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Persuasive Essay on Lowering The Drinking Age

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One of the first associations that come to mind when talking about alcohol is driving. For citizens of the United States, having a car is seen as a must starting from the age when a teenager is allowed to receive a driving license. According to data provided by the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving , in 2010, a high percentage of car accidents connected to drunk driving (15.1% out of 10.228 individuals) was observed among young people aged between 18-20 years (PolicyMic). Respectively, if youths were officially allowed to consume alcohol from 18 years old, this index of car accidents would necessarily be much higher. Moreover, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that since establishing the drinking age of 21 in 1975, the number of car fatalities among 18-20 year old drivers in the United States decreased by 13% (SFGate).

The medical irresponsibility of allowing teenagers to drink alcohol on a legal basis is also obvious to those who have at least a basic knowledge in biology. Consuming alcohol on a regular basis can negatively affect the development of an individual’s brain’s frontal lobes, which are responsible for emotional regulation, as well as for planning and organization (ProCon.org). Underage individuals who consume alcohol put themselves at more risk of addiction, decreased ability of decision-making, tend to behave less responsibly, and may become violent, depressed, and even prone to suicide.

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The “trickle-down effect,” well-known to sociologists, is another reason against lowering drinking age that should be taken into consideration. This effect implies individuals who already have a right to legally purchase and consume alcohol tend to buy it for their younger peers (ProCon.org); for example, 21-year-old students buy beer or spirits for themselves and for their friends who can be of the age 18-20. In the case of the drinking age being lowered to 18 years, the age of individuals who in fact have access to alcohol will decrease even more, reaching ages of 15-17 or even less. Considering the specifics of adolescence, granting teenagers with a wider access to alcohol can have negative consequences for their health and wellbeing.

Though in a number of countries worldwide the drinking age is 18 years, in the United States, this index is 21, and it should not be lowered. Lowering the drinking age to 18 years old would lead to an increase of car accidents connected to drunk driving; it would also negatively affect youths’ cognitive development, clouding their ability to make decisions and plans, and would make them more vulnerable to addiction and other negative effects; due to the “trickle-down effect” lowering the drinking age would also mean granting access to alcohol to individuals who are younger than 18 years old. It seems this debate in the U.S. will linger on much longer.

“Minimum Age Limits Worldwide.” ICAP.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. <http://www.icap.org/table/minimumagelimitsworldwide>.

“Top 3 Reasons Why the Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered to 18.” PolicyMic. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/14574/top-3-reasons-why-the-drinking-age-should-not-be-lowered-to-18>.

“Keep the Drinking Age at 21.” SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. <http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Keep-the-drinking-age-at-21-3271409.php>.

“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?” ProCon.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. <http://drinkingage.procon.org/>.

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Organizing Your Arguments

Alys Avalos-Rivera

The way the argumentation is presented in a persuasive essay is also special because writers do not only care about presenting their stance. They also want to include the point of view of their opponents to show that they have considered all possible angles of the controversy and have enough evidence to prove that the other side is wrong.

Two Sides and One Controversy

Taking into account the need to incorporate both sides of the controversy, observe the arguments presented in the Room for Debate page, which have been paraphrased for you below. If you were given the task to write a persuasive essay on the MLDA topic, how would you organize these arguments to compose three body paragraphs?

Ideas for body paragraph 1:

Ideas for body paragraph 2:, ideas for body paragraph 3:.

• How did you arrange the arguments?
• Did you present the CONs and the PROs in all the paragraphs?
• How did you make the organization work to make your point of view more persuasive?
• Discuss your organization with one of your colleagues. How do your ideas to present your arguments and defend your point of view differ from your colleague’s?
• Did you present a different point of view per paragraph? If so, what did you include in the third paragraph?

Organization Templates

Although the persuasive essay includes the two sides of a controversy, it does pay more attention to the position with which the writer is siding. The order in which the arguments are introduced is crucial to make the piece more persuasive. Traditionally, writers choose between three possible organization templates:

In organization template 1, writers present three of the arguments that support their point of view (PRO) and one that supports their opponents’ (CON). In the first body paragraph, the presentation of the opponents’ argument is immediately followed by a counterargument. This counterargument is an argument in favor of the authors’ point of view that directly addresses the opponents’ point and nullifies its persuasive power. Organization template 2 shows a variation of the same strategy that presents the counter argumentation on the third body paragraph. By contrast, in organization template 3, the argument/counterargument opposition is used along the three body paragraphs.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Template

Which could be the advantages and disadvantages of these two different organization templates? List them down in the chart below. Compare and discuss your list with your colleagues:

Sample Essay

Read the essay entitled “Legal Drinking Age: Twenty-One or Eighteen? Persuasion Time” to answer the following questions

• What is the author’s Thesis Statement?
• What are the arguments used to support the Thesis Statement?
• Where are the topic sentences that develop each argument?
• What organization template did the author choose?
• Is the information presented in the argumentation reliable and persuasive?
• Do you think this essay would persuade parents about supporting the reduction of the MLDA? Why? Why not?
• What would you change in this essay? Why?

