Drinking Age

One of the biggest issues in the U.S. is the many under age people illegally consuming alcohol. The drinking age is 21 here in the United States. It has been a problem because there are so many people under the age of 21 drinking alcohol. The problem here in the U.S is that there are too many under aged drinkers. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now. No matter what the circumstances are, under aged drinking can't be stopped. Even though the minimum age is 21, the legal drinking age sometimes causes more problems than it prevents. I think the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen.

In most countries the age is either 16 or 18. Since it is such a late age to drink, many teenagers will do anything to have alcohol. Teenagers will even carry fake I.D.s and ask legal drinkers to buy for them or sneak drinks from their parents' liquor cabinets. This kind of attitude does not support responsible drinking. Whether it is using others who are older to buy the liquor for them or stealing it from a local store. Since teenagers never really have the chance to drink, they tend to drink more than they should. In addition to drinking belligerently, when people those who are under aged to consume alcohol that they can't have this or that, then it kind of makes you want it more.

It has been a major issue because many people get very sick or even die from drinking too much. If the drinking age was at a younger age, then this wouldn't be a problem because drinking would be just a chill thing. There wouldn't be such a rush to drink so much because they have been drinking at fair age and are able to handle there beer in a responsible manner. The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected.

People tend to drink more than they should. If the drinking age was say at 18 years of age, then people would be much more responsible of how much they drink. They would be calm because they are not doing anything illegal. Italians have few drinking related problems. They have less underage drinkers because drinking is part of their culture and lifestyle. It starts in the household with their family and they are taught to drink smart and socially. Here in the U.S., under aged drinkers look at drinking as something glamorous. There is no peer pressure to others for the fact that alcohol is seen as just a regular drink. Irresponsible behavior is never tolerated. Italian's learn at a young age how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner from their parents and from other adults. I think social drinking is acceptable because it is a time to have fun while still being in control.

Since I am 18 years old, I can do many things such as: go to war, sign contracts, marry, and vote. This means I can go in battle and kill another person, but I can't drink alcohol. You only have to be 16 years of age to operate a motor vehicle,