Ryanne McKenna

India Perez

Hally Robinson

Mr. Gross

English 12 B (3)

18 May 2017

Drinking Age in the United States

There have been many debates about the legal drinking age in the United States,

specifically concerning whether or not it should stay at twenty-one years of age or be lowered to

eighteen. There are many pros and cons for both ages, but the pros of the law being set at

eighteen years of age outweighs the results of the current age, being twenty-one. Eighteen is

legally considered as the age of which a teenager becomes an adult. Seeing as this is the

responsible age, it only makes sense to be able to purchase and consume alcohol. With the legal

age currently being twenty-one there is a higher percentage of binge drinking compared to other

countries where the age is eighteen. Lowering it could result in young adults being more aware

of the full effects and in turn making them responsible drinkers.

Binge drinking is the consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol in a short amount

of time. Binge drinking is becoming a rising problem in the United States due to the delayed

legal drinking age. The age in all fifty states is twenty-one years old, yet under-age drinking is

occurring throughout the entire nation. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

Alcoholism: Although youth drink less often than adults do, when they do drink, they drink

more. That is because young people consume more than ninety percent of their alcohol by binge
drinking. (Gonchar 1). More than ninety percent of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers is

consumed during binge drinking (Responsibility 1). At college parties the underage drinkers

drink as much and as fast as they can until they pass out. Young adults create games and

competitions for their drinking which quickly can lead to alcohol poisoning for some. Thus

putting their health at a higher risk for alcohol related illnesses/injuries. Eighty percent of college

students say they drink, despite laws making it illegal for anyone under twenty-one to consume

alcohol. Twenty-one is a profound age for young adults, those who attend college are acquiring

associate degrees at this time, only to have alcohol related tendencies, during crucial and pivotal

moments in their lives. Critics of the drinking age say that lowering it would reduce binge

drinking and alcohol-related deaths (Singh 1). If the age were to be lowered to eighteen, young

adults would be made more aware of the effects of alcohol much earlier, because by eighteen

most still live with their parents. That factor plays a huge part because parents want their kids to

be safe and the best way they can do it is by teaching them under their own roof. By twenty-one

they are out of the house and living with people who might not set the right examples to drink

and do it in a way that can be much more detrimental to their health. In turn, when learning the

correct methods they become responsible drinkers that can distinguish their actions between fun

and dumb. Avoiding the dumb decisions by being knowledgeable about shoulds/ should-nots is a

large positive because by behaving properly they would completely avoid putting themselves at

risk for failure in future goals and careers from mistakes made in their youth because of

ignorance.

At the age of eighteen years old people are responsible for themselves meaning they are

required to pay taxes, are able to work full time jobs, and can vote. They contribute to the
societies of which they are part of, yet monitored on alcohol consumption. Eighteen year olds

can purchase tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, and cigarettes. Cigarettes have caused

an alarming amount of death totals, as it causes severe lung cancer. I think eighteen is viewed

(by most countries) pretty much as a reasonable age limit," said Marjana Martinic, deputy

president of the International Center for Alcohol Policies or ICAP (Griggs 1). Most eighteen year

olds continue to drink even though they are underage. Teaching people to drink responsibly

before they turn twenty-one would enormously enhance public health. Now, high school and

college kids view dangerous binge drinking as a right of passage (The New York 1). Binge

drinking happens all the time with high school and college students that are underage, and those

who do are putting their health at a major risk. The percentage of people who drink is not

changing much, but among drinkers, we are seeing more heavy drinking and more binge

drinking," says Ali Mokdad, a lead author of the study who is a professor at the Institute for

Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. "We're going in the wrong

direction. (Painter 1). It is obvious that there is an issue with how much binge drinking is taking

place in the United States. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would result in young adults

knowing about the substance and the right way in consuming it.

Changing the drinking age might be wishful thinking, a study says. Researchers from

Boston University reviewed scientific literature published since 2006 and concluded keeping the

legal drinking age at twenty-one reduces rates of drunk driving and crashes, and reduces rates of

underage drinking (Singh 1). In reality teenagers who drive after having consumed alcohol

become fearful because they know that if they call their parents for a ride they will be in trouble

with their parents for disobeying the law. Lowering the age would make teenagers more apt to
open up with their parents to call and ask for a ride home, instead of being scared to receive

some form of punishment. Rebellious teenagers sneak off to basements and backwoods to binge

drink far from adult supervision (Griggs 1). Having the legal drinking age at twenty-one years

old does not stop underage drinking from occurring, but changing it to eighteen would teach

teenagers how to drink without binge drinking and putting their lives more at risk at a younger

age. It would also help with young adults being open with their parents and helping to prevent

them from drinking and driving which could very well possibly cause an accident.

How much alcohol teens drink depends a lot on where they live. A new study finds more

than a third of adults in some areas are drinking at dangerous levels but "huge variations" in rates

of heavy and binge drinking across the USA (Painter 1). Binge drinking is on the rise in the

United States and its most most common in teens. Teenagers consume all types of varying

alcoholic drinks, whatever they are able to get their hands on, as they cannot legally buy the

substance. Consuming as much as they can, as fast as they can to get drunk faster without

knowing how to drink at a responsible pace. By changing the drinking age to eighteen we can

allow teens to learn how to drink responsibly, and be smarter when it comes to dealing with

alcohol. Alcohol is the drug of choice among much of Americas youth. Many young people are

experiencing the consequences of drinking far more often than they should, at too early of an

age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this entire country

(Underage Drinking 1). This is because underage consumers binge drink. By changing the

drinking age to eighteen there wouldnt be as much binge drinking because teens would learn

how to drink more responsibly.

Eighteen years old is the age that people are considered adults, they should be able to
make adults decisions when it comes to alcohol. They are allowed to purchase and use tobacco

products, they are old enough to make their own decisions. Lowering the drinking age would

allow teens to learn how to drink responsibly instead of binge drinking and putting their health at

risk. The benefits of being able to teach teens how to drink more responsibly would help the

health of those who consume alcohol outweigh the downfalls. The drinking age in the United

States needs to be eighteen and not twenty-one.

 Works Cited

Gonchar, Michael. "Why Is Binge Drinking So Common Among Young People in the United

States?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 May 2017.

Griggs, Brandon. "Should the U.S. Lower Its Drinking Age?" CNN. Cable News Network, 04

Jan. 2015. Web. 19 May 2017.

Kim Painter , Special for USA TODAY. "Where America Drinks Most: Study Finds

Binge-drinking Trouble Spots." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24

Apr. 2015. Web. 19 May 2017.

"The New York Times Company." The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 19 May

2017.

Responsibility, Choose. Choose Responsibility. Web. 19 May 2017.

Singh, Maanvi. "Legal Drinking Age Of 21 Saves Lives, Even Though It's Flouted." NPR. NPR,

24 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 May 2017.

"Underage Drinking." National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services. Web. 19 May 2017.