dont drink kids

The phrase "legal drinking age" wrongly suggests there is a federal law dictating the age limit country-wide. In reality, states are free to set their own age limit - well, free in theory at least. Every state has agreed to set the legal age at 21 because Congress passed a law in 1984 that withholds 10 percent of highway funds from states that set a lower limit. With that threat looming, 49 states had complied by 1988, with Louisiana joining after years of court battles.
-During the Vietnam War era, 29 states lowered the drinking age to 18, reasoning that thousands of men and women were dying for their country without even having the right to drink legally. Within a short time, the lower drinking age resulted in a significant increase in alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
-Those who oppose the lower drinking age argue the law saves lives. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's review of nearly 50 peer-reviewed studies, it found that lowering the minimum drinking age to 18 increases fatalities by 10 percent.
-The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says laws setting the drinking age at 21 have cut traffic fatalities involving drivers ages 18-20 by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 19,121 lives since 1975. When Vermont voted to increase the age in 1985, alcohol-related traffic fatalities reportedly dropped by 40 percent, according to Vermont State Police. Since alcohol is still the leading cause of death among teenagers in highway crashes, activist groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving argue the law is serving a valuable purpose.
-Since states would pay a high price - 10 percent of their federal highway funds - to lower the drinking age, it is unlikely the movement will gain any ground. In most states, the legislative efforts have died without much support. Some organizations are hoping to reopen the issue for the 2010 election.
-Sometimes young adults who have not yet reached the age of 21, experiment with alcohol primarily because it is illegal. They are curious as to what it is about drinking that makes it forbidden until 21.
-Since the drinking age is currently 21, some minors drive under the influence of alcohol because they are afraid to tell their parents they are drinking. Minors do not ask for help if they are having difficulty staying safe while drinking because it is illegal.
-Many 18 year olds just are not ready to drink responsibly.
-If the drinking age was lowered to 18 (for instance), there would be many high school students who would be able to legally drink. Students could fall behind on their studies if they started to drink. Most high school students are not mature enough to handle drinking alcohol. They could make poor choices such as sneaking alcohol to school, driving under the influence or binge drinking. These possibilities are another reason many people do not advocate a lower drinking age.
-Federal highway statistics reflect that there were at least 25,000 less fatal car accidents involving minors under the influence with the legal drinking age of 21.
-The 2007 Monitoring the Future results reveal that now28% of high school seniors have never used alcohol in their lifetime. This means that more than three times as many 18 year olds are NOT consuming any alcohol since the drinking age was raised to 21.
-Youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence as an adult than those who wait until age 21.
-It is estimated that underage drinking costs the US $58 billion each year in accidents, crime and hospitalizations.
-On September 13, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reached a $4.75 million legal settlement with the parents of a student who died from an alcohol overdose in 1997. Scott Krueger, an 18-year-old freshman, fell into an alcohol-induced coma after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol at a university fraternity pledge function, and died three days later. The settlement comes at a time when underage drinking on college campuses appears to be spiraling out of control, with an increasing number of drinking-related incidents and fatalities.
-Over 40 percent of all the 16-to-20 year olds who died in 1994 were killed in car crashes, half of which were alcohol-related.
-The number of intoxicated youth drivers in fatal crashes dropped 14.3 percent from 1983 to 1994 -- the largest decrease of any age group during this time period -- indicating that the higher legal drinking age simply saves lives.-In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Purchase Age Act, to encourage each state to enact a minimum legal purchase age (MLPA) of 21 by 1986. The result was impressive: an estimated 1,071 lives were saved in 1987 alone.
-State motor vehicle fatality data from the 48 continental states found that lowering the MLPA for beer from 21 to 18 during the 1970s resulted in an 11% increase in fatalities among this age group.(11)
An Arizona Department of Public Safety report found that fatal accidents increased over 25% while traffic fatalities increased more than 35% after the state MLPA was lowered from 21 to 19.(12)
A Michigan study found that police reports of “had been drinking” crashes increased 35%, while the incidence of nighttime single-vehicle crashes among young men increased 17% after the state reduced its MLPA from 21 to 18.(13) Another Michigan study found that DWI arrests increased 141% for 18 - 20 year-olds after the state lowered the MLPA. Roadside surveys showed that the proportion of 16 - 20 year-old drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) over .05 more than doubled.(14)
The younger a person begins using alcohol, the greater the chance of developing alcohol dependence or abuse some time in their life. Of those who begin drinking at age-18, 16.6% subsequently are classified with alcohol dependence and 7.8% with alcohol abuse. If a person waits until age-21 before taking their first drink, these risks decrease by over 60%.(15)
The earlier a person begins using alcohol, the greater the risk of current and adult drug use(16, 17) and harm to the developing brain.(18)
Between 1979 and 1984, the suicide rate was 9.7% greater among adolescents and young adults who could legally consume alcohol than among their peers who could not.(19)
Using national data on alcohol and drug use among high school seniors from 1976 - 1987, one study found a decrease in marijuana use associated with increases in the MLPA.(20)
In raising the MLPA from 18 to 21, states observed an average 16% decrease in the rate of vandalism arrests, compared to an average 1.7% increase in states with a constant MLPA of 18.(21)
In Australia, lowering the drinking age was associated with an increase of 20% to 25% in cases of male delinquency.(22)
An Australian study of two states that lowered their MLPA found “a significant increase” in hospital admissions as a result of non-traffic alcohol-related accidents.(23)