Drinking Age Should Be Lowered | Teen Ink

Drinking Age Should Be Lowered

May 18, 2008
By Anonymous

People use alcohol for numerous reasons; peer pressure, celebration, anxiety, sadness, boredom, rebellion and insomnia are just a few. Teens fall under the category of “people”. The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, but illegally drinking age is as low as zero. Why? Is the main question asked. I can assure you the under age drinking age percentage would drop if the age is lowered.

Few reasons for teens drinking are: peer pressure, enjoyment, etc. But the main reason for doing so is “breaking the law.” 87% of high school seniors have used alcohol. That means that a large quantity of teens under the age of seventeen to eighteen have used alcohol before. We all know why teens drink, I mean is common since. Just the feel that they get of breaking the law is huge. Being rebel and not following the rules is an important role of a teen’s life. Consequences are the one that change them, but we don’t want them to experience the consequences of being under the influence of alcohol because we know them and they are fatal. Dying in a car accident and killing others is a mess that we don’t want to clean.

Despite the fact that is illegal for young teens to purchase it, they are able to get it through their parent’s own liquor cabinets, unscrupulous store clerks, or older friends who purchase it for them. As we all see, is not hard for teens to obtain alcohol. Why not lower the drinking age then? I mean any way you put it, they are getting it.

We have all heard of the famous saying “we want you to join the military and protect your country.” Blah blah blah. Well, you are telling me that I can legally kill someone at the age of eighteen, while I sign up with the military and go to war but I can’t have a sip of alcohol. Due to this none senseless situation, age should be equaled. In other words, if voting and military sign up is eighteen, then drinking should also be eighteen. Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult. Why can’t we drink then?

Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine. In fact, Dr. Ruth Engs; professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, uses this examples to propose the following: “……the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environment such as restaurants and official school and university functions” (direct quote from Dr. Engs).

Drinking age should be lowered, and I know that by lowering it we can drop the percentage of reckless teen alcohol abusers. It is worth trying it , and if everything goes the opposite then change the law once more (which is done lots of times, for dumb reasons) and raise the drinking age back to twenty-one. Changes are always good (most of the times), and I know this one in particular is an excellent one.


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This article has 740 comments.


Lydiame2 said...
on Feb. 28 at 12:37 pm
Lydiame2, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
I agree with aydria. I can see your point of view, but the younger someone is, (teen) the more likely you are to just do the things you want, but are illegal for your age, like drinking, I think that the age is in perfectly good place. some people are more dumb than you think.

aydria BRONZE said...
on Feb. 28 at 9:38 am
aydria BRONZE, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment
okay.. so just a random question. If we can lower the drinking age just because teenagers will get it anyway.. does that mean we should also get rid of laws like kidnapping or murder laws just because people are gonna do it anyway??

on Nov. 29 2022 at 9:07 am
Ashlee-Monroe SILVER, Caledonia, Michigan
7 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"You may not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page" -Jody Picoult

I agree but disagree at the same time. If we lower the drinking age to 16 or something like that, it would be easier for people as young as 12 or 13 to get alcohol, then they would get addicted to it and ruin their lives. I think personally, that the drinking age should be 21 still, but thats for like bars. So you could buy alcohol at 16 but you have to drink it at a house and you can't drink it in public. That's just my personal opinion.

on Dec. 15 2021 at 5:19 pm
ILiveToRead PLATINUM, Wailuku, Hawaii
24 articles 3 photos 150 comments
@everthought Hallelujah

StellaW BRONZE said...
on May. 27 2019 at 9:49 am
StellaW BRONZE, Taipei, Other
2 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I believe that, despite there being obvious advantages to lowering the drinking age, however, what would be the consequence of teens looking for excitement? As you've stated, if you lower the drinking age, you effectively lose one incentive for teens to drink. You've compared to war, and how murder is allowed at 18, but drinking is allowed at 21. Yet you didn't compare the substance abuse of cocaine or vaping that teens also seek excitement in. BY LOWERING THE DRINKING AGE, WE HERD MORE STUDENTS INTO MORE DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DEALING DRUGS.

BraydenMiles said...
on May. 21 2019 at 9:48 am
BraydenMiles, Melissa, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
It doesn't matter whether or not someone likes you

By this logic then I should be able to buy a gun at 13

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED

VellaVanilla said...
on May. 3 2019 at 3:08 pm
VellaVanilla, Berkeley, California
0 articles 0 photos 57 comments
yes yes yes AGRRRRED