Should the legal drinking age be changed?

Question

How do you think it would affect the rates of drunk driving, sexual activity among teens, etc.? Or do you think it will stay the same?

Answer 1

This is a tough one to tackle. Many countries have lower - if not, NO restrictions on drinking ages. In fact, many countries like France and Italy incorporate drinking into their children's lives early on and in turn the children respect and get bored with alcohol. To this children, it is not a "taboo" and therefore not as desirable.

The U.S. is a different story though. Instead of teaching our children to respect alcohol and use it moderately at an early age, we prohibit them from using, and sometimes even degrade alcohol. By doing so we are enticing our children to rebel against us and drink - not just a little bit but enough to kill them or get them arrested but a dictionary of other miscellaneous occurances.

I don't think it's feasible for the U.S. to lower the drinking age. It would be a nice Idea if there would be a way to ease into it, but for purposes of all realisticness - the US has one of the highest dependancy rates among all countries. I don't think it would be too far fetched to say that if we lowered the drinking age many people (Mostly teens who have been told countless times about the "evils of drinking" would go a bit crazy.) I think because we don't properly educate our children, that Drunk Driving instances would rise, along with crime rates and pregnancies.

Answer 2

I was 18 when the drinking age was changed to 21, and was grandfathered in (I was able to buy alcohol all 3 years).

I felt then, as I feel now, that there should be one overall age that defines adulthood. Either you're an adult and can handle the responsibilities of adulthood, or you're not. Raise the draft age, raise the voting age, raise the age for jury duty, raise the age of consent... or lower the drinking age.

The argument has long been made that the drunk driving rates will go up dramatically if we lower the drinking age. Well, of course they will, because the amount of people drinking will have increased. But the drunk driving rates will go down dramatically if we raise the drinking age to 45, as well. Or, better yet, 72.

It's simply red herring reasoning.

Answer 3

There's two sides to this coin.

On one side the argument can be made that if a person is old enough to vote and serve in the armed forces,he or she should also be old enough to legally purchase alcohol.

On the other side,study after study shows that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor in traffic fatalities,teenage pregnancy,STD's in teenagers,and on and on.

Alcohol is a potentially destructive substance in all ages,but it is especially devastating in its impact on young abusers.I don't think the legal drinking age should be lowered.

Answer 4

after spending extensive amounts in europe and other cultures and still being and high school, i think that our society has the whole drinking thing the wrong way. the kids in europe grow up around drinking wine and such, and none of them (usually) have binging problems with drinking like americans do. we have to teach the kids that it's bad to get drunk, but not necessarily bad to drink some (glass of wine or something small) it's healthy in moderation like anything else. it teaches the kids that they don't need to break the rules all the time.

Answer 5

Changed how? Make it younger? Make it older? What exactly do you want us to talk about. As to younger we already saw what would happen there, it used to be 18 in some States.

Answer 6

Yes it should be raised to 25.

Answer 7

Do you mean higher or lower? Europe seems to handle it ok as far as I know

Answer 8

Yes, if someone is old enough to drive and to have sex, they should be allowed to drive to a liquor store and get drunk before having sex.

Answer 9

change sex age lower, change drinking age highter.

Answer 10

Yes. It should be higher