Debate on whether the drinking age limit in America ought to be reduced has gained momentum in the recent past. The drinking age limit all over the world varies from country to country ranging from age 0 like in Armenia to age the of 21 in America. America has set the highest age limit for drinking in the world thus the increasing calls to lower this limit. The drinking age limit act which was established in 1984 prohibited all persons under the age of 21 from being in possession of alcohol in public. However, an underage person is allowed to drink while in the company in an adult or in private clubs.
Also incase of medication, or for religious purposes, such a person is allowed to drink. As such, the legal drinking age limit act did not completely prohibit these persons from drinking (Hanson, para 1, 2). In America, people are deemed to have completed their college when they attain the age of 21. The age limit was thus established to ensure that students were barred from consumption of alcohol and other alcoholic drinks. However, this has sparked different reaction from all sectors America with the question of responsibility being the main issue.
It is argued that at the age of 18, a person is considered a grown up in America since he/she is allowed to vote and to marry. 18 years old males can also go for war and can be employed to take up a jury duty. The question then arise as to why such a person can be entrusted with those responsibilities yet be not allowed publicly drink. People argue that persons who have attained the age of 18 and above are rational beings and should be allowed to make their own choices on whether to drink or not. This will enable them to become more responsible citizens in future (Bailey, para 3).
Schools authorities have also taken their sides in this matter. The argument has been that the students should be taught responsible drinking so as to avoid the alcohol related deaths for the students. The teachers are supposed to teach their students how to drink responsibly but the age limit act prohibits them to. They have been thus advocating for a drop of the age limit to 18 years to empower them to do teach the students. Allowing persons who are 18 years to be in possession of alcohol in public has many potential advantages.
It has been cited that, if it is made legal, the police and other health workers will be in control to ensure responsible drinking thus reducing abusing of alcohol by students (Bailey, para 4). Making alcohol consumption in public illegal for under persons under the age of 21and allowing them to drink privately is dangerous. This is because there is no person to regulate its consumption which may lead to abusing it. Teachers also argue that lowering the age limit to 18 would allow them to monitor the use of alcohol in campus thus avoiding over intoxication in students.
It has also been noted that, the high age has not prevented the underage persons from drinking alcohol. This is because most of the persons at the age of 18 are adventurous and likes trying out new things especially where they are prohibited (Hanson, para 4). This persons tries to unravel the mystery behind alcohol consumption thus ends up over using it. Lowering the age limit is thus seen as a way of reducing this problem as the students will not have to hide to consume alcohol. Guidance could also be offered in the latter case by the teachers and parents.
This way they become more responsible in their drinking habits. Lowering the drinking age limit to 18 is also likely to lower the college dropout rates and the injuries associated with irresponsible drinking. This is because when students are denied access to alcohol or have limited to it, they tend to abuse it once they get it. This over abuse thus translates to ineffectiveness in their school work and ends up dropping out (The West Linn Tidings, para 2). Responsible alcohol consumption has its potential advantages on the health of individuals.
However, its abuse is detrimental to the health of an individual and may lead to addiction. Lowering the age limit would lead to responsible drinking among young persons and avoid the negative effects of alcohol in their latter lives (Lenhart para 3). The higher age limit has also led to an increase vandalism and violence among the young persons. Due to the denial to access public pubs or bars, they resort to drinking secretly in the parks and even in the streets. Over intake of alcohol makes them to be a public nuisance and even to engage in teenage crimes (The West Linn Tidings, para 3-5).
The drinking age limit act has been put on spot about its credibility. Though it has set the age limit at the age of 21, it does not prohibit younger people from drinking. It is argued that by the underage persons drinking, they may not even in future abide in the laws of the country. This has called for a standardized age at which a person is allowed to drink and the age most advocates for is 18 though there are some people who feel that 16 could also be appropriate. The higher age limit in America has led to abuse of other soft drugs among the young people.
Since alcohol is not allowed in schools, students turn to other drugs which are easy to carry and hide (Keen, para 4). These drugs are more harmful to the health of these persons than alcohol. These drugs are more addictive and affect the brain capacity of the students. Thus, banning alcohol in schools has no academically related benefits to the students. Advertisements of alcohol products which was once seen as a major contributor to underage drinking has been dismissed on the ground that, even when they were banned, the problem of teenage alcohol taking did not cease.
Thus a better way should be devised to eliminate this problem and lowering the age limit is the best option (Keen, para 6). However, lowering the age limit has its limitations. Teenagers are known to be rebellious and age limit cannot be cited as a reason for their taking beer at lower ages of 16 or 18. Thus the question underage drinking should not be attributed to the higher age limit that has been set. It has been realized that lowering the age limit of drinking will encourage even the younger persons to engage in drugs and alcohol abuse.
