Reports in the 1970s showing that teen car crashes were increasing in states where the MLDA had been lowered by 21 prompted Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Another important reason for not lowering the drinking age is the prevalence of binge drinking, especially on college campuses. A short walk through nearly every major campus in America reveals an abundance of barrel parties, crowded bars with fake ID featuring miners, and rowdy fraternity and sister events raging all night. More people would be legally allowed to drink in bars, restaurants and other licensed establishments. The incomes of private entrepreneurs would increase and higher tax revenues would be collected from the government. Seizing this opportunity seems irresponsible. As an article in MADD`s Driven magazine puts it, „Promoting `responsible driving and drinking` is like promoting `responsible driving shootings.`“ The United States is one of the few countries (and the only one Westernized) to set the drinking age at 21. And yet, this higher minimum drinking age has not allowed us to outpace other developed countries. It is illegal in all U.S.

states for anyone under the age of 21 to drive after drinking alcohol. Legal drinking age laws make it illegal to sell alcohol to minors (persons under the age of 21) in all states. Each state has passed zero-tolerance laws that make it illegal in every state to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 21. There is a good case for lowering the drinking age to 21: it is unpopular with most young adults; it probably promotes excessive alcohol consumption underground; Law enforcement is a complete failure on college campuses. And, of course, it`s remarkable that an 18-year-old is considered an adult in almost every context – even in the voting booth – except when ordering a beer. Any measures to increase the availability of alcohol for young adults must take into account its harmful effects, including road deaths, unintended pregnancies and crime. Measures such as improved availability of public transportation, access to birth control, and educational initiatives focused on harm reduction rather than abstinence have been shown to mitigate the harmful effects of alcohol use among young adults. Lowering the minimum drinking age will only be successful as part of a comprehensive package of measures to address unintended consequences. About 5.4 million people aged 12 to 20 consumed heavy drinking in 2013. And if she had been arrested for causing an accident in which someone was injured or killed, rather than just trying to use a fake ID, we suspect the national media would have come to the other side of the debate about a lower drinking age.

The problem with the arguments for lowering the legal drinking age is that it is simply not in the public safety interest to do so. Underage drinkers are a danger to themselves and others, especially on highways. In the fall of 2010, a group of more than 100 university presidents — including leaders from Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Duke — signed a statement claiming that the legal drinking age of 21 wasn`t working. Underage drinkers do not deserve such a bad reputation. According to the CDC, people between the ages of 12 and 20 drink our fair share of alcohol, even though it`s illegal. In other words, these 11% of the population also drink 11% of alcohol. Yet even if we drink our fair share, teens and young adults account for less than our fair share of alcohol-related deaths (only 5%). Older people are much more vulnerable. In fact, 75% of deaths from alcohol poisoning occur between the ages of 45 and 54.

This could be evidence that younger drinkers are in some ways less sensitive to the risks of alcohol than older drinkers (see reason #10). Once you turn 18, you are legally an adult. With this freedom comes many responsibilities. They can enter into legal contracts, be tried as adults and sent to an adult prison, and raise or adopt children. Eighteen-year-olds are employed in a number of professions where other people`s lives are at stake, such as paramedics or firefighters. And, of course, they take on one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: active military service. In the United States, 31% of road deaths are alcohol-related. [48] This percentage is higher than in many countries where the alcohol age is below 21, such as France (29%), Great Britain (16%), Germany (9%), China (4%) and Israel (3%). [48] Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, the rate of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in the 1980s declined less than that of European countries with legal drinking age below 21. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] It seems that while everyone can agree that alcohol is a problem for students, it is the right course of action to take nothing at all with regard to the law.

Part of the problem of underage drinking is not the law, but society itself, which, by not talking about alcohol, encourages abuse when students are finally released from their parents. If society can help change the taboo on alcohol, then perhaps the law can be reviewed and, if necessary, amended. Until then, the law should maintain the minimum drinking age at 21. For every life that is supposed to save the age of alcohol consumption, it disturbs or ruins a hundred others. Here are some of the different groups of people who are subject to harmful penalties under underage drinking laws: All 50 U.S. states have set their minimum drinking age at 21, although there are state-to-state exceptions for home drinking, under adult supervision. for medical and other reasons. One of our biggest campaigns here at NYRA is to lower the drinking age, which is probably the topic we`ve had the most press about. People who advocate for the drinking age like to say that if we applied it more, almost all the problems caused by underage drinking would cease to do so. But that`s not true.

Currently, the drinking age makes 7.7 million Americans lawbreakers. The vast majority of them are never caught. Despite harsh penalties for underage drinkers, only 1 in 1,000 cases of underage drinking results in arrest. Even if we arrested ten times as many people as today (which would be extremely difficult and expensive), it still wouldn`t be enough to stop minors from drinking. The law is simply unrealistic, yet people would rather see it systematically flouted than repealed. Teens who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence, according to the American Psychological Association`s website. The Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) sets the legal age at which a person can purchase alcoholic beverages. The MLDA in the United States is 21 years. However, prior to the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, the legal age at which alcohol could be purchased varied from state to state.1 A final reason for keeping alcohol illegal for minors is its association with violent and/or destructive behavior. Normalizing alcohol consumption as something done responsibly and moderately will make alcohol consumption less taboo for young adults entering university and the workforce.

[14] [15] The MADD website indicates that parents are the most common alcohol supplier for people under the age of 21. If this is really the case, then parents already have this possibility. By providing their children with enough alcohol to host a party, they allow for occasions when excessive drinking and other dangerous acts can occur. Although many believe that if the MLDA were lowered to 18, it would give parents the opportunity to teach their children how to drink safely before sending them to college. „If you`re old enough to fight and die for your country, you`re old enough to drink a beer.“ This argument succeeded in lowering the drinking age in most states during the Vietnam era. However, these arguments were not sufficient to prevent the drinking age from rising to 21 in the 1980s. While this inconsistency is unfair, people who defend the drinking age say „public safety“ is more important than fairness. A survey for the Center for Alcohol Policy found that 86 percent of Americans support the legal drinking age at 21. [54] Numerous state and national surveys from the 1970s (when states raised the legal drinking age) to the present have shown overwhelming public support for MLDA 21. [30] [31] [32] Research by economists Christopher Carpenter and Carlos Dobkin shows that arrest rates for violent crimes and harassment increase sharply at age 21 and continue at least until age 23. A lower drinking age would likely result in this period of alcohol-related criminal activity starting earlier and lasting longer.

There is also evidence that a lower drinking age later in life leads to higher excessive alcohol consumption in men. While 21 may not be a perfect number and students aren`t necessarily responsible either, age has helped significantly reduce alcohol-related deaths. Since the passage of the Legal Drinking Age Act (MLDA), about 25,000 lives have been saved, according to the Mother`s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website. The United States actually has worse traffic accident statistics than similar countries that have set their drinking age at 18. According to the World Health Organization, other high-income countries have a road fatality rate of 8.7 per 100,000 population, while the United States has a rate of 11.4 per 100,000 population. On the one hand, this is due to the strong automotive culture of our company, but on the other hand, it is also due to the way we deal with road safety. In much of the United States, law enforcement`s top priority is to stop underage drinking. In Europe, the top priority for law enforcement is to catch speeding and drunk drivers on the roads, i.e. those who actively pose a threat.