To What Extent Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered

It is no secret that underage drinking is rampant in the United States. Though it’s illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to buy or possess alcohol, people under the age of 21 accounts for 17.5% of consumer spending for alcohol nationwide and 90% of that is consumed through binge drinking (Tracy). According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 9.3 million Americans between ages 12-20 report current alcohol consumption (Distillers Fighting). With alcohol being one the most commonly abused drugs and soon to pass tobacco on the cause of death list, the pose the questions that if lowering the drinking age could actually increase responsible alcohol intake. There are numerous, and conflicting, studies that support both†¦show more content†¦Youth exposure to alcohol advertising on U.S. television increased 71 percent between 2001 and 2009 (The Center). In the 1920’s when prohibition went into effect, supports claimed that banning alcohol would lead to a decrease in crimes and it would benefit the economy greatly. However, just the opposite happened, crime increased greatly over the next decade as top criminals such as Al Capone took over selling bootleg alcohol. The government took a big hit as the not only lost money from stores not making a profit off alcohol, but they had invested billions into enacting the law. Like the prohibition, could the US be wrong with their beliefs in teenagers and alcohol? However, to what extent would dropping the drinking age affect our society? Would we really have more responsible adolescent drinking? One study believes not. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention dropping the drinking age would not positively affect youths drinking as such believed by the European age limit. In data collected by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 36% of high school sophomores in the US said that they have been drunk or binge drink in the last mon th while 47% of European Sophomores said they have (Comparison). More facts go on to verify that EU has one of the highest drinking rate in the world and that  ¼ deaths among young men (age 15-29) is due to alcoholShow MoreRelatedShould the Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18? Essay1236 Words   |  5 Pagesargument amongst Americans is determining that the current legal drinking age which is 21 should be lowered to eighteen or not. Researching the following propaganda made me understand the dangers to the youth and people in America if the drinking age were to lower. Therefore i will argue with whoever disagrees with me that the drinking age should be lowered. Id like to explain six reasons to why the drinking age should not be lowered beginning with the strongest reasons. 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