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Should the legal age for drinking alcohol be lowered?
vivoquirko
Member Posts: 3
Its about the limits the state should place on a something which could harm people. The proposition does not have to argue that drinking alcohol is harmless, as to win the debate they only need to show that the way to encourage limited and responsible alcohol use is to have lower minimum age limits. Current age limits vary across the world. In US states the limit is 21, in most Canadian states it is 19, in the UK it is 18, but in many other European countries it is 16 and alcohol is usually allowed with a meal at any age. The opposition should argue that an age limit of 18 or higher ensures an overall lower level of drinking amongst teenagers and is therefore the more sensible policy.
Comments
I think the legal age for drinking, smoking, gambling, voting, joining the military and agreeing to be an organ donor should all be at age 20. My reasoning? You're a dumbass teenager even at nineteen. I don't expect anyone fresh out of high school to know a goddamned thing, give them a couple more years in the real world first.
~and yes, when I was 19 I would have been bitching about getting the age limits dropped to 18, but now that I'm closing on 30 I can see what a dumbass kid I was... and I never did half the stuff some of these dumbass kids are doing these days.
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Drinking age here is 16, and there are hardly any problems, I ended up OK, actually I used to drink a lot from 16-18 and after that mostly stopped, only drink a beer here and there at lunch sometimes.
Quite glad I had my drinking when I was still in highschool, because if I had it as a uni student (like I am now) it could be disastrous for my grades when it matters most.
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To be honest i think 16 is a good age for drinking. It's the time when you're young and stupid and want to do stupid things, but most importantly, can afford to do them. The older you get the more responsabilities you will have and the less you can enjoy some good old fashioned wasted stupidity. I used to drink a lot in my two last years of high schools and dropped the consumption to once in a while since i got into college and it fits fine. Now i need to spend more times in my books to get good grades so i can't afford "wasting" my time getting drunk with friends as much.
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
The legal age in the Uk is 18.
But I was drinking (shit) beer from the age of 15.
I started drinking proper nice beers from 20 when I realised there was such a thing as taste, and that taste trumped drunkeness.
Beer is a holy drink for warriors, so is whisky, but wine is a lot less so. Wine is for ballet dancers and opera.
I recommend that ladies and weak men get to drink wine at 16 but are forbidden the "warrior sauce" beer until they are 20.
However, kids who show potential should be allowed proper ales at 16.
Regards
Melmoth
I beg to difer a good wine is worth gold, the only problem is the cost of such wines (it's cheaper to get a good beer than wine).
and i personally never understood people who drink shit beer, they taste so bad i would have to be paid to drink it.
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
never understood why its so important to drink alcohol but whatevers.
hell why not just drop it down really low, dumbasses are gonna buy it for underage people anyways so its not like it'll ever be stopped.
"The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand."
- Lewis Thomas
I'd contend that drinking age has become irrelevant. The parents who care, don't let their kids drink or even better have taught them how to resist the youth's peer pressure to drink. Parents who don't care, well, don't care and their kids are drinking at 13 and 14. In the end, laws do nothing for the problem.
I don't think there should be a legal drinking age enforced by the fed. Its none of the governments business.
It has been argued that part of the problem with underage drinking has been created by alcohol companies themselves. They created and have marketed alcopops (alcohol which tastes like a soft drink) since the 1990s. Whether these were deliberately designed for teenagers or not, the fact that they do not taste of alcohol and can be seen as a step-up from fizzy drinks like lemonade has made them attractive to teenagers. There have been greater limits placed on alcohol advertising over the last decade in Britain to stop adverts being targeted at people who are underage. However, further measures, perhaps including a complete ban on alcohol advertising as with tobacco, would help to reduce the cool factor and accessibility of alcopops thereby helping to tackle underage alcohol consumption without weakening the law.
There are clear harms to young people from drinking too much, made worse by the fact that they have growing bodies. Research published in the Journal of Substance Abuse in 1997 showed that young people in the US who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who begin drinking at 21. This is partly because they become socialised into a heavy drinking culture at an impressionable age, and partly because of the state of their physical development. There is also evidence from the US Center for Disease Control that underage drinkers have higher suicide and homicide rates. When drunk, young people may do things which cause longer term problems, such as having unprotected sex. UK studies show that a third of those who lose their virginity before the age of 15 do so under the influence of alcohol. We should protect young people from these harms by maintaining a high age limit.
