Is underage drinking such a "problem" because the legal drinking age is so high?

Question

Does such a restrictive policy lead to binge drinking?

Answer 1

Yes. If you look at other countries where the drinking age is lower, or there is no drinking age, they have almost no drinking problem. Making it taboo is like dangling it in front of teenagers and saying in a sing song voice "you can't have this." Think about it though.... for the majority of people, the second you turn 21, drinking isn't as exciting. You may order a drink with dinner or some such, or get drunk at a party, but all of the sudden when you go out and you can order the drink legally it's lost some of it's appeal. It's also ridiculous that we're considered old enough to vote and fight for this country at 18, but somehow, drinking requires a higher level of maturity...

Answer 2

No, stupidity leads to binge drinking. Alcohol isn't a problem where the laws don't invite it.
Where I was brought up, I could (and did) buy beer at age 6 (to take home in an open container).
Drinking under such conditions is no big deal, and kids don't do it just cause they want to 'act grown up'.
You could say that stupid laws cause the problem.
But many people's paychecks are tied into enforcing these laws, and they will make sure nothing happens to their livelihood.
Screw the public!

Answer 3

I lived in Holland for 5 years where the legal age for buying beer and wine is 16. The young people there were all very sensible with their alcohol and would usually set themselves a limit which they stuck to suggesting that a lower drinking age helps.
Many people binge drink without knowing they are doing it, it does not necessarily mean getting drunk, if a woman has 2 (250ml)glasses of wine(13.5%) in a night she is binge drinking.
(3 for a male)

Answer 4

i believe it is not so much the drinking age as the abundance of alcoholic parents who not only pass the addiction gene on to their children but are obviously not good enough role models to keep underage children from drinking or at least drinking excessively.

Answer 5

No,binge drinking is done by immature people who don't know when to stop and alcoholics.

The problem with underage drinking is, they are to young to drink
responsibly.

Answer 6

No. That's ridiculous. People are responsible for their own choices. If they want to binge drink at 18, they'll do it whether it's legal or not. Unfortunately, the government simply can't legislate people to be smarter, no matter how hard they try.

Answer 7

No, it's a problem because of the underage people who choose to drink. Don't blame the government for people breaking laws, the government's not forcing them to break it.

Answer 8

Immature behavior and poor examples in the media are the causes of underage misbehavior.

Answer 9

i think adolescent behavior is the cause