Drink Alcohol example essay topic

... 's that alcohol is a grown-up fixation. Young adults constantly tend to have the need to be "all grown up" and they have been proven to do things such as smoking. So it doesn't come to any surprise that young adults would also drink alcohol to feel more mature and to leave their adolescence behind. Take a look at foreign countries such as Italy and France, which have very few alcohol restrictions at all. Children learn from young ages that drinking alcohol such as wine and champagne is an okay thing to do. An occasional glass of wine during supper on Sunday is taught to be normal.

Parents raise their children teaching them that alcohol is a beverage like any other and to drink it because it tastes good. Americans have a mindset that one must be 21 in order to possess, purchase, or consume an alcoholic beverage. Many people who move to America from foreign countries such as Italy or France feel as if they are being robbed of their freedoms. They expect that since America is said to be "the land of the free" that they would be able to do more than they could in their own countries. They come to realize that what they have thought is wrong.

Most states don't even allow people under 21 to consume an alcoholic beverage in their own home with their parent's consent. Foreigners are surprised and astonished by these laws that rob them of enjoying alcohol. When a college foreign exchange student goes to a college dorm party they are surprised as to how Americans drink themselves sick. They found to realize that since they grew up with alcohol from an early age they have been taught to drink responsibly.

This further explains why most European countries have a lower alcoholic addiction percentage and much lower alcohol-related injuries and deaths. The way of teaching children about the safe use of alcohol brings back positive results. Studies show that even though the drinking age in Italy is 16 the alcohol-related deaths and injuries are much lower in proportion to that of the United States. Perhaps the United States should use those foreign countries as an example and set drinking as something that children should learn to grow up with.

Not only would young children learn that drinking is okay but they will also acquire the knowledge that drinking alcohol doesn't have to mean to become "drunk" but rather to have another option instead of juice or soft drinks. By doing so over years the deaths by alcohol-related situations will decrease and further generations will become acknowledged that alcohol doesn't need to be a "forbidden fruit" that is restricted to mature adults only. The website web is against lowering the drinking age. They dispute that lowering the drinking age will simply provoke more young people to consume alcohol. They argue that if the age is lowered to 18 then this will only incite people from 15 to 17 to drink.

In 1983, one year before the National Minimum Purchase Age Act was passed, 88% of high school seniors reported any alcohol use in the past year and 41% reported binge drinking. By 1997, alcohol use by seniors had dropped to 75% and the percentage of binge drinkers had fallen to 31%. C spinet. org continues to argue that responsible consumption of alcohol comes with maturity not with a sort of supervision. This maturity may arrive with a first job, marriage, or any other form of being "all grown up". Many supervised bars encourage a large consumption with discounted drinks, happy hours, two-for-ones, and bar crawls.

Raising the drinking age has apparently increased responsibility among young people. Compared to 1980 when less than 21 were the norm, fewer college students in 1995 reported drinking in the past month (68% vs. 82%) and binge drinking (39% vs. 44%). Also, more college students disapproved of binge drinking (66% vs. 57%). Towards the end of the article several great facts are established about states that lowered their drinking age. State motor vehicle fatality data from the 48 continental states found that lowering the drinking age for beer from 21 to 18 resulted in an 11% increase in fatalities among that age group. In Arizona, lowering the drinking age increased the incidence of fatal accidents by more than 25% and traffic fatalities by more than 35%.

Lowering the drinking age in Massachusetts caused an increase in total fatal crashes, alcohol-related fatal crashes, and alcohol-related property damage crashes among 18 - 20 year-old drivers. From 1979-1984, the suicide rate was 9.7% greater among young people who could legally drink alcohol than among their peers who could not. Peter Coors is vice president and CEO of Coors Brewing. He like many people believe that lowering the drinking age will in turn produce positive effects against both underage drinking and alcohol-related deaths. A quote from an interview of Peter Coors by USA TODAY reporter Melanie Wells depicts Mr. Coors' views". Maybe the answer is lowering the drinking age so that kids learn to be responsible about drinking at younger age.

I'm not an advocate of trying to get people to drink, but kids are drinking now anyway. All we " ve done is criminalize them. What I'd like to see this country do is to have a situation where kids could learn to drink responsibly over time, but there should be zero tolerance for aberrant behavior associated with alcohol. Zero tolerance for drinking and driving. Zero tolerance for crimes committed under the influence. People who are abusing alcohol aren't going to stop because the products get more expensive or because we put an ad on TV that says 'Don't Drink.

' " Peter Coors wants alcohol consumption to be safe and responsible but at the same time he suggests lowering the age. He believes that since the American society ejects any underage person from contact and use of alcohol that it makes them more prone to want to use it. If young teens are taught that alcohol can be used safe and responsibly then they will carry a lesson through their entire life that drinking doesn't have to mean doing it until you can't stand up. They will learn that having maybe a glass or two for a meal is normal and is a sign of maturity and trust between parents and children.

In retrospect it is an obvious statement to say that the drinking age is an increasingly important subject in the United States. Many people have differing opinions about the drinking age but after looking through research it seems as if many more people are for lowering the drinking age. They believe it will produce positive results in the American youth and for people who will become of the legal age to drink. It is important to think outside the box and look at other countries as examples. Many foreign countries don't have as much drinking problems as the United States does. They raise their children with a mindset that drinking is normal and not forbidden for the growing youth.

This teaches an overall sense of responsibly with alcohol. Studies prove that America has one of the highest rates of alcoholism among people of legal age and, most important, of people of illegal age. America is also currently the only country in the world to have a drinking age set at 21. After doing research on this topic it is clear to say that there is a distinct connection between America's drinking age and the rate of alcoholism and that a step needs to be taken to lower the drinking age in order to save our growing youth.