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The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 in Australia

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The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 in Australia
The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia

The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia
These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is rampant in today’s society, Australian Drug Foundation states that, “Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood-changing, recreational drug in Australia.”(Healey, 2002, p. 11). Underage drinking and binge drinking are some of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.
Most countries and cultures across the world experience these issues with 83% of the world population being allowed to drink at the age of 18, and the remaining 17% of the world population are legally allowed to consume alcohol over the age of 18-years-old. (International Center for Alcohol Policies, 2002). Australia is one of many countries unable to control this growing problem and is researching ways to reduce this behavior in its youth.
Recently there has been much discussion regarding changing the legal drinking age in Australia from 18-years-old to 21-years-old, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says, “he'd personally like to see the legal drinking age lifted to 21 years.”, (ABC News, 2010 ), to decrease the amount of underage drinking, binge drinking and alcohol-affected behavior, such as drink driving, aggression and promiscuity. The legal drinking age in Australia should remain at 18-years-old for a number of reasons; Australia’s drinking culture, society’s expectations, and comparisons between America and Australia.
There are many alcohol and social problems associated with the 18-year-old legal drinking age. “Excessive alcohol use many contribute to many personal and social problems… [such as] family problems, legal problems: drink driving…, loss of license, and…imprisonment…, [and] sexual problems…”(Healey, 2002, p. 14). Therefore the Australian Government has been trying to find a solution, to minimize the crimes related to these


References: Fennell, R. (2007). “Drinking is fun” and “There is nothing you can do about it”: The problem with the 21-year-old minimum drinking age. Journal of American College Health, 56(3), 213-215. Healey, J. (2002). Alcohol and young people. In J. Healey (Ed.), Alcohol Use (pp. 11-3). Rozelle, NSW: The Spinney Press International Center of Alcohol Policies. (2002). Minimum Drinking and Purchasing Age Laws. Retrieved May 8, 2010, from http://www.grsproadsafety.org/themes/default/pdfs/Drinking%20Age%20Limits.pdf Mack, P Raising drinking age to 21 'unworkable '. (2010, February 9). News. Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au Rudd wants drinking age lifted to 21 Urban, P. B. (2009, October 22). Call to lift minimum drinking age to 21. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au
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