Notes

Why drinking age should be lowered: by Dr. Ruth Engs

“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 These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems.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”

- This quote from Engs Article refers to past mistakes made by us concerning drinking. These past mistakes are being repeated instead of us learning from them.

“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. “
- Statistics proof that the drinking age doesn’t keep people from drinking. In fact it encourages teenagers to drink.

“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.”
- Statistics proofing those problems with drinking have increased since the age has been raised to 21. Also, most of the drinking goes on “underground” so that no adults will know because it is illegal. If they could drink in public they could be taught to be more responsible.

“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”
- Other countries have it figured out and we should follow their footsteps.

Too young to have fun
“In the early 1980s more than half the states had drinking ages lower than 21. Some let the boozing start at 18; some allowed 19-year-olds to buy beer and wine. Spurred by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Reagan administration in 1984 ordered states to raise their drinking age back to 21 or lose 10% of their federal highway funds. The states buckled under this fiscal blackmail but—surprise!—under-age drinking did not disappear. In some ways, the problem got worse. Besides making criminals of millions of young people, the “21” law encourages the young to binge in secret. And one new and dangerous fad is for young folk to go to a bar on the eve of their 21st birthday and, after midnight, attempt to down 21 drinks before closing time.”
- Not too long ago many states had a drinking age that was under 21. Reagan told the states that they would loose 10% of their fedearl highway funding if they didn’t raise the age to 21. Under age drinking has gotten worse since then. It makes young people criminals and encourages secret drinking which is far more dangerous than drinking in the public with responsible people that can teach responisbility.

Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18
“The most basic argument in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18 is that 18 is the accepted and legal age of adulthood in the United States. An 18-year-old is afforded, among other things, the right to vote, the right to marry, and the ability to serve in the military. According to Michael Clay Smith, "It is blatantly inconsistent to forbid them to drink. Many of them view the setting of the drinking age at 21 as hypocritical." Dan Levine states, "If you can toss a grenade, you should certainly be able to toss back a shot of tequila."”

- Your are legally an adult with 18 and you can even serve in a war, so you should be able to drink too.



“it is human nature to want what one cannot have. The fact that most college-age youth cannot legally drink alcohol makes many of them want to drink...and drink in large quantities...more than they would if it were legal. In the 1920s, the Prohibition laws banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States. This law failed miserably as alcohol consumption became rampant behind closed doors. By 1933, the law was overturned. Some researchers argue that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 is, as Smith says, "America's second experiment with Prohibition" which is "no more effective than the first one." Many feel that the higher drinking age gives alcohol the allure of "forbidden fruit" to those under age 21.”
- If something is forbidden, it makes people want to do it. It seems somewhat mystical to those under 21. Also, the Prohibition in the 20’s failed and caused more drinking problems than it solved, so why shouldn’t it be that way today?

“In many other parts of the world, alcoholic beverages lack the "forbidden fruit" appeal because they are a part of everyday life and not viewed as illicit or illegal. Dwight B. Heath states, "In communities in which early socialization to drinking is the norm [for example in France, Italy, and Spain], youngsters learn simultaneously how to drink moderately, how and why to avoid drunkenness, and that excessive drinking illustrates weakness."
- Incorporating drinking into everyday life at a young age promotes safe and regulated drinking.
Drinking at 18: Gift not worth giving
“130 or so college presidents who make up the Amethyst Initiative ("Amethyst," from the Greek word meaning "not intoxicated"), a national movement to reconsider the legal drinking age of 21. The presidents claim the current legal age isn't working, that it may even contribute to a "culture of binge drinking" on campus. The presidents say lowering the age to 18 would enable them to put more emphasis on educating students about the perils of binge drinking.”
- Even some college presidents promote lowering the drinking age since there is a lot of binge drinking is happening on campus.

“Permitting drinking at 18 would only exacerbate the situation. There likely will be more bad behavior, including binge drinking, by irresponsible students. Further, such a move would add pressure to more children to begin drinking at an even younger age &tstr; a fact not appreciated by middle- and high-school administrators.”
- There will still be irresponsible drinking, even if the age is lowered. Also younger kids would be pressured to drink more”

“we are at a loss to understand how lowering the drinking age &tstr; thus, increasing the pool the young drinkers &tstr; would solve the problem of alcohol abuse on campus. The lower age would mean only that the majority of college students would be able to drink legally. That would take college administrators off the hook for enforcement, but at what cost?”
- Lowering the drinking age would just give more people the opportunity to drink, like all college students.

How Old Is Old Enough for Alcohol?
“This law drives underage drinkers underground, creates the "forbidden fruit" phenomenon that resonates so well with youths and pushes young people to gather to drink unsupervised. Drinking alcohol is legal for adults in this country. At 18, our young people risk their lives in military service, vote for president and can be prosecuted as adults. Yet we do not trust them to buy a beer and drink it responsibly. By pretending that people under 21 do not drink alcohol, we have created a generation of scofflaws and alcohol abusers. We should teach young people the respectful, safe and socially appropriate way to enjoy alcohol in moderation.”
- The drinking age of 21 pushes young adults to drink unsupervised. Also, you can risk your lives, vote, and can be prosecuted as an adult at 18 so you should be able to drink. Also, there are many underage drinkers abusing alcohol because people pretend it’s not happening. We should teach everyone the proper way of consuming alcohol.