Legal Drinking Age: Twenty-One or Eighteen? Persuasion Time

By Victoria DeCesare [1]

Alcoholic consumption began for many as a symbol of friends and acquaintances coming together to simply enjoy life and “be merry.” However, in the United States, alcoholic consumption and the law have collided quite often in the past. The most recent and ongoing controversy regarding drinking is whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This is a huge controversy specifically relevant to college students, as drinking at American universities has grown to become a defining part of college life despite the fact that a majority of college students cannot even legally drink. It is clear through the prevalence and dangers of binge drinking among college students and the high percentage of DUI and alcohol-related accidents and deaths that something needs to change in this country. Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would be an effective and beneficial step in changing the binge-drinking culture in this country, encouraging drinking alcohol as a safe and enjoyable activity, and facilitating medical attention for those involved in alcohol-related accidents.

First of all, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will eliminate the thrill of breaking the law for eighteen to twenty year olds. The idea of being rebellious and breaking the law while still having fun and not harming others in the process is an appealing and exciting idea for many underage college students. With drinking being illegal for those under twenty-one and with the risk of “getting caught” always present and stimulating, drinking tends to become a more furtive act with it taking place in people’s dorm rooms, basements, etc. It is in these situations where drinking becomes the most dangerous, where pre-gaming, taking multiple shots in a row, and trying to get as drunk as quickly and efficiently as possible fosters binge drinking. If the drinking age was lowered to eighteen, there wouldn’t be that thrill to want what we can’t have because it would be legal. In traveling to England recently, where the legal drinking age is set at eighteen, I have observed how Americans visiting, studying, or living in England who are in the eighteen to twenty-year-old range treat drinking completely differently than the eighteen to twenty-year-olds here. In England, those Americans treated drinking as simply a normal social activity because it was legal and there wasn’t that thrill to break the law; in contrast, I only witness the binge drinking and “Get drunk” mentality, rarely, the mentality to drink in a relaxed and normal atmosphere for those under twenty-one range are going to drink regardless of if it’s legal or not. The difference lies in the fact that if it’s legal, there is no peer pressure or temptation to commit something illegal so less risky behaviors and treatment of alcohol will result.

In the second place, because alcoholic consumption is considered an illegal activity for people until they reach age twenty-one, oftentimes teenagers are never really taught how to drink in moderation beforehand and therefore are more likely to abuse alcohol and binge drink. While the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2014) shows that drinking levels among younger people (and the American population in general), are decreasing, younger people are more likely to binge drink when they do consume alcohol (Kennet, 2008). However, I hold that binge drinking could be substantially lowered if the drinking age was lowered. This is because 18-20-year olds would then be able to experience moderate drinking in bars, restaurants, and other venues where there is supervision. Since this is currently illegal under the law, 18-20 year olds are now forced to drink in unsupervised venues were moderation is untaught and binge drinking is encouraged. In fact, having the drinking age set at the age of 21 has not stopped drinking among the 18-20-year-old age group, but has rather encouraged the movement of drinking to such unsupervised places were dangerous drinking behaviors are more likely to take place. The legal drinking age being set at 21 simply perpetuates the lack of a moderating culture in this country. Oftentimes, parents dismiss the idea that they need to educate their child on alcohol. With a lower drinking age, more parents would feel responsibility to introduce their children to alcohol in the controlled environment of the household beforehand as a means of education and instruct them on how to use alcohol in moderation. A Penn State research study (Abar & Turrisi, 2008) even showed a direct correlation between parents’ talking to their child about alcohol before entering college and subsequently lower rates of binge drinking. A lower drinking age would expose 18-20-year olds to a greater multitude of adults who can provide supervisory guidance over how to use alcohol moderately and therefore encourage less risky drinking behaviors.

