Opposition to Lowering the Drinking Age

People think that lowering the drinking age is a bad idea due to the health concerns. These health concerns can cover physical, emotional, and/or mental problems. The people’s fear is that the younger the drinking age the more people will suffer these problems and the longer that they’ll have to live with the problems.

Common health risks of early alcoholics are black outs and memory loss, brain damage, vitamin deficiencies, like Thiamine and vitamin B4, Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome (vision changes and memory impairment), and the most common being liver and heart disease. Barbra Meltz says, “[T]he human brain doesn't stop growing until about age 21 or 22, and that alcohol consumption can alter or retard that growth, including memory and test-taking ability.”[1] Because of this, people do not believe that people under 18 are fully developed enough to make the proper decision to drink or not to drink and to drink responsibly. If they do drink, the health risk is higher than if they were over 21. At the same time, alcohol poisoning is a big factor in the decision to keep the drinking age at 21. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “there are approximately 80,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.”[2] 

Another reason the minimum drinking age starts at 21 is the drunk-driving problem in the United States. According to the FBI, “over 1.41 million drivers were arrested in 2010 for driving under the influence of alcohol.”[3] And in recent years, drunk driving has gone down since the legal drinking age was raised. This attributes to the mental, emotional and physical problems whether it is the person who was drunk or the person hit and sometimes both.

More reasons for keeping the drinking age are the mental and emotional disorders that come with alcoholism. Some are depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders and troubles with controlling aggression. These disorders break up families and relationships. The conclusion is that it’s better to prevent these disorders from happening at an early age. Many argue that, if the government were to lower the drinking age, these problems would increase in young people.

These are legitimate problems. Not everyone over drinks and not everyone use alcohol as a tool to deal with his/her problems. Even though liver disease is still very common, the steady increase of liver disease is not necessarily due to alcohol consumption at a young age, but increases in binge drinking and more alcohol consumption in people’s daily diets. Bottom line, the better we educate; the better we can prevent problems like liver disease and alcohol dependence.

---

[1] Meltz, Barbara F. Alcohol study says that girls are outpacing boys. Boston Globe, August 11, 2005.

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). Atlanta, GA: CDC.

[3] Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States: 2010”

Big Taboo: College-Aged Drinking

Drinking is one of those experiences that people want to try. They want to know if they’d like alcohol or not. By the time young adults enter college, they enjoy the freedom to act without any parent telling them otherwise. And college is also the place where a young adult will seek their first drink, as their gateway to adulthood, leading some to addiction and abuse. According to College Drink Prevention, “31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking.”[1] Emphasizing alcohol as a taboo or a sin can have the opposite effect on this age group, causing it to be more appealing or a part of someone’s identity.

The drinking taboo for college-aged drinkers causes them have to take their habit “underground.” By taking consumption behind the scenes, the environment is not only unsafe, but contributes to binge drinking, alcohol abuse, or peer pressure drinking because of the heightened excitement and using each time as if it may be their last. Will Wilkinson of Forbes and Charlie Covey of Youth Facts suggest that, “lowering MLDA 21 to 18 would make alcohol less of a taboo for adults newly entering college and the workforce, take away the thrill that many young people get from breaking the law, and make alcohol consumption a more normalized activity done in moderation.”[2][3] The ideas of controlling behavior and moderating consumption are suggested for taking away the thrill and cutting down on alcohol abuse.

Many colleges don’t accept drinking on their campuses because of the extreme consequences of intoxication, like vandalism, drunk driving and academic problems. They treat the issue as if 100 percent of drinkers will cause problems and will be destructive. Another reality that institutions face is liability. They are at risk, when injuries and/or deaths occur on their property or under their activities like parties or sporting events. Financial damages, loss of accreditation, colleges’ reputation as the “drinking” schools all cause the hard line approach.

Obviously, restricting alcohol has not taken away the problem. According to Dr. Henry Wechsler, “About 5 percent of 4-year college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking”[4] and head of the NIAAA, Ralph W. Hingson says, “110,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence.”[5]  



A real life approach is to consider the college aged drinkers as adults, not transitioning teens to adulthood. They are faced with instant freedom, academic stress, first time experiences with serious relationships, possibly working and studying burdens, financial realities and fitting in with a larger more diverse population. These factors don’t care that they are underaged by society’s standards. So picking on one taboo like alcohol consumption is micro-managing a behavior.

United States colleges and universities, with obvious exceptions of church-related institutions, should take a progressive approach to the issue. After all, it is an environment for learning, educating and instructing. There is room for adding proper alcohol consumption and moderation to the social curriculum. 

---

[1] Knight JR, Wechsler H, Kuo M, Seibring M, Weitzman ER, Schuckit M. Alcohol abuse and dependence among U.S. college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002, in press

[2] Will Wilkinson, "Bottoms Up!," Forbes, Sep. 29, 2008

[3] Charlie Covey, "Drinking Age Requires Necessary and Proper Action," www.youthfacts.org, Nov. 11, 2007

[4] Wechsler H, Moeykens B, Davenport A, Castillo S, Hansen J. The adverse impact of heavy episodic drinkers on other college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 56(6):628-634, 1995.

[5] Hingson RW, Heeren T, Zakocs RC, Kopstein A, Wechsler H. Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 63(2):136-144, 2002.

The Culture of Alcohol Consumption

In Europe, drinking alcohol—what you drink—is typically a reflection of the geographic region’s influence. From the northern region, there is beer and whiskey and from the south, there is wine. Then there is the level of consumption where over 60% of all adults have at least one alcoholic beverage, weekly. According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies: “Around 40% of drinking occasions in most of the EU15 are consumed with the afternoon/evening meal, although those in southern Europe are much more likely to drink with lunch than elsewhere.”[1] Of course, not everyone drinks responsibly, but a majority do because of how they were taught.

Parents are known to give their children (12 -13 yrs. old) wine with their dinner. They dilute the wine with water and, over the years, the amount of water decreases and the amount of wine increases. This is practiced in countries like France and Italy. In the more northern countries, England and Ireland, teenagers are known to drink within safe environments. For example, at school dances, they get tickets and on the ticket states that the teenager can have a drink, but only one or two, depending on how many tickets they have.

Asia, which has a young drinking culture, is not so different than Europe’s. Young adults are usually encouraged to drink, as part of the dining experience, but they are not known to over drink. Travelers have said, “Chinese youths hardly ever take their lax drinking rules for granted, nor do they abuse the booze at a young age, as would be expected if we suddenly made the drinking age 18 in the USA.”[2] This shows that despite not being carded at bars and no one paying attention to the official drinking age, young adults still don’t over drink. Many other Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and Thailand have the same general standards. I’m not saying we should be lax with the drinking laws but, we shouldn’t take an extreme attitude toward drinking.

Some countries in South America and parts of Europe do have heavy alcohol consumption within their culture. However, at the same time, these countries have significant police enforcement and harsh laws and punishment for abusing alcohol. Professor Jordan says, “A first time offense in El Salvador leads to execution by firing squad, while a second offense in Bulgaria also leads to execution.”[3] Money and status in the society might be enough to buy a pass from the firing squad. In the U.S., most people who are caught drunk driving (without injuries or death) get a fine and sometimes jail time, but not a very harsh sentence. Sometimes, a person could be fined for public intoxication, which is treated more as a nuisance crime than malicious felony.

The U.S. culture tends to be more conservative and restrictive, even when society trends show otherwise. Generations X, Y, Z should take the progressive approach to learn the benefits of other countries drinking habits, with the focus on moderation. There is room for those who want to abstain completely. And for those who want the freedom to (over) drink, there are laws to keep them in check.

---

[1] Peter Anderson and Ben Baumberg, “Alcohol In Europe: A public Health Perspective” http://dse.univr.it/addiction/documents/External/alcoholineu.pdf, June 2006

[2] http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/961/59301/Drinking+Cultures+from+Around+the+Globe?destId=357826#ixzz2CcBjV88g

[3] J Jordan, “Drink and Driving: The Laws in Other Countries” http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/drinking-and-driving-the-laws-in/, March 16, 2007

Vote Yes 4 Lower Drinking Age

The U.S. should model other countries’ restrictions, allowing “softer” liquors at one age level and the “harder” liquors at an older age level. Not only would the model follow the lower age restrictions, but would also require a shift in social cultural norms.

Countries like Germany, all of the United Kingdom, and South Korea have lower drinking ages. They tend to teach children from a young age how to drink with purpose vs. just to get drunk. Their societies focus on the quality of the experience, instead of the quantity of alcohol. In many cultures, alcohol is used to enhance meals and nurture bonds among community—family, holidays, significant milestones. On the other hand, in the U.S., alcohol consumption among youth is the central activity at parties or a way to rebel against established authority.

One way to overhaul the youthful mindset is to regulate environments that directly or indirectly contribute to underage or binge drinking and concealment of the behavior. Mark Kleiman says, “High non-compliance with MLDA 21 [the referenced state law] promotes general disrespect and non-compliance with other areas of US law and encourages young adults to acquire and use false identification documents to procure alcohol. In an era of terrorism, illegal immigration, and other national security concerns, it is better to have fewer fake IDs in circulation and more respect for the law.”[1] Supporters of this idea favor young drinkers having access to venues, like bars, that can regulate their consumption, instead of hiding in unsafe places to drink.

Providing young drinkers with better education on drinking responsibly and within moderation supports their desire to be independent and to be treated as adults.  This demographic is already inundated with advertisements and social messages by the alcohol industry. The U.S. sports and entertainment lifestyles are usually partnered with alcohol references that will make a person cool, attractive, and powerful.  Since removing this element is near to impossible, other alternative methods for altering social drinking behavior can be taken. Choose Responsibility is a program that helps with alcohol education. The program can “be taught by a certified alcohol educator, trained specifically to cover the legal, ethical, health and safety issues of the curriculum and skilled in dealing with young adults.”[2]

The current drinking age has become ineffective.  Since the drinking age was raised, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University says “MLDA 21 is largely ineffective because the majority of teens continue to consume alcohol. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of consumer spending for alcohol in the United States.[3] In 2006, 72.2% of twelfth graders reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives.”[4]

What exactly is the problem with lowering the drinking age? Is it really about deciding that alcohol consumption is an adult activity? Was it lowered only because this group had no political clout to protest being the target?  How can an eighteen year old be old enough to serve in the military, old enough to get married, old enough to vote in the political process, old enough to be considered independent from their parents, old enough to sign contracts? But suddenly, their ability to think, choose, and be responsible to drink is on a higher threshold.  Where’s a Super PAC when you need one?

---

[1] Mark Kleiman, "Of Amethysts and Fake ID's," Aug. 20, 2008

[2] Modified slightly from "license" at chooseresponsibility.org/license/

[3] "The Commercial Value of Underage and Pathological Drinking to the Alcohol Industry," National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, May 2006

[4] Charlie Covey, "Drinking Age Requires Necessary and Proper Action," www.youthfacts.org, Nov. 11, 2007

America: Learn How to Drink

Moderation…Moderation…Moderation. To lower or not to lower the drinking age—that’s the question. Despite overwhelming opinions against lowering the drinking age in the U.S., this public health issue is still worthy of debate as more data and public opinions are shared.  There is always room for compromise.

Once upon time, drinking ages were staggered for beer and wine vs. harder liquors like whiskey, vodka, rum.  Maybe it’s time to return to yester-year. Now, progressive trends among states’ citizens are on the rise with recent rulings like legalizing recreational and medical marijuana. Maybe it’s time to take off the restraints. Cops are raiding bars, house parties and public parking lots for underage drinking. Maybe it’s time to better educate on drinking in moderation and with informed level of responsibility.

The United States is the only country, in the western hemisphere, with a legal drinking age of 21. We cannot purchase alcohol of any kind of and of course drink, yet 80% of people under the age of 21 have had a drink and “in a national survey, 95% of 12th graders report that it is fairly easy or very easy to get alcohol”.[1] Including the fact that most teenagers have had alcohol, at least once in their life, most teenagers have had a drink because of binge drinking. Binge drinking has become a growing trend since the late 1990s. “More than 90% of all alcohol consumed by underage drinkers is consumed during binge drinking.”[2]

The opposing arguments to lower the drinking age:

Religious-based views using Judeo-Christian teachings that call the act a sin and prohibits alcohol consumption
Health concerns, both physical and mental on the young, developing body and mind
Social & public behavior (including drunk driving) that go against decency laws and contribute to traffic accidents and fatalities

The supporting arguments to lower the drinking age:

Model other countries restrictions -- allowing “softer” liquors at one age level and the “harder” liquors at older age level;
Regulated environments for underage drinking to decrease binge drinking and concealment of the behavior;
Better education on drinking responsibly and with moderation since alcohol industry is a significant part of the U.S. sports and entertainment lifestyle.

Going for the kinder and gentler approach—the message is to limit alcohol, think moderation, be responsible. Take the hypocrisy out of the equation with free flow of alcohol and fun are intertwined for adults and not expect underage drinkers not to follow.

---

[1] Monitoring the Future, 2002. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

[2] Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Drinking in America: Myths, Realities, and Prevention Policy. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2005.