“I served as statistician for the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Massachusetts in 1976, the year that state lowered its drinking age from 21 to 18. My job was solely to track fatal-accident statistics, so I was in the best position to see the striking jump in the number of deaths per month, which began in the month the law changed. That level remained constant and increased thereafter. “
- When the drinking age was lowered to 18 alcohol related vehicle accidents and deaths rose dramatically.

“As it stands, more young people die from alcohol-related causes than from all other illicit drugs combined. Traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens, and 28 percent of fatal traffic crashes involving teen drivers are alcohol-related. Drinking before the age of 21 is associated with violence, drunk driving, drownings, burns, falls, homicides, suicides and automobile crashes, something that virtually every emergency physician in the country can attest to firsthand.”
- Alcohol has such a big effect on deaths and injuries in young people that lowering the drinking age would only increase these.

Reducing Underage Drinking: The Role of Law

“Almost one in five eighth graders and almost half of high school seniors report recent alcohol use. The average age of first use is decreasing from 17 1/2 in 1965 to younger than 16 in 2002. While alcohol use by youth has decreased since a peak in the 1980s, there has been a virtual plateau since 1993. Perhaps most troubling is that the age of first use continues to decrease. The annual social cost of underage drinking is $53 billion. Despite the recent decrease in youth alcohol-related traffic fatalities, these incidents continue to be a serious issue. Underage alcohol use is associated with suicide, violence, academic failure and other problems. Early alcohol use is strongly associated with adult substance dependence and, from a developmental standpoint, heavy alcohol use can impede adolescent brain development”
- The rate of underage drinking is increasing and the age of first use is getting lower. Youth alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased, but there are still many other problems, in the present and future of those consuming the alcohol.

“Current alcohol policies are equivocal and carry a dual message- that alcohol use is socially approved but is illegal for young people who are told "just wait until you are 21." Inevitably. Teenagers and young adults get the idea that they are "expected" to use alcohol before it is legal for them to do so, especially in residential college settings. It is difficult to get adults and young people to take the current law as seriously as they should; it seems arbitrary and the prohibition is often ignored”
- Teenagers get mixed massages about the usage of alcohol and they feel obligated to consume it. They also don’t take the law seriously.

“Young people report that alcohol is readily accessible to them. This represents a powerful message within the social environment that encourages youth consumption and undermines other messages regarding the risks alcohol poses to their well being. The Academy report focuses on strategies to reduce youth access for two reasons. First, making it more difficult for young people to obtain alcohol (through increasing the price or decreasing its availability through retail and social channels) will reduce youth consumption and related problems. This is sometimes referred to as increasing the "search costs" of alcohol. Second, reducing youth access represents a shift in societal norms concerning adult acceptance of youth drinking.”

- Alcohol is easily available to teens. Obtaining alcohol should be made more difficult by raising prices and decreasing its availability through retail and social channels. This will lead to the reduction in consumption and to a shift of the norms when it comes to adult’s acceptance of underage drinking.


“The raising of the minimum drinking age to twenty-one nationwide resulted in a 13 percent decrease in alcohol-related youth motor vehicle fatalities. More than 16,500 young lives were saved between 1975 and 1996.”

- Raising the drinking age saved many lives.

“prohibit furnishing of alcohol to minors by commercial and non-commercial servers, without exceptions for furnishing in private settings; target youth drinking and driving by imposing zero tolerance laws combined with swift administrative penalties; prohibit youth possession and purchase; and, target the supply and use of fake IDs.”

- Other ways to decrease underage drinking is more strict laws, prohibiting giving alcohol to minors, even in private settings, having a zero tolerance on drinking and driving, prohibit possession and purchase for underage teenagers and crack down on fake IDs.

“The evidence shows a direct correlation between age at the time of the first drink and alcohol dependence. The younger a person is when he or she begins drinking, the more likely it is that the youth will develop an alcohol problem. Those who start drinking before age fourteen are four times more likely to experience alcohol addiction than their peers that begin drinking at twenty-one. Across all age groups, alcohol is involved in one-half of all homicides and one-third of all suicides. A recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report chronicled the easy access youth have to alcohol when in ninety-eight of one hundred attempted purchases young people successfully bought liquor.”

- The younger a person starts drinking, the higher the risk of alcohol addiction. Also, most young adults that attempt to buy alcohol underage succeed.

“A key constituency of comprehensive community initiatives is the young people themselves. There is greater support for enforcement of alcohol laws among youth than is commonly believed. In a recent attitudes survey of college students, more than half expressed support for greater enforcement of drinking laws. The large number of teens and young adults negatively impacted by underage drinking constitutes a natural advocacy group”

- Not just adults, but also teenagers themselves want stricter enforcement of the drinking laws.