A U.S. District Court ruled on December 22, 1978, that MLDA 21 is «reasonably related to a government goal of reducing motor vehicle accidents» and that MLDA 21 stands up to constitutional challenge on three important legal issues: (1) alcohol consumption is not a constitutionally guaranteed «fundamental right.» (2) age is not inherently a criterion for «suspect» discrimination (as opposed to race or ethnicity, for example) and (3) the use of alcohol age to avoid road accidents has a «rational basis» in the available scientific evidence. [29] Middle school students hate the age of drinking, not that they keep it. About four out of five students drink alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. And more than 90% of this alcohol is consumed by excessive alcohol consumption. In the United States, 31% of road deaths are alcohol-related. [48] This percentage is higher than in many countries where the alcohol age is below 21, such as France (29%), Great Britain (16%), Germany (9%), China (4%) and Israel (3%). [48] Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, the rate of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in the 1980s declined less than that of European countries with legal drinking age below 21. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] In the decades following 1991, however, several problematic trends in the drinking culture of his youth emerged in America. For example, while men have traditionally had higher rates of binge drinking than women, this gender gap is now narrowing. Research shows that rates of alcohol consumption and heavy drinking among women and girls are now on the rise. There are several views on the age of alcohol consumption and how it should be managed.
Most people hold one of three views, which is whether to stay at 21, drop to 18 or increase to 25. [32] [Exam failed] Some people, like sociology professor David Hanson, suggest lowering it. Underage drinking is already common, but NHTSA spokeswoman Evelyn Avant believes lowering the drinking age would lead to even greater alcohol use among young people. [33] Many people say they would not mind if the high drinking age were also 21. Some also believe that the age should remain the same for strong liquor, while it is lowered for wine and beer. Prior to 1984, some states had set the legal drinking age at 18, 19 or 20. «On the other hand, we have created a real dilemma on the university campus, where almost half of the people are allowed to drink legally and the other half are not allowed to drink legally. And I think that creates all sorts of dysfunctional and strange consumption habits as a result. I think setting an age where it would be legal for [all] students to drink would probably improve things,» he said.
Reagan passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which found a way to force states to raise their drinking age through the back door. Really, it just made sure that people under the age of 21 couldn`t buy alcohol. For this reason, some states allow people under the age of 21 to drink privately and so on. Adults between the ages of 18 and 20 should not be denied this enjoyment if other enjoyable activities are legal by the age of 18. The CDC still calls underage drinking «a public health concern.» 1176-1919: No national drinking age. Prior to prohibition, the drinking age varied from state to state, with most states imposing no drinking age. Many rights in the United States are granted to citizens who are 21 years of age or older. A person cannot legally buy a handgun, gamble at a casino (in most states), or adopt a child until age 21, rent a car at age 25 (for most businesses), or run for president until age 35.
Alcohol consumption should be limited in the same way because of responsibility to oneself and others. [24] On 17. In July 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, a law requiring states to raise the drinking age to 21 or reduce their federal funding of highways by 10 percent. All states have complied and adopted the higher age to consume alcohol. Banning this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants and other licensed places leads them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house parties, where they are more prone to excessive alcohol consumption and other dangerous behaviors. [7] Regardless, the result was conclusive: after the U.S. raised the drinking age to 21, the number of drunk-driving deaths dropped. In the 1980s, a study was conducted that found that teens were more likely to die in alcohol-related car crashes than other American adults. In 1985, for example, they passed legislation that made federal highway funding conditional on setting the minimum drinking age at 21. In the end, all states agreed. Although there are still 18 in some areas.
This is a major concern among public health officials, as late adolescence is one of the most important stages of cognitive development. The brain undergoes significant restructuring and specialization during this period, including the elimination of unnecessary neural connections and the refinement of connections between frontal-subcortical brain regions. Research shows that drinking alcohol, especially through excessive alcohol consumption, before the brain fully matures, can permanently damage the brain and hinder cognitive development. 1984-2014: National drinking age raised to 21: In response to the drunk driving epidemic of the 1970s, President Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act in July 1984, a law requiring states to raise the drinking age to 21. «While we`re certainly not done reducing and preventing binge drinking on campus, the data is clear: 21 made a big difference,» says Dr. David Jernigan of Boston University`s School of Public Health. And if it is backed up by other evidence-based policies – higher taxes on alcohol, restrictions on physical availability and advertising, and the responsibility of adults when providing alcohol to people under 21 – it would save even more lives and futures than it has already done. The drinking age has been raised to 21 due to federal funding for highways.
The legal drinking age varies from country to country. In the United States, the legal drinking age is currently 21. [1] To curb excessive alcohol consumption among young people, other countries have raised the price of alcoholic beverages instead of raising the minimum drinking age and encouraged the general public to drink less. The legal drinking age of 21 is intended to prevent reckless drinking among adolescents and to limit drinking to more mature individuals who can be expected to make wise and wise choices about alcohol consumption. [2] The Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System 201716 found that among high school students, 30% drank alcohol and 14% drank alcohol in the past 30 days. However, there are other benefits to the higher legal drinking age in the United States. Prior to 1984, the legal age at which alcohol could be purchased in America varied from state to state. According to the CDC, after uniformly raising the legal drinking age to 21, all states saw a median 16% drop in traffic accidents. A survey for the Center for Alcohol Policy found that 86 percent of Americans support the legal drinking age at 21. [54] Numerous state and national surveys from the 1970s (when states raised the legal drinking age) to the present have shown overwhelming public support for MLDA 21. [30] [31] [32] In the world, America is one of 12 countries with a legal drinking age of 21 (only 6% worldwide). Only 17% of countries in the world have an alcohol drinking age above 19 anyway.
The Uniform Drinking Act, which forced states to set the legal drinking age at 21 by withholding ten percent of highway funding from states that left the legal drinking age at 18, is an example of the federal government`s encroachments on state affairs. Many states satisfied with their MLDA 18 have bowed to federal pressure instead of losing millions of dollars in annual funds for highways. [15] According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5% ($22.5 billion) of alcohol consumption spending in the United States. [16] The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that 24.8% of adolescents aged 14 or 15, 46.7% aged 16 or 17 and 68.3% aged 18 to 20 drink alcohol. [49] The United States, along with a handful of other countries, maintains the world`s highest legal drinking age at 21 (known as the minimum legal drinking age of 21, or MLDA-21). [9] In 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA), which punished any state that allowed anyone under the age of 21 to purchase alcoholic beverages by reducing the state`s annual federal highway allocation. In 1985, South Dakota challenged the NMDAA, but in 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that the Liquor Purchase Act was constitutional. Nevertheless, the Court stressed that States still have the right to set their own drinking age. Nevertheless, the federal government can impose a 10% penalty on highway funds for states that choose to set their drinking age below 21. Less than a year after the Supreme Court`s decision, all 50 states in the United States officially declared 21 to be the legal drinking age.
[1] Road accidents have decreased after the legal drinking age was raised,[1] but MLDA-21 is not the only variable that can be identified as the reason for the decline in the accident rate.