences department at Northeastern University, who worked with a team looking into the indirect influence of parenting styles on a person’s tendency toward heavy episodic drinking to alleviate stress. 

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Research found that, specifically, maternal permissiveness was indirectly linked to more alcohol problems and episodes of heavy drinking to deal with stress while authoritative styles that set boundaries were indirectly linked to fewer alcohol-related issues and stress-induced drinking episodes.

“We’ve found both passive parenting styles and authoritarian parenting styles can have negative outcomes in terms of the children’s substance use risk for different reasons,” Leeman said. “There’s anecdotal evidence that if we demystify alcohol for our kids, then they’ll be less likely to be at risk later on. That’s not what the data say.”

Leeman said there’s other elements at play here, including family history and how alcohol impacts the person. But study data show overall that children allowed to drink underage are at more of a risk of alcohol problems and heavy drinking episodes. 

Meanwhile, the less early exposure children have, the lower their risk is for these issues.

“If somebody is going to begin drinking at some point in their life, the later that they do it, the better,” Leeman said. “This ‘let the kids and their friends drink in my house’ flies in the face of that.” 

The work corroborates with Leeman’s past research, which focuses on addictive behaviors and difficulties with self-control, mostly when it comes to alcohol and young adults.

Leeman said a more strict, authoritarian style can also be ineffective in curbing drinking among kids, because as they age, they don’t necessarily understand why they need to be cautious around drinking. This puts them at risk of acting out when they’re on their own and able to make their own decisions around alcohol, because they might not necessarily understand the dangers of drinking.

“It’s parenting out of fear and the children don’t internalize why,” Leeman said. “I know parents can sometimes get frustrated with one ‘why?’ question after another from children. It might seem defiant, but that’s typically not the case. They’re just trying to understand.”

What is the best approach parents can take when it comes to teen drinking? Leeman said the research found that an authoritative approach was indirectly linked with better outcomes. Parents using this style don’t operate from a place of fear, but explain to children why they set the boundaries they do.

“The reason why people use these substances is they feel really good in your brain,” Leeman said. “I think we need to be honest about that, tempered with (a reason) why you need to not use them or use them moderately when you’re of age.”

The goal of this, Leeman said, is to empower children to make their own decisions while also being willing to say no, especially when it comes to letting them go to places where there will be drinking or drugs. 

“I know it’s easy to feel beaten down as a parent, that you don’t have a big impact on your child’s life,” Leeman said. “That’s just not the case. (Kids) really are listening and there’s good evidence that parenting continues to have an impact, not just negatively, but positively into a young person’s 20s.”

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