Should the Alcohol Drinking Age Be Increased or Decreased - Essay Example

Introduction Consumption of alcohol is very common in the United s as well as in the other countries of the world. Consumption of Alcohol has resulted in many tragic incidents including deaths from accidents and sickness. Each and every person in the world is aware of the ill-effects of alcohol still it is entertained because it is legal in many countries. The main purpose of alcohol and drugs is to make a person’s mental state high and a person can come out of problems in daily life. Drugs consumption is equally dangerous but alcohol consumption is vast because of its legality. In the modern world it is quite observant that teenagers consume more alcohol compared to an adult. There are strict laws in place regarding consumption of alcohol before attaining a minimum age still most of the college students have made consumption of alcohol a new trend in the society. Many people argue in favor of consumption of alcohol after attaining a certain age but the dangerous effects of alcohol consumption is significant. Discussion Alcohol consumption is highly dangerous for teenagers as well as adults because consumption of alcohol increases the flow of blood from the heart to other parts of the body (Johnston 5). Due to increase in blood circulation the pulse rate goes high and people become more exited compared to normal state. The high circulation in blood also results in extraction of other body hormones resulting in abnormal secretion of hormone. Excessive drinking results in high blood pressure and it can be dangerous for a person’s health if blood pressure always remains at a high state. High blood pressure can cause several neurological diseases. Due to high flow of blood in the brain and other parts of body the brain starts behaving abnormally. This abnormality reflects in a person’s behavioral characteristics. If a person consumes more alcohol he/she starts losing out control of anger. Adults who consume alcohol on a regular basis should remember that alcohol can cause serious health problems if consumed at a large scale. Teenagers attaining age 16 or above mostly have a tendency to consume alcohol with friends in unsafe places. Alcohol has many disastrous effects starting from stomach infection to kidney and liver failure. Alcohol is available in different compositions in market today. They are some medicinal effects of alcohol especially in case of heart problems. Since alcohol has a tendency to increase the flow of blood hence it can be used for proper blood circulations at times. However doctors strictly mention that alcohol should be consumed in a very small amount diluting with water so that it can-not cause any harm to the body. Even after having some medicinal effects alcohol is asked to be avoided because its harmful effects are drastically more. Alcohol if consumed in empty stomach can result in stomach infections, tumor and liver failure. Teenagers who consume alcohol from a very small age have a tendency of grey hair before attaining suitable age and they are prone to stomach illness. Consumption of alcohol should not be supported at low ages because it can-not be helpful in any way. Lessening the age limit for consumption of alcohol can only increase the profit of liquor shop and pubs they can never help in forming a healthy and peaceful society. There are some people in the world who say that alcohol drinking age should be decreased without understanding the ill-effects of alcohol consumption by teenagers. According to David J. Hanson there are people who state that “Alcohol is made illegal until a person attains age 21, which makes it a forbidden fruit and once students come out of this age they consume more alcohol.” The argument stated might be true if seen from one perspective but students already consume alcohol from a very low age in the modern world. It has been observed that teenagers start consuming alcohol after attaining age 15 by different means but they have a fear that if they get caught they might be punished legally which controls their consumption. Teenagers after attaining age 21 sure consume more alcohol but the same will happen if the age limit is reduced to 18 because teenagers will still want to consume more alcohol because their body provides more stamina and energy for such interesting instances. Teenagers will be affected at a huge scale if the age limit of alcohol is reduced because they will have a tendency to consume alcohol much before they attain the minimum age limit and they might attain fatigue, gastric and mental problems before they even get ready to make their career. Some people argue stating that “Consumption of alcohol has always been a trend and teenagers would find safe places like pubs and bars instead of drinking in unsafe places.” People might believe that consumption of alcohol at legal places is ethical but the chances teenagers would get after getting the opportunity would make situations difficult to control. Most of the road accidents are caused due to driving after consumption of alcohol. Government has strict rules in place that driving any kind of vehicle after consumption of alcohol should be punishable however teenagers find fun in driving after consuming alcohol. Mostly teenagers do-not have ant good motive behind consumption of alcohol. They believe that consuming alcohol would help them gain attention between friends and they drink to enjoy and spitting nuisance all over. There have many deaths reported after consumption of alcohol. In most of the accidents it has been seen that teenagers are the victims who consume huge amount of alcohol and go for dangerous competitions within themselves. Teenagers also consume cigarettes and drugs along with alcohol which makes their reactions weird after consumption of alcohol. The