Drinking Age Should Be Eighteen

“Costs of Underage Drinking by Problem, West Virginia 2005”

PROBLEM Total Costs (in millions)

Youth Violence $168.7

Youth Traffic Crashes $94.0

High-Risk Sex, Ages 14-20 $34.2

Youth Property Crime $13.6

Youth Injury $23.2

Poisonings and Psychoses $2.6

FAS Among Mothers Age 15-20 $6.7

Youth Alcohol Treatment $7.0

Total $350.0

According to self-reports by West Virginian students in grades 9-12

74% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life.

31% had their first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips, before age 13.

42% had at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days.

29% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the past 30 days.

6% had at least one drink of alcohol on school property in the past 30 days.

In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 20.6% of all alcohol sold in West Virginia, totaling $119 million in sales. These sales provided profits of $58 million to the alcohol industry.

In 2004 244 youth ages 12 through 20 years old were admitted for alcohol treatment in West Virginia accounting for 7% of all treatment admissions for alcohol abuse in the State.

This translates to a cost of $2,122 per year for each youth in the State West Virginia ranks 29th highest among the 50 states for the cost per youth of underage drinking.

“Costs of Underage Drinking by Problem, Ohio 2005”

Problem Total Costs (in millions)

Youth Violence $1,544.3

Youth Traffic Crashes $537.3

High-Risk Sex, Ages 14-20 $239.3

Youth Property Crime $131.9

Youth Injury $65.8

Poisonings and Psychoses $21.0

FAS Among Mothers Age 15-20 $46.9

Youth Alcohol Treatment $75.9

Total $2,662.4

Approximately 507,000 underage youth in Ohio drink each year in 2005 according to self-reports by Ohio students in grades 9-12

77% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life.

23% had their first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips, before age 13.

42% had at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days.

26% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the past 30 days.

3% had at least one drink of alcohol on school property in the past 30 days.

In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 21.1% of all alcohol sold in Ohio, totaling $944 million in sales. These sales provided profits of $457 million to the alcohol industry.

In 2004, 2,493 youth ages 12 through 20 years old were admitted for alcohol treatment in Ohio accounting for 12% of all treatment admissions for alcohol abuse in the State.

This translates to a cost of $2,344 per year for each youth in the State Ohio ranks 14th highest among the 50 states for the cost per youth of underage drinking.

United States Compared to European Countries

According to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) they collected data in 2003 from students ranging in age from 15- to 16 year-old in 35 different European countries.

Percentage of Underage Drinkers in Countries

This graph shows that while the overall consumption of alcohol of people who are under age, yet it does not take into consideration that in many countries where the surveys were taken is traditional to drink wine with dinner. How ever even though the other European countries are almost double what the united states of American is, they do not have nearly as many cases of alcohol abuse it is believed this it due to being allowed to drink at a younger age which builds up their responsibility to when it is ok to drink and how much to drink.

The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and they should be allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations where responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs, mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected at events such as these. Although the legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 years old. A very large majority of college students under the age of 21 age consume alcohol in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking is seen as a rebellion against authority and a symbol of finally growing up and being on their own for the first time. As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past to try and help control some of the irresponsible drinking problems. This was during the national prohibition in the 1920’s and state prohibition during the 1850’s. These laws were finally repealed