Universities+Against+Lowering+the+Age

=**Against A Lower Drinking Age, We Say NO!**= The [|legal drinking age] for different countries varies dramatically, from 0 to 21, as seen in the table below. The United States has the highest drinking age in the world.

[|Mothers Against Drunk Driving] says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. It accuses the presidents of misrepresenting science and, in the words of MADD CEO Chuck Hurley, “waving the white flag.” Both sides agree alcohol abuse by college students is a huge problem. Research has found that more than 40 percent of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence. One study estimated more than 500,000 full-time students at four-year colleges suffer injuries each year related in some way to drinking, and about 1,700 die in such accidents.

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Why would we want to lower the drinking age when all the facts show that its not only bad for their mental development but also that it leads to drinking problems later on in their life. Besides it being bad for their health it leads to kids not making good decissions. Yes, some adults don't make good decissions while under the influence but kids tend to make worse ones. If an adult is going to drive drunk most likely another more sober adult will say no and i'll drive you but most kids will just let someone drive off drunk because they are afraid of getting in trouble too.
 * 20% of all the alcohol consumed in the United States is by youth under 21.
 * Alcohol has a role in all three leading causes of youth deaths (unintentional injuries, suicides, and homicides).
 * In Texas when [|underaged drinkers] were asked where they got the alcohol 65% said from friends and family.
 * Texas leads the nation in alcohol related traffic deaths from 15 to 20 year olds.
 * 16% of high schools students report driving after they had been drinking and 40% admit to riding with a drunk driver before.
 * Kids who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol.

__** Video **__ media type="youtube" key="QwkL0tyeee4" height="344" width="425" Source: []

Dr. Ruth Clifford Engs of Indiana University, an internationally-known health educator and [|alcohol researcher], believes that the minimum drinking age of 21 in the US is too high.

=__World Drinking Ages__=


 * = __No Minimum__ ||= __Aage 16__ ||= __Aage 18__ ||= __Age 19__ ||= __Age 20__ ||= __Age 21__ ||
 * = Armenia ||= Antigua ||= Argentina ||= South Korea ||= Japan ||= (UNITED STATES) ||
 * = Azerbaijan ||= Austria ||= Barbados ||=  ||= Iceland ||=   ||
 * = China ||= Belgium ||= Bermuda ||=  ||=   ||=   ||
 * = Fiji ||= France ||= British Virgin Islands ||
 * = Nigeria ||= Germany* ||= Chile ||
 * = Poland* ||= Greece* ||= Czech Republic ||
 * = Portugal ||= Italy ||= Estonia ||
 * = Soviet Georgia ||= Netherlands* ||= Hong Kong ||
 * = Thailand ||= Norway* ||= Indonesia ||
 * = Viet Nam ||= Poland ||= Jamaica ||
 * =  ||= Spain* ||= Israel ||
 * =  ||= Turkey* ||= Latvia ||
 * =  ||= Switzerland* ||= Luxembourg (age 17 with an adult) ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Mexico ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Mongolia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Phillipines ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Russia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Slovak Republic ||
 * =  ||=   ||= South Africa ||
 * =  ||=   ||= United Kingdom (age 16 in restaurants) ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Uruguay ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Australia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Bahamas ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Brazil ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Canada (age 19 in some provinces) ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Colombia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Denmark ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Finland* ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Hungary ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Ireland ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Jamaica ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Lithuania ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Malaysia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Moldova ||
 * =  ||=   ||= New Zealand* ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Peru ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Puerto Rico ||
 * =  ||=   ||= St. Maarten ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Slovenia ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Sweden* ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Turkmenistan ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Ukraine ||
 * =  ||=   ||= Venezuela ||

=**__Exceptions to the Legal Age__**=

Many of the states that have chosen to specifically prohibit alcohol consumption by those under age 21 have a variety of exceptions. For example,

Some States allow an exception for consumption when a family member consents and/or is present. States vary widely in terms of which relatives may consent or must be present for this exception to apply and in what circumstances the exception applies. Sometimes a reference is made simply to "family" or "family member" without further elaboration. .... Some States allow an exception for consumption on private property. States vary in the extent of the private property exception which may extend to all private locations, private residences only, or in the home of a parent or guardian only. In some jurisdictions, the location exception is conditional on the presence and/or consent of the parent, legal guardian, or legal-age spouse. Some States also allow exceptions for educational purposes (e.g., students in culinary schools), religious purposes (e.g., sacramental use of alcoholic beverages), or medical purposes. [|2]



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=**__France Passes Ban on Underage Drinking__**=

All this tippling has given authorities pause as studies show that a surprising number of young teenagers are knocking it back in a serious way, often legally. France's conservative government now wants to wean the country's youth off the bottle with a ban on under-18 drinking.

The drinking age in [|France] varies depending on the type of alcohol involved and the place of sale. But anyone 16 or older can order beer and wine in bars.

A study of French 16-year-olds showed an overall rise in regular alcohol use from 1999 to 2007, going from 8 percent to 13 percent.

It's not by saying 'you must be 18' that the young will stop drinking," she said. "That guy can send his 20-year-old buddy and I'll sell (a six-pack) to him."

 =**__Lower the Drinking Age, Haaah.... No!__ **= [|Questions] have recently been raised about whether lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18 would help reduce the amount of binge drinking among people under age 21. The evidence from recent history and research do not support this change. Congress mandated in 1984 that states establish 21 as the drinking age in return for federal highway funding. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that the 21 drinking age has reduced traffic fatalities involving drivers 18 to 20 years old by 13 percent and saves approximately 900 lives a year. Overall, the number of U.S. teenagers involved in fatal drunk-driving accidents has declined 11 percent because of laws that raised the legal drinking age to 21.  Studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that delaying the initiation of drinking by youth contributes to reductions in future alcohol problems, including alcohol dependence, binge drinking and alcohol-associated traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities and violence.  Additional NIH research has shown that lifetime alcohol dependence decreased steeply as a function of increasing age at the onset of drinking.  According to the American Medical Association Web site on college drinking,  research suggests that lowering the drinking age will make alcohol more available to an even younger population. The practices and behaviors of 18 year-olds are particularly influential on 15 to 17 year-olds.  Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are: • 4 times more likely to develop alcoholism and 2 times as likely to develop alcohol abuse as those who begin drinking at age 21.  • <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">12 times more likely to be unintentionally injured while under the influence of alcohol, • <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">7 times more likely to be in a motor vehicle crash after drinking, and • <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">10 times more likely to have been in a physical fight after drinking. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In addition, the earlier a person begins drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to have ever used other drugs illicitly. <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">A drinking age of 18 is associated with adverse outcomes among births to young mothers <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">-- including higher incidences of low birth weight and premature birth.
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">A minimum drinking age of 21 saves lives... **
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Delaying the age of first drink reduces problems... **
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The younger a person starts drinking, the more problems occur... **

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