Sean+Smith+Research+Paper

 The Underground Society: Why the Drinking Age should be changed to 18 Years Old

Thesis: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is a restrictive, unfair law which increases unsafe drinking amongst young adults. A new 18 year old drinking law needs to be implemented for education and the rights of young adults.

Drinking in the United States has become an epidemic. Children aged 12 to 20 years drink 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States. In a 2007 Youth Behavior Survey, 45 percent of high school students drank some amount of alcohol and 26 percent have binge drank in the past 30 days (__Alcohol and Public Health-Underage Drinking__ 1). This high percentage of teenage drinking is not decreasing, but actually increasing. Only by changing the drinking age to 18 can this trend be lowered and controlled.

As a normal American teenager grows up in society, he has limited exposure to alcohol. In other countries, such as France, Spain, and Italy, children are exposed at a much earlier age. This allows them to see and experience responsible drinking in a casual setting. It is America’s unique laws that lead to the abuse of alcohol. As they stay in private areas such as basements and frat houses, teenagers have no supervision, intense peer pressure, and no idea how alcohol affects their bodies.

In my paper, I explain why and what measures need to be taken in order to make the 18 year old drinking law effective. I describe personal reasons why young children, colleges, and even parents want the law changed, and how this seemingly innocent law has negatively impacted our society. 