Alcohol Consumption in the United States. We should lower the drinking age to 18 - Research Paper Example

? We Should Lower The Drinking Age to 18. Alcohol Consumption in the United s Introduction It is undeniable fact that, alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of most deaths in the United States. For the past years, alcohol consumption has been the major contributing factor to road accidents and the leading cause of death for young adults and youths. Alcohol use is linked with a wide range of social and health consequences, sexual and physical assault, sexually transmitted infection, unintended pregnancy, crime, vandalism, violence, and other substances use. In the United States, drinking alcohol mostly begins during teenage hood or adolescence. In most cases, underage drinkers tend to drink on few occasions. However, when they drink they are most likely to binge drink. In recognition of the consequences and harms caused by drinking, there has been a strong need to respond and lower the minimum legal drinking age in the United States. Description of the problem Minimum Legal Drinking Age According to Main (2009), the problem of underage drinking has been brewing tremendously for many years. Since 1984, the minimum legal drinking age in the United has been 21 years. For the past years, there have been periodic efforts to reduce the national minimum age of drinking. In 2008, a group of college and university presidents expressed their concerns in reducing the drinking age to 18 years. Their policy aimed to change the society especially those aged 18 to 20 years. From their point of view, reducing the minimum drinking age to 18 years would help young adults to make healthy decisions about drinking. Many would have a chance to understand the negative effects of drinking and in turn, it would have important implication for the public health and safety. Although the legal purchase of alcohol is 21 years, it is evident that most young people under this age consume alcohol at a high rate and in an irresponsible manner. This is because, the majority of young people under the age 21 years perceive drinking as a tantalizing “forbidden fruit” and an icon of adulthood. As a result, many rebel against the authority and engage in alcoholism. Despite initiatives to prohibit alcohol use under the age of 21 years, these efforts have created severe social problems such as increase of crime and widespread of consumption patterns. Increasing the legal drinking age has increased problems in that those under age continue to drink severely that those of legal age. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would create a platform where young people understand that they are responsible of their own lives. Many would understand the negative effects of their actions and in turn, most would reject abusive drinking (Owens, Shippee & Hensel, 2008). Although excessive drinking among young adults above the age 21 years has declined for the past decades, no such decline has occurred among university and college students of the age 17-20 years. Typically, university students are more likely to engage in excessive drinking than those who do not attend college aged 21-25 years. Overall, lack of progress to reduce drinking age is a major problem in today’s society. The current drinking age of 21 years is not preventing youths from using alcohol and engaging into negative impacts of drinking. Although many people content that drinking has reduce among young adults 18-20 years, the truth of the matter is that most drink away from bars such as private parties. This explains why most college presidents have expressed their concern of students engaging into excessive drinking in unsafe environment where there less monitoring. As a result, this has increased deaths among young adults and youths as argued by Blocker (2006). A proposal for action Reducing the drinking age in the United States to 18 would be an important step in helping young adults to drink in a responsible and moderate manner. In essence, the experience of many groups and societies emphasizes that drinking problems would be reduced when young people learn from the society or at home the effects of excessive drinking. Instead of prohibiting young adults from taking alcohol, it would be preferable to encourage parents and those in the authority to be good role models in their conduct and what they say. Specifically, lowering the drinking age would help many people realize that those who choose to drink are mature, thus in a better position to make the right decisions in relation to health and social behaviours. The American government should reinforce the norm or custom of moderation and prohibit abuse of alcohol. This would help young adults under the age of 21 years to understand that, drinking is not the major problem; rather drinking irresponsibly is the main problem. Private and off-campus residences are the most cited venues for excessive drinking among underage. This concern creates the need for public health professionals and the government to create awareness to the public on dangers of excessive drinking. There should be policy initiatives at the national, state, and local level. A lower drinking age should be combined with other policies such as mandatory alcohol licensing and relevant alcohol education, which would help create awareness on the effectiveness of excessive drinking. The two initiatives would create a strong ground for those under the age 21 years to comprehend the high burden of proof against excessive alcohol. The public health sector could organize seminars and conferences that create awareness on drinking. Annually, the government could allocate resources to create awareness and campaign for responsible drinking (Wechsler & Nelson, 2010). Justification of the solution The proposal to lower the drinking age to 18 is reasonable because it would lay a strong ground for young adults to understand that they are responsible of their lives. Secondly, young adults would have opportunities to learn the negative consequences linked with excessive drinking. Thirdly, the majority of young adults would understand that drinking is not the main problem rather; the main problem is drinking excessively. Such knowledge would help those under age of 21 years to understand that they are not prohibited from taking alcohol; rather they are protected from the dangers that emerge from excessive drinking. Description of alternative solutions Although this research convinces us that lowering drinking age would reduce alcohol-related harms, some people have offered alternative solutions. Carpenter & Dobkin (2011) argue that, the weight of scientific evidences evaluated by many government agencies and experts reveals that the minimum drinking age of 21 years is the most effective for reducing underage drinking and negative consequences linked with excessive drinking. Their evidences suggest that, reducing the minimum drinking age to 18 years would make alcohol more available and this would increase drinking related problem. There is a need to strengthen enforcement and establish policies that prohibit those underage from taking alcohol. Although this would be effective, lowering the drinking age to 18 years would be more effective in resolving the problem. This is because, it would allow those underage to understand the negative consequences of excessive drinking and in turn, many would run away from drinking. Instead of putting strict measures that force young adults to rebel, it would be appropriate to educate those under the age 21 years about alcohol consumption and its effect on health and social behaviour. Conclusion Over the past decades, the minimum drinking age of 21 years has had a strong legal basis as well as considerable empirical and political support. However, on the basis and observation of excessive alcohol intake among young adults under the age 21 years, this research has consistently concluded that the national legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 years. This would reduce drinking and related problems and further, promote a healthy and safe society. This research rebuts the argument that lowering minimum drinking age to 18 years would increase opportunities for young people to engage into alcoholism. As documented in this research, young people are more likely to rebel against the authority when they are forbidden to take alcohol. However, they are more likely to change their behaviours when they learn the impacts of excessive drinking. Additionally, this research rebuts the fact that lowering the drinking age to 18 would make alcohol more available for people underage. Indeed, young adults would be more responsible of their lives when given the freedom to choose what they want. Preferably, most would learn from their mistakes or from others. As a result, many would make a personal choice to free from alcohol because of its related problems to health, behaviours, and social skills. By lowering drinking age to 18yeras, alcohol consumption would be exposed and binge drinking would be eliminated and reduced. Colleges and universities would be given opportunities to have open discussions about responsible drinking. Institutions could teach young people on how to drink responsibly. References Blocker,Jack S.,,Jr. (2006). Did prohibition really work? alcohol prohibition as a public health innovation. American Journal of Public Health, 96(2), 233-43. Carpenter, C., & Dobkin, C. (2011). The minimum legal drinking age and public health. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,25 (2), 133-156. Main, C. T. (2009). Underage drinking and the drinking age. Policy Review, (155), 33-46. Owens, T. J., Shippee, N. D., & Hensel, D. J. (2008). Emotional distress, drinking, and academic achievement across the adolescent life course. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(10), 1242-1256. Wechsler, H., PhD., & Nelson, T. F., ScD. (2010). Will increasing alcohol availability by lowering the minimum legal drinking age decrease drinking and related consequences among youths? American Journal of Public Health, 100(6), 986-92. Read More