Many opponents to the lowering of the drinking age argue that it will result in more alcohol-related accidents and deaths, especially while driving. Drunk driving deaths have actually steadily decreased in the past thirty years. In fact, this trend began occurring since 1982, two years before the legal drinking age became twenty-one through the Uniform Drinking Age Act. It has shown that this trend occurred throughout all age groups and various other categories and therefore cannot be directly attributed to the drinking age. An estimated 90% of drunk driving deaths in the United States were found in the over 21 age group so drunk driving cannot be necessarily attributed to age (SAMHSA, 2010). Furthermore, the same source reports that the amount of drunk driving deaths in the United States has decreased at a slower rate than that European of European countries that have their legal drinking age at eighteen or lower. As many people argue that lowering the drinking age is fatal, lowering the drinking age is actually going to save lives. This is because it will reduce the amount of people that become injured due to alcohol or that simply die because of alcohol poisoning who fail, or have others fail, to report their injuries to the police or the ambulance out of fear of legal consequences for underage drinking. Many states currently have laws that protect an underage person from the legal consequences of underage drinking if they go and seek medical attention; however, not many college students are aware of these laws and are still hesitant nevertheless out of fear that it may get back to their parents. Lowering the drinking age would encourage those in the 18-20-year-old range to seek medical attention for potentially fatal alcoholic injuries without fear of potential consequences for doing so, in turn saving the lives of many young adults, especially those in college.

We are all aware of the drinking culture that takes place in this country. Particularly among college students, drinking has turned into a dangerous practice that is the result of the excitement of alcohol’s illegality for most college students and the fact that public officials and adults use drinking as a tool to punish and prevent a potentially enjoyable activity among an age group instead of encouraging the enjoyable and safe practice that drinking can be fore them. Lowering the drinking age, as exhibited around the world, can show how drinking can bring young adults and adults together in a fun, safe way instead of creating a disparity among them. If those young adults in the 18-20-year-old range share the adult same responsibilities that other adults do, then having the right to choose to drink should be no exception. It is time that alcoholic use, especially by college students, becomes a safe practice in this country instead of one whose culture lies concealed from sight and forced to grow uncontrollably and treacherously. It is time that eighteen, nineteen, and twenty year olds finally be trusted as the adults we are considered in every other way.

Abar, C., & Turrisi, R. (2008). How important are parents during the college years? A longitudinal perspective of indirect influences parents yield on their college teens’ alcohol use. Addictive behaviors, 33(10), 1360-1368. Doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.06.010

Kennet, J. (2008). Alcohol Use. In SAMHSA, Results form the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (SMA 08-4343). Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/2007_NSDUH_Detailed_Tables/Intro.pdf

NIDA (2014) Teen prescription opium abuse, cigarette, and alcohol abuse trends down. Retrieved from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2014/12/teen-prescription-opioid-abuse-cigarette-alcohol-use-trends-down

SAMHSA (2011). Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (SMA 11-4658). Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/Revised2k11NSDUHSummNatFindings/Revised2k11NSDUHSummNatFindings/NSDUHresults2011.htm

Citations and References

• How does the author cite her sources?
• What type of citation system is being used? How do you know it?
• What formatting features do you recognize in the reference page? Have they been appropriately used? Why? Are there any formatting errors? Which ones?
• What type of source is the document authored by Abar and Turrisi (2008)? How do you know it?
• What type of source is the document authored by Kennet (2008)? What information did you use to find this out?
• Adapted and published with permission of the author ↵

Organizing Your Arguments Copyright © 2020 by Alys Avalos-Rivera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Lowering The Drinking Age - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Lowering the drinking age is a contentious topic that hinges on the balance between legal pragmatism and societal responsibility. Essays could delve into the historical context and the varying international standards regarding legal drinking ages. They might also explore the arguments for and against lowering the drinking age, including considerations related to public health, safety, and the socio-cultural aspects of alcohol consumption. Discussions might extend to the statistical analysis of alcohol-related accidents and deaths, behavioral studies on youth and alcohol consumption, as well as the economic implications for the hospitality industry. The discourse may also touch on the effectiveness of current legal frameworks in curbing underage drinking, and how these measures compare with the policies of other countries. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Lowering The Drinking Age you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Herman, Raise the Drinking Age to Twenty-Five

Exercise 1.1.

The following essay, “Raise the Drinking Age to Twent y- Five,” by Andrew Herman, includes all four of the basic elements of argument discussed so far. Read the essay, and then answer the questions that follow it, consulting the diagram on page 24 if necessary.

This commentary appeared on August 22, 2007, on BG Views, a website for Bowling Green State University and the citizens of its community.

RAISE THE DRINKING AGE TO TWENT Y- FIVE

ANDREW HERMAN

As a new school year begins, as dorms fill with new and returning students alike, a single thought frequents the minds of every member of our population: newfound freedom from a summer of jobs and familial responsibilities.

But our return to school coexists with a possibly lethal counterpart: college drinking.

