Binge Drinking vs the Drinking Age Essays - 829 Words

English 101 March 13, 2013 Binge Drinking VS the Drinking Age Presidents of college campuses around the nation face issues of underage drinking and binge drinking on a regular basis and realizes that it is a danger and a problem. â€Å"Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., a major contributing factor to unintentional injuries, the leading cause of death for youths and young adults, and accounts for an estimated 75,000 or more deaths in the United States annually† (Wechsler 2010). Binge drinking can be loosely defined as consuming five or more drinks at one sitting for men and four drinks for women. Binge drinking amongst college students is a social activity that allows students to let loose and â€Å"fit in†.†¦show more content†¦In this article/study one of the variables studied was demographics, including age. The article states that age only plays a modest role in predicting binge drinking. They studied college students under age 21 and over age 21 and the odds ratios were so close that they determined that the minimum age drinking laws virtually have no effect on binge drinking. Based on this study lowering the drinking age will not decrease the amount of binge drinking occurring on college campuses across the nation. Some may argue that lowering the drinking age could possibly decrease binge drinking among college students and the Amethyst Initiative in 2008 offers some good ideas as to why. The Amethyst Initiative is made up of a group of college/university presidents (past and present) that believe the drinking age has contributed to an epidemic of binge drinking across college campuses. These group members basically believe that making alcohol easily accessible makes it not â€Å"forbidden† or a bad thing, so college students will not be prone to binge drink. They even go so far as to use Prohibition as an example of why this logic should be considered in lowering the minimum drinking age. Another argument for wanting to lower the drinking age is that underage drinkers are more inclined to not seek medical attention when necessary after alcohol consumption. An underage student that may potentially have alcohol poisoningShow MoreRelatedWhy Lower the Legal Drinking Age?801 Words   |  3 Pageslower the drinking age below 21 lose 10% of their annual federal highway appropriations (Haevens). This is the main reason the legal drinking age has not been lower below 21 years of age.a large number of the general population desires a lower drinking age. In the 25 years since the legal drinking age was set at 21, seven states have tried to lower it. (Wechsier ).It is unfair for the federal government to withhold money from states if they exercise their rights to set the legal drinking age to whatRead MoreDrinking Age During The United States Of America1325 Words   |  6 PagesPatrick Murray Oakley, Sottile Senior Thesis 05/21/2016 Drinking age in the United States of America Remember being sixteen and the only thing we could possibly do with the rest of our lives was wait to turn eighteen? On our eighteenth birthday we found a renewed sense of the word maturity as we were now able to walk into gas stations or grocery stores to buy lottery tickets or a pack of cigarettes. At this point in our lives we were able to attain a full driver s license, noRead MoreThe Effects Of Binge Drinking On College Students Essay825 Words   |  4 PagesBinge Drinking would have various of ways to define what in reality means. As for college students would define it as a way to drink non-stop, just for fun, or excessively drinking until drunk. Binge drinking can be interpreted in a scientific form, like NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2 hours. (National Institute on Alcohol AbuseRead M oreQuicker Liquor Essay1506 Words   |  7 PagesShould We Lower the Drinking Age? | 18 vs. 21 | â€Å"Quicker Liquor† A Short Research Paper Should the legal drinking age be lowered? Those who supported the change for the 2009 re-authorization of the law (dubbed Pro 18), and those who wanted the law to remain at the current age of 21 (dubbed Pro 21), had three major categories to explore for this debate: safety, binge drinking and maturity. There is opposition and support on both sides of the issue including a coalition founded inRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Removed1735 Words   |  7 PagesThe legal drinking age should be removed because it teaches safe drinking, it removes the taboo around it, and history proves it does not work at 18. Conor Lewis 12-4-15 English 3rd Alcohol. The source of curiosity among young people everywhere. People everywhere, college students, and even some high school students enjoy it. There’s no doubt this nation enjoys alcohol but what about the people who can’t taste it yet? What about those who are considered adults in every way and permitted toRead MoreEffects Of Binge Drinking On College Students Essay968 Words   |  4 PagesHenry Wechsler in Getting Serious about Eradicating Binge Drinking, stresses how modern college students think that binge drinking is a norm in college life. I agree with Wechsler that the modern college student thinks binge drinking is normal. In High School, people would binge drink on a regular basis, and that eventually carried over into collegiate life. After being in college for about a month now, I realized that every night students binge drink either at bars, fraternity houses, or tailgatesRead MoreThe Effects of Underage Drinking Essay853 Words   |  4 Pagesadults a buse the drinking age policy. It is put in effect for substantial reasons, which contribute in making the safest environment for all. Drinking underage is not only illegal, but also damages one’s health tremendously. Furthermore, drinking in large amounts is extremely dangerous and can cause detrimental things to occur. There have been numerous attempts to create a law to lower the drinking age, but none have gone through. In contrast to what some people may say, the drinking age should not beRead MoreMaking The Law Fair While Saving Lives1740 Words   |  7 Pagesyouth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinking (McCardell). Lowering the drinking age is a big topic among younger adults and concerned college parents. Being 18 people serve in the military and they are known as adults. People 18-20 have to hide when they are drinking which makes them thrive to drink and party more but it s dangerous. This is called binge drinking which is landing them in the hospital. Also, there are a lot of underage drinking that is going onRead MoreAlcohol Is The Most Widely Used Social Drug Essay1281 Words   |  6 Pages‘risky’ drinking can cause serious health, personal and social problems. Heavy drinkers, binge drinkers and very young drinkers are at risk. Binge drinking is a particular problem among younger people, but anyone who drinks heavily or drinks too much in one session is at risk of both immediate and long-term alcohol related harm For children and young people under 18 years, not drinking is the safest option. Those who are under the age of 15 years of age at the greatest risk of harm from drinking alcoholRead MoreThe Drinking Age Of The United States Essay1599 Words   |  7 PagesBy the age of twenty-one, most people have at some point consumed an alcoholic beverage. For others, turning twenty-one might mean a whole new world of freedom. Young teens and adults drink for many reasons. Teens may drink because of peer pressure, others because of pure enjoyment, and many for of the thrill of breaking the law. Before the 1980’s, the legal drinking age was eighteen. This would only make sense because at this age a person is declared an adult. Many are in favor of keeping the drinking