Introduction
The drinking age should be reduced to eighteen years of age. This is because when youth under twenty-one are not permitted to consume alcohol, they hide when consuming the drug and consume it without moderation. Currently, the legal drinking age in the united states is twenty-one years, while severally teenagers below the legal age consume alcohol daily (Ahammer et al., 2022). The government will promote responsible drinking among youth under twenty-one by lowering the drinking age to eighteen.
Parents will also feel mandated to teach their children how to drink responsibly when they attain the legal age, which will promote moderation in drinking by the youth correctly. Studies have shown that countries with stricter drinking age restrictions, except for Muslim countries, have higher incidences of alcohol misuse and alcoholism (Ahammer et al., 2022). The youth are curious about the drug because they are restrained from consuming and becoming heavy drinkers. Therefore, lowering the drinking age to 18 will help underage drinkers drink more responsibly, for they will receive training from a young age and thus consume alcohol with the knowledge of its pros and cons.
If the drinking age were reduced to 18, the interest in alcohol among young people, particularly those in their early college years, would decline (Caluzzi et al., 2022). Furthermore, when kids reach the legal smoking age of 18, they are eligible to vote and enroll in the military; they should be considered adults. Many countries, such as Greece, Italy, and China, have already reduced their drinking age to 18, which has yielded tremendously positive resul2022ts (Caluzzi et al.). All countries that have recently or historically reduced the drinking age have lower incidences of drunk driving and other alcohol-related concerns and a much lower mortality toll from such accidents. This should motivate the united states government to emulate these countries where reducing the drinking age has yielded positive results of reduced drinking among the youth.
Underage drinking is a common problem since children fear being caught by authorities or their parents. By keeping the drinking age at 21, kids below the legal age participate in “Binge drinking,” which refers to consuming vast amounts of alcohol in a short period (Patrick et al., 2019). Underage drinkers frequently consume alcohol as rapidly as possible to spend as much time with their friends while remaining drunk before curfew. By decreasing the drinking limit to 18, the government will lessen the risk of excessive drinking, contributing to numerous accidents and fatalities.
There is no actual demerit to reducing the drinking age because, when drunk in moderation, alcohol does not affect the brain, especially when one drinks responsibly. Underage alcohol consumers tend to drink excessively while hiding, which leads to brain damage and alcohol poisoning, all of which can be alleviated by reducing the drinking age to 18; thus, they can drink in bars and pubs where they are forced to drink in moderation (Ahammer et al., 2022). Underage drinkers will also learn the effects of overconsumption of alcohol through tips offered in pubs and bars, unlike when they drink in hiding. Therefore, lowering of drinking age will do them more good than harm.
By drinking in public places with adult supervision, kids aged 18 and above can learn drinking etiquette, where they do not drink excessively or engage in erratic behavior after drinking. This is because they will learn from their superiors and emulate them. Regulations can also be developed which restrict Bars and alcohol stores from selling excessive alcohol to kids merely 18 and over to keep them from excessive drinking. This will promote healthy drinking as underage drinking will be regulated, thus promoting responsible alcohol consumption.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the drinking age should be reduced to 18. This is because most underage kids already break the law by drinking alcohol. By reducing the drinking age to 18, young people are discouraged from committing crimes such as obtaining a false identity or stealing alcohol since they are old enough to purchase alcohol. Restricting teenagers’ access to alcohol will encourage them to take more risks. Since one can legally obtain a driver’s license at 17, one should be able to purchase alcohol as well legally.
References
Ahammer, A., Bauernschuster, S., Halla, M., & Lachenmaier, H. (2022). Minimum legal drinking age and the social gradient in binge drinking. Journal of health economics, 81, 102571.
Caluzzi, G., Livingston, M., Holmes, J., MacLean, S., Lubman, D., Dietze, P., … & Pennay, A. (2022). Declining drinking among adolescents: Are we seeing denormalization of drinking and normalization of non‐drinking? Addiction, 117(5), 1204–1212.
Patrick, M. E., Terry‐McElrath, Y. M., Lanza, S. T., Jager, J., Schulenberg, J. E., & O’Malley, P. M. (2019). Shifting age of peak binge drinking prevalence: Historical changes in normative trajectories among young adults aged 18 to 30. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 43(2), 287-298.
write