The act of underage drinking is a serious issue among teenagers and college students in the United States. As these young adults move on from high school into college, their new found freedoms often lead them to unhealthy partying lifestyles. Whether it be a bar, a dorm room, or a fraternity house, kids are finding ways to outsmart the law and buy/consume alcoholic beverages. Many teens claim that the drinking age requirement should be lowered to eighteen due to the fact they are considered “legal adults” at this point. While that is a valid point, the sources I have found led me to believe otherwise. By lowering the legal drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen the safety and health of young adults would be at a higher risk. 

I have seen countless petitions such as “Barack Obama: Lower Drinking age from 21 to 18” with thousands of signatures, so I know that this issue is relevant. Those signing are predominately college students and young adults that are looking to make their current party lifestyle a legal one. Michael Gonchar feeds this discussion in his article “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered” by showing how several states lowered their drinking age just for it to be brought back to twenty-one later. In the 1970s, when the 26th Amendment granting eighteen-year olds the right to vote was passed, many states lowered the drinking age at the same time. There were many issues with this, as teens would drive to neighboring states with the lowered age limit, legally drink, then wreck on their way back. Advocacy groups began pushing for a nationwide age restriction in order to resolve the issue, and in 1984 Congress put the act in place. In the years following that, high school drinking rates fell by twenty-four percent (Consumer Information). If the age were to be lowered again, the odds of teens picking up the habit again are high. 

The risk of drinking to get drunk and having an excessive amount of alcohol can be detrimental. Megan Patrick and Yvonne Terry McElrath conducted a study pertaining to the prevalence of underage drinking among high school seniors and those beginning college. After researching the habits of over 1,700 young adults, ranging from ages eighteen to twenty, it was concluded that four-year university attendees and those who no longer live with their parents are more likely to partake in high intensity drinking habits. Being that seven out of every ten students that graduate from high school will enroll into a secondary education program the next fall, it’s a serious problem pertaining this demographic. Being that majority of high school graduates are off to college, they are going to be introduced to the party lifestyle that occurs in a college town.  In fact, one-third (33.1%) of nineteen and twenty-year-old college students reported usual moderate/high intoxication, and 29.6% reported usual uninterrupted intoxication during a two-week period, (Patrick and McElrath).  These numbers are shocking. While we know that drinking takes place in college towns, the fact that that over five hundred students in this particular study spent two weeks with sustained intoxication goes to show the unhealthy and dangerous habits young adults are participating in. If the drinking age were to be lowered, allowing this age group to legally consume alcohol, even more teens would be willing and able to participate in these unhealthy habits. 

While young adults think that cracking open a beer and having a good time is all good fun, many don’t realize the consequences. The sixteen through nineteen age group is more likely to experience dependency and participate in unhealthy binge drinking (Gruenewald). Any amount of alcohol impairs the mind and ability to make appropriate decisions. For Example, automobile accidents that occur when the driver is under the influence are much more likely to occur when the driver is either eighteen or nineteen years old, versus a twenty-one year old. Teenagers lack the maturity and responsibility compared to twenty-one year olds when it comes to drinking then driving a car. These studies show that those under twenty-one are more likely to have dangerous and unhealthy consequences play out. 

Anyone who has had alcohol knows how it can make a person feel, but few know what actually happens to the brain. In the discussion of underage drinking, one controversial issue has been the effect it has on a young person’s health. On one hand, people believe it has no noticeable, life threatening side effects, while others maintain the idea that what you should be worried about are the things you can’t notice immediately such as the developing brain. My own view is that while we cannot see or feel it, there are major things happening inside our bodies after a night out on the town. On average, one ounce of alcohol can take one hour to be metabolized in the liver. The excess alcohol that cannot be metabolized will then saturate the blood. After reaching a high blood alcohol concentration, the risk of accidental injury increases exponentially. Vomiting, diarrhea, high blood pressure, and heart attacks are just some of the many potential side effects of drinking excessively. Under certain circumstances (and enough alcohol), these side effects could lead to death, and “underage alcohol use is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide” (Patrick). Compared to matured adults, young people are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol due to social development changes, biological changes, as well as physiological changes (Windle). Even in the later teenage years, the brain is still developing.  Research done with adolescents who drink heavily has concluded that these young adults have a smaller prefrontal lobe than those who do not drink. The prefrontal lobe is in charge of complex cognitive behavior, moderating social demeanor, as well as your personality (Windle). Restricting alcohol consumption until the body matures and is done developing makes sense for your overall health and quality of life as you do get older. 

Having a sip of a parent’s beer or wine is not the issue, it is the binge drinking and drinking to get drunk that cause the real problems. Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of an excessive amount of an alcoholic beverage in a short period of time. I’ve witnessed the aftermath of partying college kids get carried away with binge drinking before heading to the bars and it is an upsetting sight. Throwing up all over themselves, barely able to stand, and slurring their words, it is a bad situation to be in. In 2011, there were nearly two hundred thousand people under the age of twenty-one admitted to the Emergency room for alcohol related complications, and it is on the rise (Consumer Information). Transports to the hospital among students at the University of South Carolina rose by close to forty percent compared to last year (Gamble). With increases so drastic, and all of which are people drinking illegally, imagine the repercussions of allowing it to be a free for all among teens and young adults. 

