Lower Underage drinking. essays

Lower Underage drinking. essays There is no denying that there is a problem in our country with underage drinking, and that something must be done about it. We have already tried raising the drinking age to 21 and have become stricter with underage drinkers. Ever since the legal drinking age was raised to 21 (in 1987) there has been an increase in binge drinking as well as an increase in problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking. (www.asfar.org). We must find a way to stop this increase in dangerous binge drinking, and the way we can do this is by lowering the legal drinking age to 18. In the next few paragraphs I will outline the main reasons why the drinking age should be lowered and how this can help combat the irresponsible drinking habits of todays youth. First of all, studies have shown that the current drinking age is counterproductive. (www.rallyusa.org, April 30, 2002) Binge drinking has been on the rise ever since the legal drinking age was raised to 21. Kids now see drinking as a forbidden fruit, a badge of rebellion against authorities, and a symbol of adulthood. Which has caused a lot of irresponsible drinking, and a rise in problems related to heavy drinking. For example after the 21 year old law was passed, students reporting vomiting after drinking went from 46% to over 50% after the law change. The number of students cutting class after drinking also rose form 9% to almost 12%. (Ruth Engs, indiana.edu/%7Eengs/articles/cqoped.html, 1998). Both of these numbers indicate that alcohol is not being used by youths in a responsible manner. For many of these students drinking is more exciting when it is illegal and by denying them alcohol, they want to drink even more. This causes them to turn to underground drinking and of cou rse irresponsible drinking. Ironically, it is the drinking age that drives many y ...