Nearly everyone is exposed to parties during college, and one would be hard pressed to find a college party without alcohol. Most University students indicate in countless surveys they have used alcohol in a social setting before age 21.

“It is startling just how ineffective current laws have been.”

It is startling just how ineffective current laws have been at curbing underage drinking.

A dramatic change is needed in the way society addresses drinking and the way we enforce existing laws, and it can start with a simple change: making the drinking age 25.

Access and availability are the principal reasons underage drinking has become easy to do. Not through direct availability, but through access to lega l- aged “friends.”

In a college setting, it is all but impossible not to know a person who is older than 21 and willing to provide alcohol to younger students. Even if unintentional, there is no verification that each person who drinks is of the appropriate age.

However, it should be quite easy to ensure underage individuals don’t have access to alcohol. In reality, those who abstain from alcohol are in the minority. Countless people our age consider speeding tickets worse than an arrest for underage consumption.

Is it truly possible alcohol abuse has become so commonplace, so acceptable, that people forget the facts?

Each year, 1,400 [college students] die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcoho l- related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders.

Perhaps the most disturbing number: 70,000 people, overwhelmingly female, are annually sexually assaulted in alcoho l- related situations.

These numbers are difficult to grasp for the sheer prevalence of alcoholic destruction. Yet, we, as college students, are responsible for an overwhelming portion of their incidence. It is difficult to imagine anyone would wish to assume the role of rapist, murderer, or victim. We all assume these things could never happen to us, but I am certain victims in these situations thought the same. The simple truth is that driving under the influence is the leading cause of death for teens. For 1 0- to 2 4- yea r- olds, alcohol is the fourt h- leading cause of death, made so by factors ranging from alcohol poisoning to alcoho l- related assault and murder.

For the sake of our friends, those we love, our futures, and ourselves, we must take a stand and we must do it now.

Advocates of lowering the drinking age assert only four countries worldwide maintain a “21 standard,” and a gradual transition to alcohol is useful in reducing the systemic social problems of substance abuse.

If those under the age of 21 are misusing alcohol, it makes little sense to grant free rein to those individuals to use it legally. A parent who observes their children abusing the neighbor’s dog would be irresponsible to get one of their own without altering such dangerous behavior.

Increasing the drinking age will help in the search for solutions to grievous alcoholic problems, making it far more difficult in college environments to find lega l- aged providers.

By the time we are 25, with careers and possibly families of our own, there is no safety net to allow us to have a “Thirsty Thursday.” But increasing the legal age is not all that needs to be done. Drinking to get drunk needs to exist as a social taboo rather than a doorway to popularity.

Peer pressure can become a tool to change this. What once was a factor greatly contributing to underage drinking can now become an instrument of good, seeking to end such a dangerous practice as excessive drinking. Laws on drinking ages, as any other law, need to be enforced with the energy and vigor each of us should expect.

Alcohol is not an inherently evil poison. It does have its place, as do all things in the great scheme of life.

But with alcohol comes the terrible risk of abuse with consequences many do not consider. All too often, these consequences include robbing someone of his life or loved one. All communities in the country, our own included, have been touched by such a tragedy.

Because of this, and the hundreds of thousands of victims each year in alcoho l- related situations, I ask that you consider the very real possibility of taking the life of another due to irresponsible drinking.

If this is not enough, then take time to think, because that life could very well be your own.

Identifying the Elements of Argument

What is this essay’s thesis? Restate it in your own words.

List the arguments Herman presents as evidence to support his thesis.

Summarize the opposing argument the essay identifies. Then, summarize Herman’s refutation of this argument.

Restate the essay’s concluding statement in your own words.

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Sample essay on lowering the american drinking age.

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The American government has had a history of aggressively regulating alcohol consumption. In the 1920s, religious groups spearheaded the Prohibition movement, and even after the Depression, people couldn't get a drink when they needed it most. This sample persuasive essay from Ultius argues that the American drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 years of age.

Should America lower the drinking age?

The Prohibition era was short-lived and proved futile as a means from which the social behaviors of the American people could be governed, alcohol remained central to many future policymakers' endeavors and decisions. While the legal drinking age has remained stagnant at 21 years of age throughout the United States, many individual states have taken up new legislation to broaden their control over alcoholic beverage sales (Weschler & Nelson, 986). Although actions like these are viable in terms of building a healthier population, they are not conducive to a country that so adamantly preaches liberty and freedom for all its 18 year-old citizens, thus rendering the current drinking age innately flawed. 

