The risks associated with drinking have led most countries to set a minimum legal age for the purchase or consumption of alcohol, but the specific drinking age varies from place to place. The most common drinking age around the world is 18, but the United States has a minimum legal drinking age of 21, and ages from 15 to 25 are used in other nations. Is 18 the ideal standard, or should the drinking age be 21? Should there be a minimum legal drinking age at all?
Yes, the drinking age should be 18.
Many legal, social, and cultural rights and responsibilities come into effect when a person turns 18, and it is in everyone's best interest that personal choices about drinking be a part of that transition into adulthood.
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.
Young adults are more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of alcohol and less equipped to make responsible choices about drinking. A higher drinking age prohibits people from drinking until they are mature enough to handle it.
Drinking alcohol is medically risky
Young adults are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol consumption on brain development, and are at greater risk of alcohol poisoning.
There are too many risks associated with drinking alcohol to trust young adults to drink responsibly. A higher minimum age is consistent with standards for other weighty responsibilities.
