Why should the drinking age be lowered?

Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.

Why is the drinking age important?

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests there’s been a 16% decline in annual traffic fatalities as a result of setting the minimum legal drinking age back to 21 — amounting to roughly 800 saved lives per year, according to the American Journal of Public Health.

Why the drinking age should not be 18?

Proponents of lowering the drinking age to 18 routinely surface with arguments that have become all too familiar. The drinking age shouldn’t be lowered because of three very real risks: drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and violent and/or destructive behavior.

What is the highest drinking age in the world?

21 years old
Of the 190 countries, 61% have a drinking age of 18 or 19 years old. The United States and 11 other countries have an MLDA of 21 years old, the highest MLDA of all the countries where it is legal to drink (although some areas of India have drinking ages as high as 25 and 30 years old).

Which race drinks the most?

Native Americans have the highest prevalence (12.1 percent) of heavy drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on the same occasion for 5 or more of the past 30 days; followed by Whites (8.3 percent) and Hispanics (6.1 percent).

What are the pros and cons of lowering the drinking age?

Pros and cons of lowering the drinking age 1. Turning 18 entails receiving the rights and responsibilities of adulthood to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign… 2. When adolescents are not taught to drink in moderation, they end up binge drinking. 3. Traffic fatalities in the 1980s decreased

What are the benefits of lowering the drinking age?

Lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen will help young adults be more responsible, and in addition it would make colleges a safer environment and it would lower the amount of binge drinking. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen will help teenagers act more responsible.

Why the drinking age should remain 21?

The legal drinking age limit should remain at the age of 21 because it helps prevent physical confrontations, the development of health problems, and the perpetration of immature acts.

Where is it legal to drink under 21 in the US?

Unlike on the mainland, the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a minimum purchase and drinking age of 18. The minimum purchase age is 21 in the Northern Mariana Islands , Guam, American Samoa , and US Minor Outlying Islands .