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Should the drinking age be 18? Should the drinking age be 18?
Yes, the drinking age should be 18. Yes, the drinking age should be 18.
No, the drinking age should be 21. No, the drinking age should be 21.
The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction. The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction.
There should be no drinking age. There should be no drinking age.
Adults should have the right to decide to drink Adults should have the right to decide to drink
18 is the safest minimum age for drinking 18 is the safest minimum age for drinking
A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking
Drinking alcohol is medically risky Drinking alcohol is medically risky
Younger people are too immature to drink Younger people are too immature to drink
A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving
Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking
Historically, there were no drinking age laws Historically, there were no drinking age laws
Young people drink regardless of the drinking age Young people drink regardless of the drinking age
Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement
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Should the drinking age be 18?
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Yes, the drinking age should be 18.

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Adults should have the right to decide to drink

Legally, adulthood begins at the age of 18 in most parts of the world, and adults should be allowed to make their own decisions about drinking.
Richard Marron Mike Gravel
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The Argument

The age of majority is 18 in most places, which means that 18-year-olds are considered adults. Adults are full members of their societies, with all the rights that that entails, such as the right to vote, to serve in the military and perform other public duties, to enter into legal agreements, to marry, and to make many other important decisions. Adulthood also comes with obligations, and laws are applied more strictly to adults than to minors. If 18-year-olds have all these personal rights and responsibilities by virtue of their age, they should equally have the right to make personal decisions about drinking alcohol.

Counter arguments

Proponents

Premises

[P1] At age 18, in most societies people are considered adults and are given the various rights, responsibilities and obligations that go with that. [P2] People should also correspondingly have the ability to drink at age 18.

Rejecting the premises

References

This page was last edited on Wednesday, 7 Oct 2020 at 07:24 UTC

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