Also due the adventurous nature of teenagers, if the age limit is lowered, they would then turn to other soft drugs since alcohol will no longer be adventurous. This would thus only create more problems rather than offering a solution to underage drinking. Therefore the rule should be enforced rather than being discarded all together (Califeisgirl, para 2). Lowering the drinking age limit would also lead to an establishment of a drinking culture in America. Research has established that most people who are alcoholics in America started drinking when they were underage.
This is because at teenage, the body is still growing and thus gets accustomed to alcohol and thus to stop drinking later becomes a hard task. These people are found not to be responsible citizens in their latter lives. Encouraging alcohol intake at tender age of 18 would thus mean most of the teenagers will be irresponsible persons even in future. For this reason, the age limit act of 1984 should be reviewed to ensure that the flaws are rectified and that no underage person is allowed to drink or be in possession of alcoholic products.
Young persons who engage in alcohol taking are also exposed to sexual activities. These activities are found to be carried out when they are under the influence of alcohol. This exposes them to health risks and lowering the age limit would only mean encouraging such behaviors among the teenagers (Hanson, para 7). Argument about responsibility is put into question about its viability (The Daily Mail para 3). Though in America persons with the age of 18 are allowed to vote and participate in other national matters as well as to marry, this should not be a basis to measure their maturity.
Alcohol makes a person not to reason rationally and thus exposing these teenagers to it would mean that they would act under its influence. This may lead to an increase in accidents related to alcohol influence in teenagers. Their academics will also be greatly affected and may lead to an increase in the campus drop out rates (McBride, para 6). An alternative way can be improvised instead of lowering the age limit to 18 or 16. Use of permits to underage individual could lead to reduced alcohol intake and make the students more responsible.
These permits should set rules to the extent of which a student should take and this should be regulated by the teachers in campuses. Stern punishment should be given to any student who goes beyond the specifications of the permit (The West Linn Tidings para 6&7). Though underage drinking is still experienced in America, it has been noted that it starts later in life at the age of 19 and 20. This is not so with countries with lower drinking limit age. In United Kingdom where the drinking age limit is 18, more teenagers are involved in underage drinking at the age of 17.
A higher drinking age limit thus helps to raise the age at which underage drinking is experienced. Lowering the age limit will thus mean underage drinking will be rampant amongst younger individuals. This will not solve the question of underage drinking and it will encourage younger persons to be engaged in underage drinking (Henson para 4). Introduction of alcopops by alcohol manufacturing companies has led to an increase in underage drinking rates. Alcopops are alcoholic drinks which are packaged and sold as soft drinks and have the tastes of soft drinks.
They are cheap and quickly available in the supermarket and thus teenagers can access them. A ban on such product on easily accessible places should be imposed and their advertisement banned. This would then limit their accessibility to the teenagers reducing underage drinking. The matter of age limit does not apply in this case (McBride, para 8). Conclusion The age limit which was set by the 1984 act at 21 was too high. Since at the age of 18 an individual is considered responsible enough to be entrusted with public activities like voting and going for war, they should also be allowed to drink in public.
However, parents and teachers should take up the role to teach these young adults safe drinking habits. The schools should also be allowed to regulate alcohol consumption so as to ensure that it does not affect the academic profile of the students. The age limit to permit drinking should not be set at tender ages like 16. 18 years should be adopted as the minimum age. A law should also be passed to cover fully who can drink and who cannot-it should seek to amend the act which impliedly and at times expressly allowed underage persons to take alcohol.
Unlike in the past where underage offenders have not been prosecuted, all the offenders should under this new rule should be allayed to court and punished.
Work cited:
Bailey Jonathan: Should the legal age for drinking alcohol be lowered? 2006. Retrieved on 18th November 2008 from, http://www. idebate. org/debatabase/topic_details. php? topicID=551 The West Linn Tidings: What we think about lowering the drinking age 2008. Retrieved on 18th November 2008 from, http://www. westlinntidings. com/news/story. php? story_id=122047039235683000. Keen Judy: States weigh lowering drinking age 2008.
Retrieved on 18th November 2008 from, http://www. usatoday. com/news/nation/2008-03-20-drinkingage_N. htm Hanson David J: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 n. d. Retrieved on 18th November 2008 from, http://www2. potsdam. edu/hansondj/youthissues/1092767630. html. McBride Hugh C: Choosing Sides: Should States Lower the Legal Drinking Age? n. d. Retrieved on 18th November 2008, from, http://www. teen-alcohol-addiction. com/drinking_age_debate. php. Henson Scott: Should the U. S. lower the legal drinking age? 2008. Retrieved on 18th