In the United States, 31% of road deaths are associated with alcohol. [48] This percentage is higher than in many countries with a drinking age below 21, such as France (29%), the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%), China (4%) and Israel (3%). [48] Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, its rate of traffic accidents and fatalities declined less in the 1980s than in European countries with a minimum legal drinking age below 21. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] One of our biggest campaigns here at NYRA is to lower the age of alcohol consumption, the topic we probably have the most press on. The legal drinking age is not a single law or policy to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and associated harm among adolescents. It cooperates with other alcohol control laws and policies. In addition to the impact of primary restrictions on the possession and purchase of alcohol, other state laws designed to restrict the consumption of alcohol by minors include zero-tolerance laws for drunk driving, driver`s license revocation, restrictions on possession of a false age card, and mandatory training for waiters on policies and procedures to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors and individuals. who are obviously drunk. In 1982, only 36 such laws were passed in all states. In 1997, the cumulative total increased to 204, reaching 245 in 2005.13 The age of alcohol consumption ensures that most of us start drinking in secret. Secrets of all kinds are psychologically unhealthy and cause anxiety, negative thought patterns and depression. Combined with an emotional-stimulating drug like alcohol, it`s no wonder that the psychological effects of illegal alcohol use can be catastrophic.
Maintaining the legal drinking age at 21 falsely assumes that the law is being followed. The minimum legal drinking age was perhaps the most studied alcohol control policy.12,46,48,49 Differences in laws between and within states over time have allowed researchers to study the impact of these policies and draw reliable conclusions. In direct response to these concerns, Congress and President Ronald Reagan worked to create a unified national era for alcohol consumption. The Minimum Drinking Age Act was enacted in 1984 and requires states to prohibit the purchase and public possession of alcohol by people under the age of 21 in order to receive all their federal funds on the roads.16 Until 1988, all states had a legal drinking age of 21. The United States actually has worse traffic accident statistics than similar countries that have set their drinking age at 18. According to the World Health Organization, other high-income countries have a road mortality rate of 8.7 per 100,000 people, while the United States has a rate of 11.4 per 100,000 people. On the one hand, this is due to the strong automotive culture of our company, but on the other hand also to the way we deal with road safety. In much of the United States, law enforcement`s top priority is to stop underage drinking. In Europe, the top priority of law enforcement is to catch speeding and drunk drivers on the streets: those who actively pose a threat.
The public debate on the legal minimum age for alcohol consumption has focused on arguments such as whether the legal minimum age for alcohol consumption is really responsible for the observed decline in alcohol consumption and related problems. Less attention was paid to the central principle of the Amethyst Initiative that a lower age of alcohol consumption would lead to a decrease in student alcohol consumption and related problems. There is no scientific evidence that a lower legal minimum age for alcohol consumption would create the conditions for responsible drinking or encourage young adults aged 18 to 20 to make healthy choices about alcohol consumption. The most popular argument used to defend the age of alcohol consumption is that it saves lives. However, this statement is highly questionable. Here`s what really happened when the age of alcohol consumption was raised to 21: countries with a lower legal minimum age for alcohol consumption are not doing any better. Contrary to what the amethyst initiative claims, heavy alcohol consumption among young people is a common problem throughout Europe. Frequent heavy drinking among adolescents aged 15 to 16 is more than twice as common in many countries as in the United States.5,64,65 The European Region has the highest total alcohol consumption among adults and the highest proportion of alcohol-related deaths in the world.65 In addition, the experience of lowering the legal drinking age in other countries is consistent with this: what happened in the United States in the 1970s. In 1999, New Zealand lowered its national drinking age from 20 to 18, resulting in a significant increase in the incidence of alcohol-related emergencies and traffic accidents among adolescents aged 15 to 19.66,67 Another study of adults in the United States found that those who were able to legally purchase alcohol before the age of 21 more often than those who could not meet the criteria for alcohol use disorders. or another drug use disorder later in life.54 Despite inconsistent and sometimes lax application, the best available evidence suggests that the legal drinking age of 21 has saved more than 800 lives each year among young adults aged 18 to 20 in the United States.55, 56 The Laws on the Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) set the minimum legal age, within which a person may purchase alcoholic beverages. The MLDA in the United States is 21 years old. The United States is one of only 12 countries in the world to have a legal drinking age of 21 and is the only Western country to have such a restriction.