A New Kind of War:
America’s Battle Against Underage Drinking
In America, one of the biggest problems that we face today is the issue of underage drinking, especially binge drinking. Approximately 1,400 college students die from alcohol-related accidents every year. This needs to stop, but lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen, which is what many people want, is not the way to solve this issue. The risks of binge drinking have been shown to be high to all teens, including eighteen to twenty-year-olds. Even though supporters of the lowered drinking age say that the current drinking age is making things worse, or even causing the problems, evidence shows that this is not true, and there are many other, simpler, and safer actions that we can take to end underage drinking and binge drinking. Many people think that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen, but research shows that underage drinking, especially binge drinking is extremely dangerous to teens, and that lowering the drinking age is not the solution to this major problem.
The risks and consequences of binge drinking have been widely studied, and proved to be dangerous to the minds and bodies of all teens, even eighteen to twenty-year -olds. Most people know that alcohol, especially when drunk in large quantities, can harm mental capacity and physical ability (“Treat binge drinking”). It is particularly dangerous to people younger than twenty-one because the brain continues to develop into the early twenties and alcohol can affect that development negatively (“Brain development”). Binge drinking, which is usually defined as four or more drinks for a woman or five or more drinks for a man within a few hours, can bring the blood alcohol level to 0.08 gram percent. At 0.08 gram percent blood alcohol level, it is illegal for adults to drink and drive. This shows that for an underage person, or any person really, this is a dangerous amount of alcohol for both mental impairment and physical reasons (Main). This is not a small scale problem or one that can just be brushed off. According to an article from Facts on File, “nearly 30% of high school seniors are ‘binge’ drinkers—a much higher percentage than the rate than among adults.” This problem is just too dangerous, and too common, to be ignored any longer.
Supporters of the lowered drinking age claim that when the allure of illegality is removed, binge drinking rates will decrease, but many studies and statistics prove otherwise. These groups and individuals also say that the current drinking age is in part the cause of high binge drinking rates, and that once the illegality is taken away, binge drinking would severely decline, if not end completely. On the other hand, some researchers and just simple observers say that college drinking is so common that it has already lost all intrigue. It has also been found that in the military and other places where it is legal for eighteen to twenty year olds to drink, they “guzzle apace” with that age group in America (Main). It seems that “they [eighteen to twenty year olds] have a propensity to binge drink, whether the stuff is illegal or not,” notes Main. Also, “Many college administrators argue that limiting access to alcohol continues to be the best and most effective way to discourage binge drinking,” says the Christian Science Monitor, which argues that the problem of binge drinking needs to be treated more seriously. Finally, most drinking doesn’t start in college, or at age eighteen. One third of America’s youth have had their first drink before age thirteen and many of those have established drinking patterns by eighth to tenth grade (Main). All of this evidence proves the claims that binge drinking rates will decrease with the new drinking age to be false.
Proponents of the campaign for a lower drinking age say that the current legal drinking age of twenty-one is making things worse. They claim that all the current drinking age is doing is forcing the drinking off-campus and “underground”, where there is no supervision, rather than stopping it all together. The supporters also say that students drinking off-campus and without supervision are more likely to rapidly consume larger amounts of alcohol when they play “drinking games.” However, if the drinking age is lowered, as they want it to be, it will cause more drunk driving accidents and give new life to “blood borders” between states (“Alcohol Issues”). Even with the current drinking age, Main writes that, “among college students, 80 percent reported drinking, and of those, 40 percent binge drink once a month.” Though a lower drinking age may help fix a few things, the problems that will arise from it outweigh the benefits.
There are many ways we can move toward ending underage drinking and binge drinking, other than lowering the drinking age. One successful way of cracking down on underage drinkers is by passing “zero-tolerance laws” on adolescents under twenty-one. These laws give hefty penalties to any drivers who are under the age of twenty-one, and yet have enough alcohol in their system to be measurable. Colleges have also begun “clamping down on fraternities and sororities,” where much drinking takes place. The National Interfraternity Conference passed a resolution and asked all of its fraternities to establish alcohol-free policies. Colleges are trying many different things to keep underage drinking in check, but they need the help of the communities around them if they are going to be truly successful. Another simple way to reduce underage drinking is to get parents more involved. Often, parents are ignorant to the presence of alcohol even at supervised parties (“Alcohol Issues”). The Christian Science Monitor reports that “communities trying to keep kids away from alcohol say many parents simply don’t treat [binge drinking] as seriously as they do drugs.” These ways, and others, are mostly simpler solutions to this problem, but are all still effective.
Though many arguments are made for a lower drinking age, statistics, studies, and observations show that this is not the solution to the problem of underage drinking and binge drinking. There are many other, simpler ways that when added up, could make major strides in America’s fight against underage drinking. Also, studies in places where the drinking age is lower show that lowering our drinking age most likely won’t live up to the grand promises that many are placing on it. Drinking doesn’t start in college, so more emphasis needs to be put on stopping it at the beginning, in high schools and occasionally even middle schools. This is an issue that is too dangerous and much too common to be ignored any longer. America needs to wake up to this major problem, and see that we need a new solution to underage drinking.
Works Cited
"Alcohol Issues." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 20 Feb. 1998. The John Carroll School. Web. 27 Sept. 2010.
Main, Carla T. "Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age." Policy Review. Jun/Jul 2009: 33-46. SIRS Researcher. The John Carroll School. Web. 22 Sep 2010.
"Treat binge drinking as a drug problem." Christian Science Monitor. 8 Sept. 2006: 08. Gale Student Resources In Context. The John Carroll School. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.
“Brain development and alcohol abuse.” We Don’t Serve Teens: A National Campaign to Stop Underage Drinking. Web. 3 Oct. 2010.
