In the U.S, reaching 18 is a significant milestone because it symbolizes the beginning of adulthood. It is the age when young adults now have additional freedoms, including driving ability, voting, joining the army, and fighting for their nation (Patrick et al., 290). The minimal age limit is still a current source of contention in the US. For starters, harmful drinking behaviors are rising among young individuals. The purpose of the essay is to persuade people to agree with changing the legal drinking age to 18 while also presenting the counterpart argument. Since the benefits of lowering the drinking age to 18 years overthrow its disadvantages, nations should consider changing the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years.
First and foremost, changing the legal drinking limit to 18 years will enhance the economies of countless nations. Allowing more individuals to drink legally would increase revenues in various countries due to increased income generation for both the sellers and the suppliers (Hall and Lynskey 192). Alcohol will be purchased from licensed firms and stores at an incredible speed. Increased alcohol sales from clubs, restaurants, and bars would be experienced since both teenagers and adults will lawfully purchase the commodities without the fear of going against particular laws regarding the alcohol drinking age limit. Increased alcohol purchases would further encourage people to engage in practices unrelated to drinkings, such as sporting events, concerts, and festivals. The change would also stimulate high alcohol manufacturing since there would be high demand due to a change of the target group from 21 to 18 years due to the high alcohol manufacture, including alcohol distribution, brewing, and farming chances. Therefore, changing the age limit to 18 years would further increase revenue generation due to increased sales and an enhanced economy.
The legal drinking range of 18 fosters a safer drinking culture, mainly when drinking guidelines are adequately enforced and alcohol education is provided. Raising the drinking age can do more harm than good since teenagers may end up taking alcohol secretly in excess, which may impact their health (“Reasons to Challenge the Drinking Age”). Decreasing the age bound decreases hazardous activities stimulated by underage drinking, such as dropping out of school to take alcohol. When young adults are not permitted to take alcohol publicly, they are involved in unsupervised and unsafe drinking practices (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons”). Changing the limit motivates individuals to engage in situations that would protect teenagers who have newly started drinking. It would further give them the morale to engage the individuals aware of lousy drinking behavior like binge drinking, which is unsafe. Hence, changing the age allows youths to drink carefully without being supervised or harming others.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 could allow people between 18 and 20 to drink legally and under guidance in regulated environments. Because the drinking age is 21, young students consume alcohol without supervision, including family parties where alcoholic drinks and other addictions are frequent (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons”). Most teenagers, irrespective of how severe their traumas are, will not consider therapy since they are terrified of the potential consequences of their actions. Citizens above 18 years can vote, purchase smokes, be prosecuted as adults, and join the army (Silbaugh 253). If the age restriction is lowered, consuming alcohol might be less taboo for adults between 18 and 20 years. If alcohol emerges as a more significant element of American civilization, emerging adults may not drink excessively as a way of rebellion against the existing system.
Reducing the age restriction gives teenagers the sense of accountability that they seek. In the United States, parenthood starts at 18 years, and adults should be able to decide about alcohol consumption (McKetta and Keyes e1002954). When a person reaches 18 years, they obtain adult roles and obligations, such as voting, serving on a jury, procreating, signing contracts, being penalized as adults, and enrolling in the army, which carries the risk of death. Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in controlled settings may help to minimize dangerous drinking. By prohibiting this age group from consuming in bars, restaurants, and other authorized venues, they are much more inclined to consume in unaccompanied places, such as frat homes or nightclubs, where they engage in harmful behavior such as heavy drinking.
Most countries with an 18-year-old age limit have fewer drunk driving accidents and fatalities. Despite increasing the legal age to 21, the number of traffic accident deaths in the US was less than in European countries with lower age of consent restrictions. If the permitted age were dropped to 18 years, the thrill of breaking the law to obtain a drink would be minimized. If consuming alcohol is accepted as something that can be executed correctly and in moderation, it will be less of a stigma for teens entering college and finding employment. Nations with 21 as the legal alcohol drinking age encourage young individuals to get fake identities to acquire alcohol. In this day of global security problems, such as terrorism and uncontrolled immigration, among other dangers, it would be better to have fewer false identities on the market and more integrity. Several law enforcers do not prioritize enforcing 21 because of several reasons. Some of the reasons include resource limits, statutory barriers, beliefs that the punishments are inadequate, and the toil it takes for processing and paperwork.
