Should Drinking Age Be Raised To 21?
Should the legal drinking age be raised to 21?
Drinking alcohol is one of the biggest problems facing the Australian community. The proportion of people at risk as a result of excessive drinking of alcohol is constantly increasing as 3200 people die and almost 81000 people admitted to hospital every year. People use alcohol for numerous reasons; peer pressure, celebration, anxiety, sadness, boredom, rebellion, insomnia, just to name a few. The legal drinking age is currently eighteen and should remain at 18 for the benefit of those who drink, in particular younger adults and teenagers. Although the Australian government have been contemplating whether or not to raise the drinking age to 21. But this should not be the case. If the Australian …show more content…
Making the legal limit 21 will not decrease the likelihood that teenagers engage in underage drinking but will make it much less safe. Instead of drinking at a controlled environment, such as a bar or a restaurant, teenagers will choose to drink in secret areas or parties where it is much less likely for there to be adult supervision. This also induces the risk of drink spiking and drug usage, which peers are unlikely to seek medical attention or other assistance if an accident like this were to happen. In countries such as Italy, Spain and France the legal alcohol consumption limit is lower and there is a culture where having wine at the table at a young age encourages a sense of responsibility where alcohol is in not consumed excessively or for its own sake. With higher alcohol age limits, young people in the Australia find it harder to get alcohol and as a result they choose to binge drink when they have an access to alcohol. Although this is not harmful to the person, it can create a damaging attitude and harmful habits that can affects them in their later life. By keeping the drinking age at 18, there is less of a risk as it is likely young adults will drink in controlled …show more content…
Under Australian law, an Adult is a someone who is 18 years or older. Now let me ask a question. How old do you have to be to vote, enroll in the military and serve on juries? Its 18. But if the drinking age was raised to 21, these adults are deemed to be “not old enough” to drink alcohol. This therefore means that at the age of 18 you are legally allowed join the army to go to war, but you can't have a sip of alcohol. It is clear that the legal drinking age should remain the same and be equalled to the age of enrollment in the army and voting age. At the age of 18 you are legally an adult and should have privileges of adults, so why shouldn’t we drink
Drinking alcohol is one of the biggest problems facing the Australian community. The proportion of people at risk as a result of excessive drinking of alcohol is constantly increasing as 3200 people die and almost 81000 people admitted to hospital every year. People use alcohol for numerous reasons; peer pressure, celebration, anxiety, sadness, boredom, rebellion, insomnia, just to name a few. The legal drinking age is currently eighteen and should remain at 18 for the benefit of those who drink, in particular younger adults and teenagers. Although the Australian government have been contemplating whether or not to raise the drinking age to 21. But this should not be the case. If the Australian …show more content…
Making the legal limit 21 will not decrease the likelihood that teenagers engage in underage drinking but will make it much less safe. Instead of drinking at a controlled environment, such as a bar or a restaurant, teenagers will choose to drink in secret areas or parties where it is much less likely for there to be adult supervision. This also induces the risk of drink spiking and drug usage, which peers are unlikely to seek medical attention or other assistance if an accident like this were to happen. In countries such as Italy, Spain and France the legal alcohol consumption limit is lower and there is a culture where having wine at the table at a young age encourages a sense of responsibility where alcohol is in not consumed excessively or for its own sake. With higher alcohol age limits, young people in the Australia find it harder to get alcohol and as a result they choose to binge drink when they have an access to alcohol. Although this is not harmful to the person, it can create a damaging attitude and harmful habits that can affects them in their later life. By keeping the drinking age at 18, there is less of a risk as it is likely young adults will drink in controlled …show more content…
Under Australian law, an Adult is a someone who is 18 years or older. Now let me ask a question. How old do you have to be to vote, enroll in the military and serve on juries? Its 18. But if the drinking age was raised to 21, these adults are deemed to be “not old enough” to drink alcohol. This therefore means that at the age of 18 you are legally allowed join the army to go to war, but you can't have a sip of alcohol. It is clear that the legal drinking age should remain the same and be equalled to the age of enrollment in the army and voting age. At the age of 18 you are legally an adult and should have privileges of adults, so why shouldn’t we drink