Index IntroductionWhy should the drinking age remain at 21?ConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionAlmost everyone agrees that alcohol should not be given or permitted to children or young adults under a certain age. Alcohol is a very dangerous substance and if used incorrectly or immaturely the consequences can be a great danger to the user or those around them. The topic of lowering the drinking age has been a topic of discussion for decades. “Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered the drinking age. The results were catastrophic. Road deaths among teenagers and young adults have skyrocketed. Almost immediately, states began raising the minimum drinking age again.” “In 1984, Congress passed the Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to have a minimum drinking age of 21 for all types of alcohol consumption if they wanted to receive federal highway funds. Since then the legal drinking age has remained at 21.” Even though the age has been lowered and raised again, this issue has not been resolved over these decades. Consumption of alcohol among minors, especially under 21 years of age, should not be allowed in any country because it is very dangerous in terms of health complications and other risks and can be taken in unfavorable circumstances where it can be abused or abused. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Why should the drinking age stay at 21? “Alcohol is the oldest and most used drug in the world” (Whiting). Once you become addicted, you use this alcoholic beverage as a substitute for regular drinking beverages. It doesn't take long to become an alcoholic either. “Many people think of alcohol as a stimulant, but it's actually a depressant. It slows the function of all living cells, especially those of the brain” (Whiting). “Studies show that alcohol use often begins at a very young age” (US Department of Health and Human Services). If one drinks alcohol at a young age, this person is at greater risk of becoming a full-blown alcoholic very quickly. Young people think it's cool to drink alcohol and party all the time. Once they taste this drink, they usually want more. Underage drinking is becoming increasingly common among young adolescents. Peer pressure plays a major role in this complication as teenagers receive great pressure to "fit in" or "be cool" from people such as their siblings, friends, enemies, people who love them or perhaps even themselves. On the other hand, peer pressure can sometimes have a positive influence and keep you from overindulging, but if your peers tell you that you've been drinking enough, you may feel pressured to stop. Being forced to drink a lot of alcohol has a wide range of consequences for both girls and boys. Alcohol also leads to other drugs and substance abuse. If the drinking age were to be lowered to eighteen, it would not change the actions of young revelers. “Alcohol should be banned for 18- to 20-year-olds precisely because they have a propensity to binge on alcohol, regardless of whether the substance is illegal or not, especially for males.” Drinking alcohol usually leads to other illegal substances. “Young people who report drinking before age 15 are more likely to develop substance abuse problems, engage in risky sexual behavior and experience other negative consequences than those who start later” (Department of Health andof the United States Health Department). Human Services). You may also be interestedChoose the best essay title using GeneratorAnother reason for keeping the drinking age at 21 is that drinking slows down reaction time and also gets to the point where the drinker has less control of their body. For example, a male who gets drunk is more likely to rape young women. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “An estimated 90 percent of college rapes involve the use of alcohol by the perpetrator, the victim, or both. Each year, approximately 97,000 college students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or rape. Alcohol consumption is involved in 95% of all violent crimes on college campuses.” According to Carla T. Main, “approximately 100,000 incidents are reported each year” of “males sexually assaulting their partners.” But rape isn't always like this. Usually, if both partners are under the influence of alcohol, they are more likely to have unprotected sex. “According to the CAS, among the 8 million college students in the United States surveyed in a one-year study,…8 percent of students – 474,000 – have consensual unprotected sex each year because they have been drinking” (Main). If the government lowered the drinking age, more unprotected sex and rape would occur because they would have more opportunities to drink and would not have problems drinking. Another example of alcohol slowing down reaction times and resulting in less control of alcohol consumption. the individual's actions are accidents that occur under the influence of alcohol. According to Main, “on average 1,100 per year die from alcohol-related traffic accidents and another 300 die from non-alcohol-related deaths.” According to the CAS, among the 8 million college students in the United States surveyed in a year-long study, more than 2 million were driving under the influence of alcohol and more than 3 million were riding in cars with drivers who had been drinking.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that “compared to adults, youth who drink and drive have a greater risk of alcohol-related crashes because of their relative inexperience behind the wheel and their greater disability due to 'alcohol". Other accidents that can occur due to alcohol are “…poisoning, drowning, falls, burns…” (US Department of Health and Human Services). Because of some of these accidents "in 2002, 2,569 people between the ages of 16 and 20 died from unintentional injuries other than automobile accidents... approximately 40 percent of these deaths were alcohol-related." The most important reason to keep the legal drinking age at twenty-one is because of the effects it has on the user's health. Alcohol is very harmful to our body if consumed in huge proportions. But even used in small proportions it can still harm the body, just not as much and not as quickly. If someone were to binge drink alcohol, the user has a very good chance of contracting alcohol poisoning which could result in that individual's death. Alcohol is very harmful to many, if not all, organs. According to Albert S. Whiting, “there is a lot of evidence to show that even a small amount of alcohol can be quite harmful to the heart.” Whiting also reported that “alcohol has a direct effect on heart muscle cells.” When you drink alcohol, you speed up your heart rate because you dehydrate your body by eliminating the poison that alcohol contains. Speeding up your heart rate can be very harmful to anyone. One long-term effect that alcohol can have on the heart is that it “has an influence on risk factors for coronary heart disease.” Because alcohol does.2012.08.020