Opinions - Debate in US over keeping drinking age at 21

[lulz]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US health and safety groups teamed up Tuesday in an effort to keep the legal drinking age at 21 amid a campaign from a small activist group to let Americans legally consume alcohol from age 18.

The advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced the creation of the Support 21 coalition to fight for the current drinking age law.

MADD chief executive Chuck Hurley said the coalition was formed to counterbalance the media attention being given to "Choose Responsibility," a small activist group based in the university town of Middlebury, Vermont.

Hurley, whose organization was a driving force in getting the legal drinking age across the United States raised to 21 in 1984, warned that lowering the age to 18 would lead to more binge drinking among America's youngsters.

"Everything in science indicates that the drinking age didn't cause binge drinking and will make it worse if it's lowered," Hurley told AFP after the press conference announcing the coalition.

Support 21 also cited "almost 50 peer-reviewed studies ... which found that an increased drinking age significantly lowers alcohol-related fatalities."

NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker said his agency has long advocated laws that prevent people younger than 21 from drinking and that it has "not identified any new information that merits changing the Board's position."

"Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death and alcohol the leading drug of choice for teenagers," he said.

While 50 peer reviewed studies strongly support keeping the current drinking age, only one supports Choose Responsibility's position, Hurley said.

"This is about science. We're talking about life and death here," Hurley said, accusing Choose Responsibility of distorting facts to suit its arguments.

But John McCardell, head of Choose Responsibility, dismissed the accusations.

"They always say that we talk off the cuff and we have opinions masquerading as facts," McCardell, who was president of Middlebury College for 10 years, told AFP.

"They will tell you that 52 studies show a direct relationship between the drinking age and alcohol-related fatalities," he said. "But the rest of the story is that there are an equal number of studies that show no relationship."

His assistant, Amanda Goodwin, said the studies were from the same article in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol from which MADD drew its peer-reviewed studies.

Choose Responsibility agreed with MADD that the number of alcohol-related traffic deaths has gone down since the legal drinking age was raised to 21.

"But the decline began before the drinking age law was changed and has occurred in every age group," McCardell said.

"If we are going to talk about lives lost to alcohol, let's talk about lives lost to alcohol, wherever," he said.

"Peer reviewed research has shown that more than 1,000 lives a year of 18 to 24 year olds are lost to alcohol off the highways.

"Those deaths are not taking place out in the open, in restaurants or bars or large public gatherings because the law will not allow that. The only place they can be occurring is those places where the law has sent them -- into dark corners and behind closed doors."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071010...9l0..wL8ys0NUE

[Unregistered_Lurker]

it will never get changed back unless we see a return to conscription. Even then it probably would stay where it is, and if it was lowered it would only go down to 20, since that's the conscription age used by the selective service.

[cra$h]

personally, i think it's bullshit that you can handle war (joining the military) and not be able to handle alcohol

[lulz]

Originally Posted by cra$h

personally, i think it's bullshit that you can handle war (joining the military) and not be able to handle alcohol

At 18 you can serve in the military, buy a gun, serve on a jury that may decide the life or death of another human being, and you can vote for the politicians who spend your tax dollars...

But you have to wait another 3 years til you can get served a beer in a bar.

Yeah. That makes sense.

[beentheredonethatagain]

I remember when I was a kid , my dad worked in a market, The drinking age was lower for girls than boys. If I recall correctly 17 for girls and eighteen for guys. That was in the state of Oklahoma, not to sure if it were a nation wide law or a state law, if anybody can add to this please do sol Thankyou

[chemlove]

Originally Posted by lulz

At 18 you can serve in the military, buy a gun, serve on a jury that may decide the life or death of another human being, and you can vote for the politicians who spend your tax dollars...

But you have to wait another 3 years til you can get served a beer in a bar.

Yeah. That makes sense.

much of what i was going to say only i didn't have anything great to add so i wanted to commend you on sharing my opinion.

[Revancheshepherd]

I think the drinking age should be 20.(like Japan)
21 is just weird.

[FrankenChrist]

The problem is their own puritan culture that prohibits from seeing facts.

[trptamene]

"Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death and alcohol the leading drug of choice for teenagers," he said.

I thinks it's all that they can get their hands on. I wonder how many smoking and driving fatalities there would be if marijuana were to take its place. If I had children I would much rather them sit on their ass in front of the TV getting high and watching towlie on south park than going out doing drugs that lower their inhibitions and make them feel invincible while driving around the city all jacked up on yager-bombs.

[mrsg84]

What about kids who go to college at some 17 or even 16 years? It's a well known fact that there's a lot of drinking going on but nothing is being done about that.

What is most ridiculous in my opinion is that you're a legal adult at age 18. It's the age of majority which is defined in the way that the person has majority control over his or her life (except for things like illnesses and death, hence the "majority"). Cutting alcohol out of the equation is just silly. You can be a prostitute, go and get killed in a war, make choices like getting married but you can't choose to have a glass of wine? Might aswell raise the age of majority to 21, then. Otherwise there seems to be some real discrepancy.

[nEone]

SWIM was raised in the EU where the drinking age is 16 - but the driving age is 18.

Shockingly, by the time SWIM and his friends turned 18 and got driving permits - they'd done enough drinking to realize that even a small amount of alcohol could distort judgement and slow reaction times. NONE of SWIMS highschool friends ever drove drunk. Of course, since none of SWIM's friends had to sneak around with alcohol around adults, none of SWIM's friends ever were binge drinkers either - sure, they got plastered plenty of times, but there wasn't a culture of hiding it and craving it....drinking was just part of the social structure.

SWIM was shocked by the marked difference when he came to the US for college where kids had been driving since as early as 15 - and had absolute confidence in their ability to drive because of it - regardless of how sober they were. Drunk driving was rampant in his college peers.

Of course, the US has a lamentable public transportation system (with a few exceptions) - and a very distinct class-aversion to using public transport ( "buses are for poor people" - "The Metro is filled with homeless people" etc.). So kids can't easily go out without a car or a chaperone.

[umbra1010]

My friends dad let his other son drink when he was 18 becuase he joined the army. His dads philosophy was if you were old enough to fight for his country he should be able to drink. I think we should lower the drinking age becuase of that reason. We lowered the voting age down to 18 for the same reason so why shouldn't alcohol.

[Hollow Hippie]

Hell despite it being 21, 20 or any similar age, teens will easily find it, openely in their parent's kitchen. Making things illegal adds to the mystique to somethings and can make an urge to try it.

[RaverHippie]

Where SWIM lives, in NYC, It is very easy to purchase alcohol even though SWIM is clearly not 21. It's not even an issue to get alcohol whenever SWIM's friends want it. SWIM is not a fan of alcohol at all but admires DEEPLY the 16 drinking age then 18 driving age seen in Germany.

[Donny Devito]

it'll prolly get lowered to 18. it would help to further the corporate agenda on all fronts. insurance companies would make trillions!