Support for the current drinking age

Regardless of social and religious beliefs, there are many solid arguments that support the current legal drinking age in the United States . For one, proponents of the age requirement suggest that the drinking age has helped maintain young people's health and public safety. According to Alexander C. Wagenaar,

“there are a number of health benefits associated with a higher legal minimum drinking age, and it is argued that such information should be considered in discussions concerning the minimum legal age for purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages” (Wagenaar, 219).

Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey also emphasize that teen binge drinking can be catastrophic for brain development, and that alcoholism and other serious drinking problems which require recovery and support can arise in young Americans (Wagenaar & Toomey 208). While the scholars note these longstanding issues well, the most pervasive argument used by the government to establish a 21-year-old drinking age stemmed from statistical data that seemingly proved that there were too many drunk driving accidents of in young people aged 18 to 21 (Engs & Hanson, 1085).

The inherent dangers of alcohol

These problems, no matter how serious, will continue to be prevalent regardless of the drinking age. As David J. Hanson and Ruth C. Engs would have it:

"regardless of the actual American drinking age, many young people would continue to drink in the United States, binge drinking if necessary, because alcohol is easily findable for people not of age and can be exploited" (Engs & Hanson, 173).

Moreover, statistical evidence now proves the fallacies in the argument that a higher minimum drinking age deters automobile deaths. In their study on the American drinking age, Peter Asch and David T. Levy articulate that,

“the legal drinking age has no perceptible influence on fatalities, but inexperience in drinking is an apparent risk factor independent of age” (Asch & Levy, 180).

The scholars go on to interpret numerous sources and large amounts of data which yields a consistent result; that age itself, or inexperience on the road, is more of a cause for past drunk driving accidents than the drinking age itself (Asch & Levy, 183). Thus, as young people faced with the challenges of the future, we must acknowledge that the drinking age has far less effect on alcohol-related deaths than the way in which these deaths occur themselves.

Change is needed

It is important that young Americans address these issues with their policymakers and legislative bodies. Changing the drinking age is something that will not come easy; a great deal of federal funds rest on state assurance and compliance to maintaining a 21-year-old drinking age. However, it is important that active Americans understand their constitutional rights, and fight for an 18-year-old minimum drinking age. No one should be able to fight in war, vote, and own their own property without having the ability to drink or purchase alcohol legally. Moving forward, it is our job to alter this longstanding trend.

Works Cited

Asch, Peter & Levy, David T. “Does the Minimum Drinking Age Affect Traffic Fatalities.”  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management . 6(2): Winter, 1987. Web. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3324514>.

Wagenaar, Alexander C. “Effects of an Increase in the Minimum Drinking Age.” Journal of Public Health Policy . 2(3): Sept., 1981. Web. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3342367>.

Wagenaar, Alexander C. & Toomey, Traci L. “Effects of the Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000. Journal of Studies on Alcohol . 14(1): 2002. Web. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org>.

McElvaine, Robert S. The Great Depression: America 1929-1941 . New York: Three Rivers Press, 1984.

Engs, Ruth C. & Hanson, David J. “Reactance Theory: A Test with Collegiate Drinking.”  Psychological Reports . 64: 1989. Web. Retrieved May 3, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org>.

Engs, Ruth C. & Hanson, David J. “Boozing and Brawling on Campus: A National Study of Violent Problems Associated with Drinking over the Past Decade.” Journal of Criminal Justice . 22(2): 1994. Web. Retrieved May 3, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org>.

Weschler, Henry & Nelson, Toben F. “Will Increasing Alcohol Availability by Lowering the Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?”  American Journal of Public Health . 100(6): June, 2010. Web. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from <http://www.jstor.org>.

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Binge drinking is a growing public health crisis − a neurobiologist explains how research on alcohol use disorder has shifted

Assistant Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology, Penn State

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Nikki Crowley receives funding from The National Institutes of Health, The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences endowment funds.

Penn State provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

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With the new Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black ” in U.S. theaters as of May 17, 2024, the late singer’s relationship with alcohol and drugs is under scrutiny again. In July 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her flat in north London from “death by misadventure” at the age of 27. That’s the official British term used for accidental death caused by a voluntary risk.

Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.416%, more than five times the legal intoxication limit in the U.S. – leading her cause of death to be later adjusted to include “alcohol toxicity” following a second coroner’s inquest.

Nearly 13 years later, alcohol consumption and binge drinking remain a major public health crisis , not just in the U.K. but also in the U.S.

Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report binge drinking at least once a week, with an average of seven drinks per binge episode . This is well over the amount of alcohol thought to produce legal intoxication, commonly defined as a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08% – on average, four drinks in two hours for women, five drinks in two hours for men.