Lowering the age would decrease the number of young teenagers arrested for breaking the law. It would also contribute to teenagers drinking less, which is regarded as a taboo activity among the young, and eliminate irresponsible use of alcohol among the youth. As observed in US history, when prohibition concerning the 18 years age limit took place, most people were against it and passed the 21 years as age limit for teenagers who should take alcohol. The circumstance significantly contributed to binge drinking among individuals below 21 years than 21 years. Thus, lowering the age limit will create room for educating the youths on healthy and safe drinking habits and discourage them from excessive drinking, which might expose them to health risks.
Contrary to lowering the age limit to 18 having various benefits to nations, it also exposes children to various risks. For instance, lowering MLDA 21 is medically hazardous (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons”). Alcohol use can hinder the progress of the forebrain of the younger, which is necessary for skills like emotional management, reasoning, and arranging. Persistent conditions such as addictions, dangerous risk-taking behaviors, decreased decision-making capacity, memory loss, melancholy, violence, and death become more prevalent when alcohol compromises early adult cognitive development. Lowering the drinking age to 18 will permit a more extensive section of people to use it in dangerous areas like nightclubs and bars, which is irresponsible. Approximately half of those arrested for drunken driving or murdered in traffic crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers did so at licensed establishments. Assaults and other crimes are more likely in neighborhoods with more pubs and clubs, among other places that sell alcohol. The initiation age for the privilege to drink ought to be increased due to the dangers of drinking.
While eighteen-year-olds have the right to vote, they have not yet reached adulthood in many ways. Their brains are still developing biologically. They are scarce and financially self-sufficient, and several lacks the maturity level and judgment to drink alcohol properly (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons”). Even if they are old to fight for our country, that does not imply that they are mature enough to manage alcohol responsibly. Especially when they are placed in high-stress situations, it can lead to melancholy and criminal activity, leading to death. It has been proven that lowering the drinking age causes teens to drink more. Alcohol has been linked to car accidents, and research has shown that suicides, DUIs, and crime rates decline once people reach the age of twenty-one. Therefore, decreasing the drinking age will impair the development of a teen’s brain since teenagers, even at the age of 18, are still growing their brains and are unable to make sound decisions.
Several benefits are offered to US citizens once they reach 21 years. A person must be 21 years to purchase a handgun, play in casinos or foster a child, hire a car when they are 25, and run for the presidency at 35 years. Drinking should be managed because of the responsibility assigned to a person and others. Road deaths and accidents are reduced due to retaining the alcohol age at 21. Higher legal alcohol ages were connected to fewer traffic accidents in 100 of the 102 evaluations based on drinking and traffic deaths. MLDA 21 minimizes alcohol consumption and reduces underage drinkers. In 87 percent of studies, higher legal alcohol years are linked to lower alcohol intake, as per a meta-analysis on MLDA. Children who wait until 21years consume less and keep drinking less in their 20s. Therefore, retaining the drinking age plays a significant role in decreasing fatality cases.
In conclusion, governments should seriously consider lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 due to the various benefits the 18 years age limit offers that exceed the 21 years limit. Even though reducing the age limit is harmful to health, when drinking guidelines and education about alcohol are correctly implemented, the legal drinking age of 18 promotes a safer drinking culture. A legal drinking age of 18 could allow anyone between the ages of 18 and 20 to partake in social drinking under the supervision of an adult. If the age restriction is lowered, a greater sense of responsibility will be provided to these children. A reduction in the legal drinking age to 18 would reduce the appeal of violating the law to have a drink. If alcohol consumption is seen as something that can be done responsibly and in moderation, it will be less of a stigma for teenagers going to college and getting a job. The number of young people detained for breaching the law would decrease if the legal drinking age were lowered.
Works Cited
“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered in the US? 13 Pros and Cons”. Drinking Age. 2022, Web.
“Reasons to Challenge the Drinking Age.” Youth Rights. 2022, Web.
Hall, Wayne, and Michael Lynskey. “Assessing the public health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis use: the US experience.” World Psychiatry 19.2. 2020, 179-186. Web.
McKetta, Sarah, and Katherine M. Keyes. “Heavy and binge alcohol drinking and parenting status in the United States from 2006 to 2018: An analysis of nationally representative cross-sectional surveys.” PLoS medicine 16.11. 2019, e1002954. Web.
Patrick, Megan E., et al. “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. 2019, 287-298. Web.
Silbaugh, Katharine. “Developmental Justice and the Voting Age.” Fordham Urb. LJ 47. 2019, 253. Web.