Lower the Drinking Age to 18
Dakota Vaughn
Mrs. Kachurak
Eng. 102-001
2-4-2013
Lower the Drinking Age: End America’s Addiction
Although alcohol has been around for quite some time, it has recently begun to pose a problem in the past few decades, specifically in America. Terrible alcohol related incidences occur every day in America and can be so easily avoided if the proper laws and information are applied. Alcohol consumption, especially in the case of underage drinking, is one of the most crippling problems in the United States. Not only does it give the U.S. a bad image, but it can forever ruin lives. The drinking age, with proper attention and regulations, should be lowered to eighteen because it would drastically decrease the number of alcohol related issues in America. Countries, such as those in Europe, have far different laws pertaining to alcohol consumption than those of America. Some of these countries’ minimum legal drinking ages, or MLDAs, are as low as sixteen. Yet even then, there are countries in the same area who will allow anyone who is taller than the bar counter to enter the tavern and purchase drinks. Although these laws may seem ridiculous to many Americans, especially parents with teenage children, they seem to be doing fairly well. European teenagers’ familiarity with alcohol use, dictated by a culture of ‘Moderate, supervised drinking within families’ and lower legal drinking ages, is an increasingly attractive model for American parents (Colville “Underage”). If European teenagers are doing just fine, then why are American teenagers allegedly ruining futures and losing lives? America’s current MLDA is twenty one years of age and has majorly been that way since the mid 1900’s. The current drinking age in the United States is higher than in Canada, Mexico, and most western European countries whose drinking ages are primarily 18. As for the specifics of the MLDA, provided by Total DUI, anyone under the age of twenty one who is found with blood alcohol
Mrs. Kachurak
Eng. 102-001
2-4-2013
Lower the Drinking Age: End America’s Addiction
Although alcohol has been around for quite some time, it has recently begun to pose a problem in the past few decades, specifically in America. Terrible alcohol related incidences occur every day in America and can be so easily avoided if the proper laws and information are applied. Alcohol consumption, especially in the case of underage drinking, is one of the most crippling problems in the United States. Not only does it give the U.S. a bad image, but it can forever ruin lives. The drinking age, with proper attention and regulations, should be lowered to eighteen because it would drastically decrease the number of alcohol related issues in America. Countries, such as those in Europe, have far different laws pertaining to alcohol consumption than those of America. Some of these countries’ minimum legal drinking ages, or MLDAs, are as low as sixteen. Yet even then, there are countries in the same area who will allow anyone who is taller than the bar counter to enter the tavern and purchase drinks. Although these laws may seem ridiculous to many Americans, especially parents with teenage children, they seem to be doing fairly well. European teenagers’ familiarity with alcohol use, dictated by a culture of ‘Moderate, supervised drinking within families’ and lower legal drinking ages, is an increasingly attractive model for American parents (Colville “Underage”). If European teenagers are doing just fine, then why are American teenagers allegedly ruining futures and losing lives? America’s current MLDA is twenty one years of age and has majorly been that way since the mid 1900’s. The current drinking age in the United States is higher than in Canada, Mexico, and most western European countries whose drinking ages are primarily 18. As for the specifics of the MLDA, provided by Total DUI, anyone under the age of twenty one who is found with blood alcohol