Among women, days of “heavy drinking” increased 41% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels , and adult women in their 30s and 40s are rapidly increasing their rates of binge drinking , with no evidence of these trends slowing down. Despite efforts to comprehend the overall biology of substance use disorders, scientists’ and physicians’ understanding of the relationship between women’s health and binge drinking has lagged behind.

I am a neurobiologist focused on understanding the chemicals and brain regions that underlie addiction to alcohol . I study how neuropeptides – unique signaling molecules in the prefrontal cortex , one of the key brain regions in decision-making, risk-taking and reward – are altered by repeated exposure to binge alcohol consumption in animal models.

My lab focuses on understanding how things like alcohol alter these brain systems before diagnosable addiction, so that we can better inform efforts toward both prevention and treatment.

The biology of addiction

While problematic alcohol consumption has likely occurred as long as alcohol has existed, it wasn’t until 2011 that the American Society of Addiction Medicine recognized substance addiction as a brain disorder – the same year as Winehouse’s death. A diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder is now used over outdated terms such as labeling an individual as an alcoholic or having alcoholism.

Researchers and clinicians have made great strides in understanding how and why drugs – including alcohol, a drug – alter the brain. Often, people consume a drug like alcohol because of the rewarding and positive feelings it creates, such as enjoying drinks with friends or celebrating a milestone with a loved one. But what starts off as manageable consumption of alcohol can quickly devolve into cycles of excessive alcohol consumption followed by drug withdrawal.

While all forms of alcohol consumption come with health risks, binge drinking appears to be particularly dangerous due to how repeated cycling between a high state and a withdrawal state affect the brain. For example, for some people, alcohol use can lead to “ hangxiety ,” the feeling of anxiety that can accompany a hangover.

Repeated episodes of drinking and drunkenness, coupled with withdrawal, can spiral, leading to relapse and reuse of alcohol. In other words, alcohol use shifts from being rewarding to just trying to prevent feeling bad.

It makes sense. With repeated alcohol use over time, the areas of the brain engaged by alcohol can shift away from those traditionally associated with drug use and reward or pleasure to brain regions more typically engaged during stress and anxiety .

All of these stages of drinking, from the enjoyment of alcohol to withdrawal to the cycles of craving, continuously alter the brain and its communication pathways . Alcohol can affect several dozen neurotransmitters and receptors , making understanding its mechanism of action in the brain complicated.

Work in my lab focuses on understanding how alcohol consumption changes the way neurons within the prefrontal cortex communicate with each other. Neurons are the brain’s key communicator, sending both electrical and chemical signals within the brain and to the rest of your body.

What we’ve found in animal models of binge drinking is that certain subtypes of neurons lose the ability to talk to each other appropriately. In some cases, binge drinking can permanently remodel the brain. Even after a prolonged period of abstinence, conversations between the neurons don’t return to normal .

These changes in the brain can appear even before there are noticeable changes in behavior . This could mean that the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction may take root well before an individual or their loved ones suspect a problem with alcohol.

Researchers like us don’t yet fully understand why some people may be more susceptible to this shift, but it likely has to do with genetic and biological factors, as well as the patterns and circumstances under which alcohol is consumed.

Women are forgotten

While researchers are increasingly understanding the medley of biological factors that underlie addiction, there’s one population that’s been largely overlooked until now: women.

Women may be more likely than men to have some of the most catastrophic health effects caused by alcohol use, such as liver issues, cardiovascular disease and cancer . Middle-aged women are now at the highest risk for binge drinking compared with other populations.

When women consume even moderate levels of alcohol, their risk for various cancers goes up, including digestive, breast and pancreatic cancer , among other health problems – and even death. So the worsening rates of alcohol use disorder in women prompt the need for a greater focus on women in the research and the search for treatments.

Yet, women have long been underrepresented in biomedical research.

It wasn’t until 1993 that clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health was required to include women as research subjects. In fact, the NIH did not even require sex as a biological variable to be considered by federally funded researchers until 2016. When women are excluded from biomedical research, it leaves doctors and researchers with an incomplete understanding of health and disease, including alcohol addiction.

There is also increasing evidence that addictive substances can interact with cycling sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone . For instance, research has shown that when estrogen levels are high, like before ovulation, alcohol might feel more rewarding , which could drive higher levels of binge drinking. Currently, researchers don’t know the full extent of the interaction between these natural biological rhythms or other unique biological factors involved in women’s health and propensity for alcohol addiction.

Looking ahead

Researchers and lawmakers are recognizing the vital need for increased research on women’s health. Major federal investments into women’s health research are a vital step toward developing better prevention and treatment options for women.