main reason behind the accidents is the excitement teenager’s gain after consumption of alcohol. According to polling it has been observed that about 54% of people favor in lowering the age limit of alcohol consumption by providing variety of reasons that might sound true but the consequences are with-held in their statement (Hocking 17). People have said that if teenagers have right to marry, permit to join the military, change citizenship etc. then they should also have right to drink alcohol when they attain age 18. This is a serious statement in favor of teenagers’ wants but if alcohol is legalized before 21 it can result in serious implications (Drucker 24). Alcohol can result in mental disorders including rise in anger and abnormality in behavior. Secondly, consumption of alcohol by teenagers can lead to diseases that might never be treatable once gained. The dangerous diseases include liver failure, kidney failure, and nervous breakdown and in many cases smoking along with alcohol consumption can lead to lungs problems including bronchitis and lungs cancer. Teenagers are unaware of most of the facts and do-not bother about the after-effect of alcohol consumption hence they should not be encouraged by lowering the age limit of alcohol consumption. Moreover alcohol increases the probability of accidents when people drink and drive. Because of over-excitement people forget to drive vehicle in their controllable speed and have a tendency to speed up in order to enjoy their ride and getting attention of other people. The main reason behind the over-excitement is the inappropriate working of brain. Since the functional state of the brain reduces because of low activity of mind the body activities changes and people behave out of their natural state. These problems have been observed significantly in teenagers. According to recent report it has been recorded that 63% of drinkers between age group 18 to 24 think that they consume alcohol to get drunk and high (Kang 19. About 35% of the 64% of drinkers believe that they do-not like to stop once they start consuming alcohol (Benthin 21). Important evidence recorded is that 39% of population is not able to remember what happened in the evening of a big drinking session. These reports provide sufficient evidence about the dangerous effect of alcohol. Alcohol provides addiction and this is bad because people get a tendency to repeat the same thing again and again (HSSPHD 8). It has also been observed that regular drinkers do-not have a potential to stop or refrain themselves from drinking provided they are under any circumstances. These factors are definitely astonishing and people who support legalizing alcohol at a low age should realize the instances that can occur due to massive consumption of alcohol. Alcohol has a very little medicinal use so it can be said that consumption of alcohol does not provide any useful application in-terms of body and society. Young people can be influenced very easily by anti-social substances and alcohol is one of them (Furlong 244). People can also get involved in anti-social activities due to excessive drinking. Young people are vulnerable to accidents, injuries, violence and suicide cases. It is true that in some countries the age limit of alcohol consumption has been lowered but it does not explain any positive implication about lowering of age-bar in rest of the countries. For example, Australia and New Zealand have reduced the age bar from 20 to 18. Alcohol consumption has been a trend in the society from very beginning of the civilization that is why it is still there in picture otherwise alcohol and cigarettes are equivalent to drugs that are illegal in human society. Recently government has adopted a secondary supply legislation which determines that only a legal guardian can decide whether a child should be allowed to drink or not. Conclusion Based on the facts and evidences provided in the above discussion it is clear that alcohol consumption is an unethical stand and it does not provide any justification of legalizing the same at a lesser age. Undoubtedly there are various factors that signify the disturbances that can be created by young drinkers in the society. Adults after consumption of alcohol do-not have control over their emotions and actions so young people would obviously not have more control compared to adults. Most of the accidents caused at night after party shows that teenagers are involved in them after drinking heavily. Moreover the effect of alcohol in the body of young people would only cause deadly diseases and deaths. There have been many instances recorded in the deaths of young people most of them are caused because of excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs. The actions taken by government and law making bodies are obviously logical and people should stand to support the initiatives taken instead of opposing it. Alcohol consumption is not a healthy stand and the minimum age limit should not be lowered because it can cause danger and threat in society. Works Cited Benthin, Adam. “A Psychometric study of adolescent risk perception”. Journal of Adolescence 38.3 (1993): 21. Print. Drucker, Sarah. The Relationship between the Public Institute of Higher Education and the current alcohol consumption policies. London: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Furlong, Andy. Handbook of Youth and Young Adulthood. London: Routledge, 2009. Print. Hocking, James. “Teenage Drinking”. Journal of Communication 24.2 (1984): 17. Print. HSSPHD. Preventing Harm caused by alcohol. States of Jersey, Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Jul. 2014. . Johnston, Luke. “Monitoring the Future”. Journal of Healthcare Studies 12.1 (2010): 5. Print. Kang, David. “Fetal Alcohol syndrome”. Journal of Obstetric 9.1 (2003): 19. Print. Read More