In the United States, the 18-year-olds can drive, have a right to vote, get married, pay taxes and own a gun, etc. If an 18-year-old can become governor of a state, then one can easily debate that many of those bear much more responsibility as compared to their age, drinking alcohol is not such a big deal at 18. The drinking age in America is highest in the world unless teenager passes the drinking age, no one is allowed to drink publically and legally. Some people are in favor of it, but some people are against it that drinking age should be lowered to 18 from 21.
Legal drinking age is different in different countries, the first reason why drinking age in the United States should be lowered to 18 is that an 18-year-old is considered an adult in America who has a right to vote and serve the military. They are old enough to think what is right and what is wrong, they can even make national decisions and bring prosperity to the country. Therefore they must have the right to purchase the alcohol.
America has tried to prohibit young teenagers from drinking before through legislation, it was done first in the 1850s and then in 1920s when the young people were forced by law not to drink freely. But unfortunately the laws did not work, and they failed, there is a similar situation in the 20 and 21st century that these laws will fail again. It is time for the change now. In the 1980s, the current law was passed in all 50 states in America which was intended to reduce the accidents and alcohol related deaths among teenagers. Raising the drinking age has not reduced drinking, In fact raising the age to 21 has not reduced the underage drinking issue in the country, the roots of this problem lies in the history of America.
The legal age is 21 years old to purchase and drink alcohol publically; it is said that an 18-year-old has less tolerance as compared to a 21yearl old. It may be true in some cases, but in most cases, an 18-year-old is just as mature as a 21-year-old. Tolerance has nothing to do with age; it comes from thinking rationally and realizing the responsibility. Some people are not ever responsible at 50, and some are responsible at 15.
The third strong reason for lowering the drinking age to 18 is the curiosity of students who watch seniors drink alcohol from the early age and wonder how does the alcohol fruit taste? They are not legally allowed to drink at the events in public, but they might drink secretly without telling the family members with their friends. Keeping the drink away from them can be dangerous because many teens turn into rebels and cannot control their desire to drink alcohol at the age of 18.Most college students tend to get overly drunk because they are not sure when they will be allowed to drink the alcohol again.
In some countries, the legal drinking age is lower than united states; these countries include China, Italy, and Greece. That is the reason these countries have fewer problems related to early age drinking and illegal alcohol drinking as compared to the United States. In America, the illegal drinking or early age drinkers have died in the majority over the past few years as compared to these countries.
Colleges and universities are also arguing these days that the drinking age must be lowered to 18 now because it is causing many problems among the students. The alcohol related violence and death are the major reasons when a teenager gets hold of alcohol under 21, he or she tends to over drink it because they might not get a chance to drink it again. The legal age 21 does not solve that problem but makes it worse. The teens can get overly intoxicated and get their hands on alcohol whenever they want. Moreover, an 18-year-old is an adult who can be tried in court if they are caught after making a crime after drinking. Most of them make false judgments and deny that they have consumed alcohol, so that proves that their hunger and desire to drink is incredible. An 18-year-old is capable of making any decision, so they should be allowed to make the drinking decision as well.
Most of the teenagers fall in love before the age of 18 and get married when teens are not allowed to drink in their marriage below 21; it makes them frustrated. Moreover, colleges and schools would be able to regulate the students who tend to over drink and behave crazily. They will be able to see themselves as full adults and make drinking decisions more wisely and freely at 18. This would result in personal grooming and better control of their lives.
This issue is extremely important to discuss because this genre exists in every family in the United States. Parents and teachers need to be aware that their kids and students are drinking secretly without their permission, they need a solution for their kid’s behavior. Therefore this message should be conveyed to every parent, teacher, boss or guardian in America who are responsible for the well being of teenagers under 18. This is a matter of national pride and values of America, today’s laws are not so effective, and teenagers find it easy to dodge the system. Therefore it has been a failure of the system that people under 18 are not able to regulate their drinking appetite and they deserve a chance to drink at 18.
The need of time is that teenagers must be given the proper education and taught the dangers of drinking alcohol, it is dangerous for health and teenagers must know its potential threats to health before making drinking decisions. Drinking too much alcohol increase the risk of liver diseases and weaken their kidneys.Teenagers also break the law and carry guns with them after drinking alcohol, before they can play around with alcohol; they must be given proper education on how to become responsible citizens and not indulge in over drinking. If they learn to be responsible with the alcohol, they must be given the right to drink at 18.
There are some disadvantages of giving a right to drink alcohol at the age of 18 to teenagers, for example, it becomes an addition for those who suffer from any mental illness or chronic problems. Alcohol can worsen the disease and make them physically handicap; It becomes their favorite anti-depressant in the development stages. Their brain is still developing in young age, and it is a bad idea to let them freely drink in the middle of a health crisis. That will worsen their mental illness and threaten their maturity. In America, one must remain in his limits if the drinking age is lowered to 18 otherwise the consequences could be daman GIGN for the mental and physical health of teenagers. United states should also consider adopting the German policy who allow 16 years olds to purchase drinks but in a lower quantity. This might be an effective move to let them fulfill their drinking desire and not get involved in drinking too much at the same time. Limits on the quantity of alcohol consumption are the best policy government can apply. What makes it truly dangerous is the less control over the quantity of alcohol drinking in the young age, drinking unlimitedly is surely going to disastrous for the American youth who may not be able to avoid the irrational behavior after drinking alcohol.
