Drinking Age

The author of “Lowering drinking age is not a solution,” disagrees with Nick Clesen’s column (Mulcahey, 2002). It is talking about lowering the drinking age to 18. The author doesn’t believe lowering drinking age will bring us a better situation, because if they permitted drinking age to 18, some smokers who are under 18 will want to smoke under-age. Also, more drunk drivers will be around. Finally, because the way American culture is built, people abuse alcohol when they are allowed to drink it.

People want the same things as lowering the drinking age, such as smoking, driving, and entering the bar. “Lowering the age to 18 will just open up a new age class to alcohol, those who are under 18” (Mulcahey, 2002, para.6). They will see it as unfair and demand equal treatment. Some people may want no limit to drink alcohol. It is not easy to change a law. Changing one law will affect others and force other laws to change in succession.

Even now many people are driving with alcohol. It is obvious if they change the law to drinking at 18, it will increase the number of drunk drivers in the world. Alcohol causes people to get drunk. When they are drunk, their decisions are hard to make, so they try to drive home still drunk. Then they cause accidents and kill people.

In France, people can drink when they are children, because there is no limit. As a result, drinking is not such a big deal to French people. On the other hand, people are limited by government from drinking alcohol until they are 21 in America. “Oddly enough high school students in much of the rest of the developed world-where lower drinking ages and laxer enforcement reign-do considerably better than U.S. students on standardized tests” (Balco, 2007, para. 9). Americans are stopped from drinking; that is why they drink huge amounts at one time. People under 18 also drink a huge amount, but their bodies are less developed than 21-year-olds. Lowering the drinking age only makes it easier for younger people to abuse alcohol, not solve the problem.

In conclusion, government should not lower the drinking age to 18. They have to recognize that it will mean nothing or bring us more problems. Americans will be upset over unequal change, more drunk drivers, and American culture as abusing alcohol. The author knows what will happen if the drinking age is lowered. It’s too dangerous to permit alcohol under 21.


Balco, R. (2007, April 12). “Back to 18?” Reason Online. Retrieved February 5, 2008, from http://reson.com/news/show/119618.html

Mulcahey, S. (2002, January 30). “Lowering drinking age is not a solution.” Western Courier, Western Illinois University. Retrieved February 1, 2008, from http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2002/01/30/Opinion/Lowering.Drinking.Age.Is.Not.A.Solution-443723.shtmlhtml