Preventing a new drunken age

It's easy as a college student to be in favor of a lowered drinking age. Not only do many students drink, but many perceive a fallacy in the justice system. If students are considered adults once we reach 18, why can't we legally consume alcohol? But the facts about underage drinking favor our current system.

For most countries, the legal drinking age is 18. America could follow Europe's example, and help youths become more responsible drinkers earlier. But while many of my peers, if not a vast majority of them, are in favor of a lowered national drinking age, as John Adams wisely stated, "facts are stubborn things," and the data supporting the current legal drinking age cannot be ignored.

From statistical to biological, the evidence against a lowered drinking age makes a formidable stance. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alcohol is the "drug of choice among youth," which is no surprise considering how prevalent underage drinking is, not only on college campuses nationwide, but in the media as well. In fact, underage drinking is even glorified in popular movies such as "Superbad" and "American Pie." Most of these movies fail to show the negative impacts of drinking, such as the effects binge drinking has on the teenage brain.

When we reach 18, we are legally adults in the United States. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, our brains have another seven years to go.

"Early and protracted alcohol use by teens can have both short and long term health affects," said Sandra Brown, Ph.D. and professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. "Our brains go through important transformations during adolescence."

Alcohol affects our brains differently and if abused, can have "important ramifications for an individual's medical health, mental health and cognitive functioning." The earlier a person starts drinking, the more likely he or she is to become dependent in the long run.

It's well-known that the drinking age in European countries is lower than that of our own. Some may think such an early drinking age teaches European youth to be more responsible drinkers. However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, there is "no evidence that European youth are more responsible about alcohol consumption."

In fact, evidence suggests otherwise. In an article published in March 2009, journalist Jenny Hope cites a European survey that reveals chronic drinking as a problem in 15 and 16-year-olds, and that such problems are in an upward trend. This trend, according to Professor Martin Plant from the University of West England, is "both serious and chronic." In countries with lowered drinking ages, such as France and Italy, the per capita consumption of alcohol and cirrhosis death rates are significantly higher.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a legal drinking age of 21 "saves 700 to 1,000 lives annually." NHTSA goes on to state that these laws "have prevented more than 21,000 traffic deaths" between 1976 and 2002. In the mid-1970s, alcohol was a factor in more than 60 percent of traffic fatalities in the U.S. with nearly two-thirds of these traffic deaths involving people between the ages of 16 and 20. Since 1980 (after the implementation of a national drinking age of 21), alcohol-related traffic deaths have been reduced by 50 percent, with the greatest proportional decrease in people from 16-20 years old.

I realize my words may fail to prevent anyone from drinking before the age of 21, in spite of the evidence presented. But lowering the drinking age would present the opportunity for more accidents and abuse. All I can hope for is that my peers will try to drink more responsibly, in moderation, and make wise decisions regarding alcohol consumption.

Camaryn Bolton is a sophomore performance studies major and is special to The Battalion.