Lowering the drinking age

Introduction

Alcohol use by children, adolescents, and young adults under the age of 21 years is one of the top public health concerns in the United States. In fact, research has shown that nearly half of all eighth grade students in this country have had at least one drink, while nearly 30% of all 12th graders report drinking at least three times per month. According to the 2007 Monitoring the Future Survey, approximately 10% of eighth graders and 26% of 12th graders reported drinking five or more drinks consecutively in the previous 2 weeks. Moreover, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that the average age adolescents started to drink alcohol was 17V2 years in 1965 compared with an alarming 14 years in 2003 (Fisher, 59).

Currently, approximately 3 million U.S. teenagers are alcohol dependent, and at least 1 million more abuse alcohol. College-age students between the ages of 18 and 24 are even more likely to drink and to drink hazardously, with 31% of college students meeting criteria for alcohol abuse and 6% meeting criteria for alcohol dependence. This demographic also accounts for the majority of drinking-related negative consequences, with nearly 600,000 college students suffering unintentional injuries each year as a result of their alcohol use, while many more are involved in assaults, drunk driving, sexual abuse, unsafe sex, property damage, legal problems, and academic problems stemming from their alcohol consumption. Furthermore, over 1,700 college students die each year from alcohol-related incidents. Unfortunately, for each message sent to U.S. youth about the dangers of alcohol use, other messages are sent through the popular media glorifying excessive drinking. Further complicating the issue is that alcohol is the most widely available mind-altering substance and has quickly become the drug of choice among U.S. youth.

Thesis Statement

The consequences of underage drinking can be devastating. Drinking-related incidents such as motor-vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, drownings, falls, and burns kill and injure thousands of adolescents each year.

Discussion and Analysis

For many years, the minimum drinking age has been an ongoing debate. The law has been changed multiple times across the country and each time people protest the change. The age one is permitted to drink has been anywhere from 18-21 in the past fifty years. Since 1984, this required age has been 21. When turning eighteen, one is considered an adult, and with this comes many more rights and responsibilities. Many believe that being allowed to drink should be one of them. This is an important issue today that faces the national and state governments because of college campus binge drinking and the fact that the United States has the highest minimum drinking age. Should the drinking age be lowered to eighteen years old, when one is considered an adult, or remain at twenty one as it has been for twenty four years now?

There were drastic changes made in the early 1970s due to the Vietnam War. It was this time that people first felt the need to object to the law that the ...