Many argue that kids are just going to drink either way. Those in favor of changing or revoking the National Drinking Age Act claim that altering it would make sense due to the fact that we cannot control the underage drinking habits, and it would limit the legal trouble that people get into. With that being said, guidance by an adult or parent can help to reduce the possibility of underage drinking. Parents play a major role in the likelihood of adolescence consuming alcohol before they reach the legal age limit. Before they move out, or go away to college, these teens are typically living at home with their parents/legal guardians. An article by Michael Winerip was published in The New York Times titled “Addressing Teen Drinking” and it brings up the many options of what could be done. Winerip discusses parents pushing a no tolerance outlook, versus a teaching and learning experience pertaining alcohol consumption, concluding that both can be of value. 

Parents play a major role in the prevention, (as well as the encouragement), of their child’s drinking habits. Many wrestle with the question of the morality of letting their teenagers drink, and in the end their child’s decisions reflect the way their parents raised them. Before reading “Does promoting parents’ negative attitudes to underage drinking reduce adolescents’ drinking?”, I used to think that no matter a parent’s views, a teen would do as they pleased when it came to underage drinking as well as drug use. This study done by the Orebro Prevention Program looked into the effect of a restrictive attitude and the mediating role parents play in underage drunkenness. It began with a group of over 800 youth reporting their friends and acquaintances alcohol consumption, their last month’s drunkenness, as well as the bond and relationship type between themselves and their parents. A growth curve model was used to analyze the rate of change amongst parent’s attitudes and underage alcohol consumption.  The study revealed that increasing parent’s restrictive attitudes to underage drinking, makes out to be an adequate and robust method for diminishing heavy youth alcohol consumption regardless of the child’s sex, cultural origin, friend’s and parental drinking habits, as well as the quality of the relationship with their parents (Özdemir). By being assertive, parents can reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by their children, and improve their overall health and safety. 

Early drinking can have a major effect on the current and future health of an individual. Instead of lowering the age to accommodate for the many high schoolers and college students that drink underage, preventative actions could be taken to limit the risky behavior.  A study posted in the Journal of Medical Internet Research discussed several alternatives to help limit adolescent alcohol consumption, such as an intervention program. The way that alcohol intervention programs have reached their desired audience have changed over time. It used to be done with a health care provider during a face-to-face contact session. The internet has become a major key in getting these alcohol intervention programs out among participants in a way that’s beneficial to everyone involved. It allows for participants to interact with the program at their own convenience, as well as allowing for a larger participant pool to be reached. This method of electronic and computer intervention programs allows for an easier and more cost effective way of helping. Many parents and teenagers could benefit from this to prevent the phenomenon that is underage drinking. 

Another preventative act to reduce the underage drinking happening in college towns is currently in place by many universities. It is an online program called AlcoholEdu that is designed to make students accountable for alcohol related knowledge by requiring module viewings and passing a test. Its completion is required before the beginning of your first semester in post-secondary school. AlcoholEdu has proven to be successful in its prevention of campus drinking and awareness. The course explains many of the things discussed in this paper, along with diagrams and pictures to help with understanding the risk that come with underage drinking. Seventy percent of surveyed students said that they considered AlcoholEdu to be effective, and fourty-one percent said that it led them to acting in a more responsible manner when it comes to drinking (Chesley). With programs like this showing success, why would we lower the age and create a dangerous situation for young people across the United States? 

Another downside to lowering the drinking age would be the fall of academic performance by both high schoolers and college students. People don’t typically turn twenty one until their senior year of high school, which means that almost their entire academic career is spent under the legal drinking age. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there is a direct correlation between binge drinking and grades. A government study from 2007 showed that among the “A” grade students, two-thirds of them were reported as non-drinkers, and nearly half of those with either D or F’s reported participating in binge drinking. Allowing students to legally buy and consume alcohol while still in school will cause havoc among students grades and our reputation as a nation when it comes to education. 

 When people are young and still not fully matured, their decision making is still not the best it could be. When alcohol becomes a part of the mix, it becomes even less likely that good decisions will be made. Adolescents who drink are more likely to get into a car with someone who has been drinking, smoking, or carrying illegal weapons, and even drive themselves. It’s also two times as likely that they participate in risky sexual behaviors, such as failing to use birth control and having sex with someone they have never met (Consumer Information). Using a fake source of identification is another poor choice made by underage drinkers. In some states, and depending on the situation, using a fake id can result in felony charges on top of minor under the influence or minor in possession charges (Brush). Waiting until your legally twenty-one saves you a significant amount of money and pain from tickets given out by law enforcement. Until a person reaches a level of maturity that allows them to make healthy decisions no matter the circumstances, they should not be allowed to go out and drink. 

The current laws and regulations we have in place for the purchasing and consumption of alcohol are in place for a reason. The cons of lowering the drinking age to sixteen or even eighteen way out weigh the pros. Risk of injuring someone or themselves exponentially increase after the consumption of alcohol, especially when under the age of twenty one. Many people claim that if you can vote at eighteen, and sign your life away to serve our country in the military, you should be able to have a drink. Factoring in the health risk when it comes to your brain development as well as emotional/social development should have anyone convinced to wait until they are ready. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put in place as a response to the irresponsibility and poor decision making that teens made when given the opportunity. Not only are they more likely to get into an alcohol related accident, but grades are affected, as well as brain development and other dangerous behaviors. Do not chose a good time partying or kicking back with friends over people’s health. Changing the drinking age doesn’t just allow college kids and rowdy high schoolers to have a little fun, it impacts the entire nation. 