While women like Amy Winehouse may have been forced to struggle both privately and publicly with substance use disorders and alcohol, the increasing focus of research on addiction to alcohol and other substances as a brain disorder will open new treatment avenues for those suffering from the consequences.

For more information on alcohol use disorder, causes, prevention and treatments, visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism .

• Amy Winehouse
• Binge drinking
• Neurobiology
• Intoxication
• Alcohol consumption
• Alcohol use
• Alcohol use disorder
• COVID-19 pandemic

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Drinking Age in the United States Essay

The United States legal drinking age of twenty one years has been the subject of discussion for a long time based on the fact that some people are for it, while others are against it. The act which was established in 1984 prohibits drinking below the age of twenty one as it states that any state which allows teenagers under the age of twenty one to purchase alcohol would not receive any revenue.

Before 1984, the minimum drinking age varied from state to state such that some states would allow teenagers to consume alcohol publicly while others would not allow it to happen. However, although it is believed that all states go by that law, some states still allow teenagers to drink in private settings.

Consequently, different agencies and scholars have come up with their proposals concerning the same issue. As much as both sides have got their own reasons, based on several factors, the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years. In addition, since America recognizes an adult after attaining eighteen years, it is illogical to prevent such a person from enjoying rights being enjoyed by other adults.

Therefore, bent on that, this essay argues for the idea that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years since the current law does not make much sense.

Majority who propose the drinking age to remain at twenty one argue that teenagers drink irresponsibly and end up getting involved in irresponsible and risky behaviors like careless driving. However, in the same country, a person can be taken to court and be tried at the age of eighteen years and above.

Therefore, even if someone commits such a crime, there is usually a way to deal with such incidences. In addition, the court is supposed to maintain law and order and therefore, teenagers under the age of twenty one ought not to be prevented from drinking in order to prevents accidents and other unlawful behaviors (Engs, 1998).

In United States, a person is allowed to join the military after attaining eighteen years of age. Therefore, it means that in legal terms, a person aged eighteen years can be considered as an adult and more to that, such a person can be trusted with very sensitive and important responsibilities like protecting the country from military attacks.

On the same note, such a person is also allowed to make decisions that affect the future of a country like voting. Bent on that, it is clear that in legal terms, a person who has attained eighteen years is mature and should be allowed to enjoy other rights that are being enjoyed by the rest of the population (ICAP, 2002).

Before making major conclusions, it is important to compare the problems of alcohol that existed before the establishment of the law and after the establishment of the law. According to Engs (1998), even after the establishment of the alcohol law in the year 1987, teenagers below the age of twenty one were still involved in irresponsible drinking which is characterized by behaviors such as missing classes, poor performance and other forms of violence.

The same study illustrates that the main cause of such behaviors is as a result of prohibiting teenagers from drinking in the company of adults who can teach them responsible drinking behaviors. Therefore, even though consumption of alcohol has reduced, other problems that emanate from the same have increased.

Since the main aim of rising alcohol drinking age is to lower such problems, a critical evaluation indicates that that the law does not entirely serve the intended purpose. It would then be more logical to lower the drinking age and allow teenagers to drink in public places; together with the older members of the society so that they can be taught how to drink in a responsible manner.

A study conducted by ICAP (2002) indicated that although United States is among the countries that have the highest drinking age; it has more problems with alcohol than other countries which have a lower minimum drinking age. For instance, in a country like Netherlands, the minimum drinking age of teenagers is eighteen although at sixteen; one is still allowed to buy alcohol from premises which are licensed.

Nevertheless, any one below the age of eighteen is not allowed to purchase and consume spirits. Similarly, in a country like New Zealand, the minimum legal drinking age is eighteen years meaning that all teenagers above the age of eighteen can purchase and drink alcohol at all licensed premises like bars and restaurants.

In consequence, since more countries have a legal drinking age of eighteen years, the minimum drinking age of United states is not is only strange but also impractical. Although countries like Britain and United Kingdom still record deaths that result from road accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol, U.S still records higher death rates than such countries (Engs 1998).

United States is characterized by many violent activities that require the attention of police officers and other law enforcement agencies. With such a high minimum drinking age, the police officers usually have a lot of work in monitoring the drinking age of teenagers below the age of twenty one.

Worse still, research that has been conducted indicated that teenagers below the age of twenty one drink more than even the people above that age. If the minimum age was lowered, the police and other agencies that enforce law and order would concentrate on other activities instead of focusing on college and high school students.

