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Rhett Saylor

Mike Donnelly

English 103: Rhetoric and Writing

10 October 2019

Argument of Higher or Lower Drinking Age

The legal drinking age is the age that a person is allowed to consume some sort of

alcoholic beverage without breaking the law. The drinking age is different from country to

country. While the drinking age in The United States is twenty- one, some countries have

drinking ages as low as sixteen years of age or no drinking age limit at all. Over time there has

been much debate whether the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18in America. Those on

the side opposing the lowering of the age believe that if the age is lowered then there will be

more alcohol related injuries and deaths from automobile accidents, as well as higher drinking

abuse among teenagers. Now on the other hand, those in favor of lowering the drinking age

believe that if eighteen is the true age you become an adult and can go into the Armed Forces

then they should be allowed have drink legally if they want too. With this being such a big

argument in The United States, it is important to look at the cons, pros, and the facts of the

lowering of the drinking age.

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There are many cons and negative beliefs on what would happen if the legal drinking age

was lowered from twenty-one too eighteen in The United States. Many believe that by lowering

the age the number of teens abusing alcohol will increase significantly from where it is now.

Also, some cons are that eighteen-year old’s are not yet mature enough to handle the effects of

alcohol properly. This is because eighteen-year old’s are beginning a new chapter of their lives

with going off to college and being away from their parents for the first time making them more

prone to binge drinking, risky sexual activity, and other irresponsible behavior due to lack of

maturity. There is quite a possibility that an increase of alcoholism and binge drinking can occur

with lowering the drinking age which would not help the current problem of the epidemic that as

many as 17 percent of men in the general population and 8 percent of women will meet the

criteria for alcoholism in their lifetime (Alcohol Facts). Starting citizens younger with drinking

could open the door for future problems with alcohol later in life. And even though it is only a

few years between the two ages there is still a lot of maturity that happens during that time while

becoming more independent and gaining more life experience.

Although there are cons, there are also many pros and beliefs supporting too lowering

the drinking age to eighteen. In the United States once you turn eighteen you are classified as an

adult. You can vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, join the military, get married, sign
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contracts and agreements etc. So, if you are capable of doing all those tasks then why not be able

to buy and have an alcoholic beverage. Cigarettes are proven worse for your health, but eighteen-

year old’s can still buy them. Also, by lowering the drinking age that would create a lot of more

safe environments for these young adults to go

drink instead of being forced to drink in unsafe

and unregulated environments. The rate of

underage drinking would go down making the

crime rate decrease too. According to Boston

University, “Allowing alcohol consumption

legally might help cut down alcohol related

deaths in college.” (Jr). College is where most

underage and unsafe drinking takes place,

therefore if they were allowed into bars and clubs, they would not need to go huddle in a

fraternity house or some random house party where it is unregulated and unsafe. By making

drinking legal for these young adults it can create safe environments and all-around lower crime

and death rates due to alcohol.

Now that we have seen both sides to the equation, lets look at the facts and see which

side is using the correct rhetoric behind their case. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving,

“More than 4,700 people die every year as a result of teenage alcohol use.” (Alcoholism). Yes,

4,700 may seem low for a whole year but think about it, 4,700 people’s lives taken just from

being in the wrong state of mind and being immature. The people in favor of wanting to lower

the drinking age obviously try to act like this number is not serious but it would most likely

increase. It’s also reported that, “Over 50 percent of American youths between the ages of 12 to
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20 have tried alcohol, but their young age, encouragement from peers, and still-developing brains

increase the chances of developing a dependence on alcohol, especially if there are

environmental and mental health risk factors present, such as a bad home situation, stress related

to school and social life, etc.” (Alcoholism). The human brain does not fully develop until

around the mid 20’s. If over half of these citizens have tried alcohol that opens the door wide

open for a chance to gain a dependence of alcohol before they can legally have that first drink.

Another interesting thing to look at is that lowering the drinking age too eighteen might cover the

college kids, but a very high majority of high school students take part in some sort of illegal

drinking activity. The rhetoric used to lower the drinking age ignores these facts and tries to

avoid answering them at all cost. They work around the truth to convince the audience they

indeed did answer the question. “The CDC found that in 2013, nearly 1.4 million people under

the age of 20 took part in heavy drinking practices, consuming five drinks or more at least five

times in a single month.” (Alcoholism). Lowering the drinking age would certainly calm the

debate down for a few years but down the road the same conversation would come up trying to

lower the age once more to eliminate the dangers of high school students drinking. Therefore, it

is better off to just ignore the argument for lowering the drinking age leave the drinking age as is.

The debate over whether the drinking age should be lowered will most likely not come to

a conclusion anytime soon. You cannot stop lobbyist who want to lower the drinking age,

therefore we need to educate teens better and parents better about the risks people take my

underage drinking to stop the threat of the lobbyist. At the end of the day, people for lowering

the drinking age are wrong and it should not be lowered due to the amount of deaths already

cause by underage drinkers and the effects alcohol can have on non-fully matured human beings.
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“Alcohol Facts and Statistics.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, 8 Aug. 2019, www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-

facts-and-statistics.

“Alcohol.” FRANK, www.talktofrank.com/drug/alcohol.

“Alcoholism Statistics & Information on Group Demographics.” Alcohol.org, American

Addiction Center, 2015, www.alcohol.org/statistics-information/.

Dlende. “Culture and Learning to Drink: What Age?” Neuroanthropology, 8 May 2008,

neuroanthropology.net/2008/05/08/culture-and-learning-to-drink-what-age/.

Jr, John J Deltuvia, et al. “Drinking: 18 vs. 21: BU Today.” Boston University, 21 Oct. 2010,

www.bu.edu/articles/2010/drinking-18-vs-21.