Minimum Drinking Age

Minimum Drinking Age
What is more important: saving lives or having fun? It is said in the article “Drinking Age is 21 for a Reason” that, “Teen drinking results in more than 4,700 deaths per year, which is more than all illegal drugs combined” That is 4,700 deaths that wouldn’t occur if teens were not drinking and driving. Some people believe that the minimum drinking age should be lowered because they think if teens have the right to vote and join the military at 18, then they should be able to drink at 18. Other people think that the drinking age should stay the same because it is dangerous. The minimum drinking age should not be lowered because it is risky for several reasons such as a cause of death, negative behavior, and health problems. …show more content…
According to the article, “Dangers of Teen Drinking,” “underage drinkers are more susceptible than adults to the alcohol-induced impairment of driving skills.” This means that car accidents are more likely to happen with teenage drinkers. Research says, “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that a 21-year-old minimum drinking age laws have reduced alcohol traffic fatalities by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 28,765 lives since 1975. Still, about 1,155 persons under 21 die every year in car crashes involving underage drinking.” (“Dangers of Teen Drinking”) Keeping the minimum drinking age as 21 can save many lives each year. There are still people under the age of 21 who die due to car accidents from underage drinking. If the law stays the same, people can feel safer on the roads knowing that teens are not drinking and driving and causing dangerous accidents possibly leading to deaths. According to Dee and Evans in “Behavioral Policies and Teen Traffic …show more content…
In the article “Underage Drinking” by Mary O’Connell, she states, “Underage alcohol use is also associated with violence, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors. All of these problems are magnified by early onset of teen drinking: the younger the drinker, the worse the problem.” (82) Teen drinking can lead to behaviors such as fighting, getting in trouble with the law, failing in school and many other bad habits. These problems are worse the younger you are which is another reason the drinking age should not be made lower than it already is. It is said by Susan Foster, that, “Underage drinking increases the risk of many health and social problems, including automobile accidents, unintentional injuries, suicide attempts, alcohol poisonings, criminal behavior, risky sexual behavior, academic difficulties, alcoholism, drug abuse and illness.” (Foster, Susan E. et al) Teen drinking can also lead to risky behaviors that may even lead to death as in suicide, drowning, car accidents, and alcohol poisoning. It may also result in drug use and criminal actions. As a teen drinking, you don’t think about what you do before you do it. While drinking alcohol, you become less responsible and may make reckless choices. In the article by Monroe, she illustrates that, “The only age group in the United States whose death rate has climbed rather than fallen in the last decade is Americans 15-24 years. The leading

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