As much as anyone may want to argue that increasing the drinking age is helpful, the available research and evidence illustrates otherwise. The main problem emanates from the fact that rising the drinking age has little if any impact on behavior. To confirm this, Hanson (n. d.) records that in a study which was conducted among teenagers aged sixteen to nineteen years, the daily intake of alcohol did not change even after minimum drinking age was raised.

In addition, in yet another study which was conducted in the District of Columbia, results illustrated that there were more accidents in states which had a high minimum drinking age. Studies conducted illustrated that once the drinking age was raised, teenagers below the drinking age developed a habit of borrowing alcoholic drinks form their older colleagues and that is the main reason why the consumption rate remained high.

A critical review of the alcoholic related issues prior to the increasing of the minimum drinking age and after clearly illustrates that the law does not solve the intended problem. The main reason is due to the fact that it targets a certain age group and not the alcohol problem at hand. Although no one negates the fact that alcohol is a major problem to teenagers, it is important to come up with a law that can solve the problem instead of aggravating it.

Even if alcohol abuse is serious since it carries serious consequences, it is possible to come up with a law that can mitigate the problem. For example, even without much struggle, studies have indicated that in societies where alcohol is not prohibited like in the Jewish society, young people have less problems than in a place like United States where there is a law prohibiting anyone below the age of twenty one from taking and buying alcohol.

Engs, R. C. (1998). Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research . Web.

Hanson, D. J. (n.d.). The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology . Web.

Internartional Center For Alcohol Policies (ICAP). (2002). Drinking Age Limits . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, July 19). Drinking Age in the United States. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drinking-age-in-the-united-states/

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Drinking Age in the United States." July 19, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drinking-age-in-the-united-states/.

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• Alcohol Use and Your Health
• Underage Drinking
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About Underage Drinking

• Alcohol is the most common drug used by younger than 21 in the United States.
• Young people who drink alcohol are more likely to develop certain physical and mental health conditions.

• These deaths, which could have been prevented, take the lives of young people too soon.
• Underage drinking cost the United States $24 billion in 2010 (the most recent year of data available). B 2

Effects of underage drinking

Alcohol is the most common drug that young people use in the United States. 3

Young people who drink alcohol are more likely to engage in risky behaviors that can lead to injuries and other health conditions. They're also more likely to experience social, academic, and legal issues.

Social, academic, and legal issues:

• More school absences.
• Lower grades.
• Drinking and driving, which puts the safety of those who drink—as well as those around them—at risk.
• Misusing prescription drugs or using illicit drugs—there can be serious health effects when using these drugs with alcohol .

Physical and mental conditions:

• Violence, including homicide, suicide, and sexual violence.
• Injuries including alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes , burns, falls, or drowning.
• Not growing as expected.
• Slower brain development—which may cause problems with memory.
• Protection includes using condoms or taking medicine to prevent STIs, HIV, or pregnancy.

Lastly, people who start drinking earlier in life have a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder later in life.

What the data show

Adult alcohol use can increase underage drinking.

Adolescents tend to drink if the adults around them drink or binge drink alcohol.

For example, a study showed that adolescents whose parents drank 5 or more days in a month were significantly more likely to drink alcohol than adolescents whose parents didn't drink. 4

Alcohol is the most common drug young people use

Also, 11% of high school students reported binge drinking during the past month. 3

In recent years:

• Alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students have generally decreased in recent decades. 5
• This is a shift from previous years when boys drank more than girls. 5

Some young people also report drinking and driving

• More than 1 in 10 high school students reported riding in the past month with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. 3
• About 5% of high school students who had driven in the past month said they drove after drinking alcohol. 3

Learn more about:

• How proven alcohol policies can prevent alcohol-related harms.
• This includes strategies that can support young people's development by reducing underage drinking.
• The alcohol policies in your state .
• During 2020-2021.
• These costs have likely increased because of factors like inflation and increased health care and public safety costs. However, this cost estimate still provides an idea of the minimum costs of underage drinking.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application. Accessed March 21, 2024. www.cdc.gov/ardi
• Sacks JJ, Gonzales KR, Bouchery EE, Tomedi LE, Brewer RD. 2010 national and state costs of excessive alcohol consumption. Am J Prev Med 2015; 49:e73–e79. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.031
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Accessed September 13, 2023. http://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/
• Bohm MK, Esser MB. Associations between parental drinking and alcohol use among their adolescent children: findings from a national survey of United States parent-child dyads. J Adolesc Health . 2023;73(5):961–964. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.028
• Hoots BE, Li J, Hertz MF, et al. Alcohol and other substance use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among high school students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. MMWR Suppl. 2023;72(Suppl 1):84–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a10

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