Teenagers will always rebel against whatever limits are put on their behaviour. If they are allowed alcohol at 16 instead of 18, some other activity such as soft drug use will quickly replace it in the cool stakes. The myth of a mature continental drinking culture may hold true for a small middle class community, but is not representative of most peoples’ experience. For instance the Spanish government is looking to crack down on massive outdoor drinking parties in major cities organised by teenagers. There is also no reason to think that British adults, many of whom have just as excessive an approach to alcohol consumption as teenagers, will suddenly become better role models if the law is changed to fit this continental image.
The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon reaserch that I have been involved in for over twenty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.
Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.
The flaunting of the current laws is readily seen among university students. Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy -- sometimes called "binge" -- drinkers (consuming over 5 drinks at least once a week). For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of under age compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.
Research from the early 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variables which has parallel the nation's, and also university students, decrease in per capita consumption. However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws.
The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc.
While there has been a decrease in per capita consumption and motor vehicle crashes, unfortunately, during this same time period there has been an INCREASE in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college age youth. Most of these reported behaviors showed little change until AFTER the 21 year old law in 1987. For example from 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%. All of these behaviors are indices of irresponsible drinking. This increase in abusive drinking behavior is due to "underground drinking" outside of adult supervision in student rooms and apartments were same age individuals congregate and because of lack of knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors.
Based upon the fact that our current prohibition laws are not working, the need for alternative approaches from the experience of other, and more ancient cultures, who do not have these problems need to be tried. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking. Because the the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages.
http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cqoped.html
Definitely not, but they should raise the price of it.
?
If the drinking age is lowered to 18, who is to provide the supervision Surely not bar owners who want to sell them as many drinks as possible. It's unclear why shifting the venue of drinking from frat houses to bars will help solve the problem of hard-core student drinking. Finally, lowering the drinking age to 18 would stop infantilizing college students, but it would probably kill more of them in traffic accidents. In 2006, 2,121 people ages 16 to 20 died in alcohol-related fatalities on U.S. roads, according to data compiled for me by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; in 1984, the figure was 4,612.
Keep the minimum age to legally drink alcohol at 18, drinking below the age of 18 on private premises should be allowed so long as it supervised by a responsible adult. If you are 16 or over and with adults having a meal you should be able to have a pint of beer or glass of wine with your meal (managers and Adults discretion).
Focus on Education about the dangers of alcohol at the Schools, Youth clubs and in the family home and encourage responsible drinking while condemning binge drinking, Adults also have a responsibility to set a good example to young people when it comes to drinking alcohol.
I do not believe that we should lower the minimum age you can drink of licensed premises to 16 because I do not believe that the majority of 16 year-olds are mature enough to handle it and there could be some bad repercussions.
I do not believe we should raise the minimum age you can drink on licensed premises to 21 because I believe that would be a disgraceful and wholly disrespectful slap in the face for all sensible young people that are near or around the age of 18.
Here are just some of the valid reasons why I hold this view
1. 18 year olds can serve is war zones and risk there lives
2. 18 years olds be trusted with the vote
3. If the legal drinking age is raised, the pub and club industries will loose revenue.
4. If the legal drinking age is raised it will push more young drinkers onto the streets consuming alcohol in dangerous environments and quantities.
5. Raising the legal drinking age would not address the criminal behaviour that is committed by those who are over the minimum drinking age.
The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. This opinion is based upon reaserch that I have been involved in for over twenty years concerning college age youth and the history of drinking in the United States and other cultures.
Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood." As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920s and state prohibition during the 1850s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.
As teenagers are unable to drink legally in pubs or bars, but are old enough to want to socialise on an evening, they are forced to do it secretly on streets and in parks. This often creates a nuisance to the wider public. It also makes it more likely that younger children will be exposed to alcohol and is often one of the causes of teenage crime, vandalism and violence.
I've lived in a college town for the past 7yrs and I can't say I would be for a drinking age to be lowered. When I say "College Town", I mean a town of 21,000 people, where there are 2 colleges with 6,000 students each.
SOBER kids can't drive for sh**!!! No need to legal alcohol to that mix. I honestly don't seen more people almost get hit by cars in the last 7yrs than I had in the 20yrs before that.
The only exceptions I could see, would be a legal exception that if you have an Active Duty Military ID you are treated as if you are 21, regardless of age. Like the old saying goes: you can die for your country, but you can't have a drink. In the Reserve/National Guard, you can join and go to Basic Training when you are 16.
Should be 20, there are too many drunk kids these days binge drinking cause they think it's cool. I should know i used to be one of them.
I think it should be lowered. It should be lower than the age for driving so that kids learn their limits. I had been drinking and riding my bike since a very young age and had near accidents. I never drove even tipsy. Plus by the time I got to college, where studying really mattered, I was bored of drinking and drugs and got straight As nearly.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga