In the United States, the legal drinking age has been 21 since 1984, when it was established by federal law. Today, the majority of Americans still support 21 as the drinking age. However, a growing number of politicians support lifting the ban at age 21.
A lower drinking age would allow for increased education and greater safety among young people and college students.
Drinking alcohol is inevitable for college students. Although not all choose to drink, a large number do. Drinking can lead to unsafe conditions. Altered mental states can put individuals at greater risk for injury, sexual assault, and even death. 56% of students at the University of Wisconsin drink between 0 and 4 drinks when they consume alcohol. This level of alcohol consumption may increase the risk of mental health problems and potentially dangerous situations. (Hando, 2019)
Lowering the drinking age just makes sense.
The only Western country with this restriction is the United States, one of only 12 nations in the world with a minimum drinking age of 21. 116 nations, by a wide margin, have a drinking age of 18 or 19. From a moral perspective, it only makes sense for the U.S. to decrease the drinking age to 18, arguing that at that age, people should join the military and risk their lives for others or enroll in college and incur debt, while maintaining that 18 is still too young to consume alcoholic beverages. This nation’s argument against that is absurd (Heba, 2021).
Drinking at the age of 21 saves lives and protects your health.
- Fewer motor vehicle crashes
States that raised the legal drinking age to 21 experienced a 16% median reduction in motor vehicle crashes.
- Heavy drinking is a factor in more than 3,900 deaths each year in the U.S. for people under the age of 21.
Underage alcohol consumption is highly associated with driving while intoxicated. According to data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 5% of high school students admitted to driving after drinking during the previous 30 days. 17% of passengers experienced a drunk driver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020.
The legal drinking age in each country
Many people view having the ability to buy alcohol legally as a sign of freedom and maturity, as well as possibly a portent of questionable judgments and fun times to come. The legal drinking age in the United States is 21 (in Wisconsin), although many people all around the world start drinking much sooner. In actuality, the legal drinking age is 18 in 64% of the world’s nations. The Republic of Mali and the Central African Republic have the youngest legal drinking age in the world, which is 15 years old. There are seven nations without a set legal drinking age, while 11 nations outright forbid the consumption of alcohol (Larson, 2022).
Figure 1 (Sources WHO and WAAE as shown in (Larson, 2022)
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020). CDC – Fact Sheets-Minimum Legal Drinking Age – Alcohol. [online] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/minimum-legal-drinking-age.htm [Accessed 17 March 2023]
Hando, L. (2019). Why the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Badger Herald. [online] 27 Nov. Available at: https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2019/11/25/why-the-legal-drinking-age-should-be-lowered-to-18/ [Accessed 17 March 2023]
Heba, D. (2021). Lowering the legal US drinking age just makes sense. [online] The Ticker. Available at: https://theticker.org/3626/opinions/lowering-the-legal-us-drinking-age-just-makes-sense/ [Accessed 17 March 2023]
Larson, J. (2022). The Legal Drinking Age in Each Country [MAP]. [online] VinePair. Available at: https://vinepair.com/articles/legal-drinking-age-world-map/#:~:text=The%20youngest%20legal%20drinking%20age [Accessed 18 March 2023]
