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What should the Drinking Age be?

What should the Drinking Age be?. Kaylene K, Maddie E, Julia G, Joseph D. What do we think? Of 61 people. 44% think age 21 70% have a license 30% do not drive Ages: 13-15: 2 16-20: 20 21-30: 0 31-40: 0 40+: 5 Total: 27. 56% think age 18 82% have a license 18% do not drive Ages:

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What should the Drinking Age be?

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  1. What should the Drinking Age be? Kaylene K, Maddie E, Julia G, Joseph D

  2. What do we think? Of 61 people... • 44% think age 21 • 70% have a license • 30% do not drive Ages: 13-15: 2 16-20: 20 21-30: 0 31-40: 0 40+: 5 Total: 27 • 56% think age 18 • 82% have a license • 18% do not drive Ages: 13-15: 1 16-20: 27 21-30: 1 31-40: 2 40+: 3 Total: 34

  3. Historical Usage Timeline

  4. Medicinal Alcohol In History • Wine helped turn food into blood (1600s) • Wine fought off plague, 2 pints • Spirits killed intestinal parasites • remedy for teething babies ( 1919-1949) - ”Can be given with upmost confidence” - 50% Alcohol ingredient • Problematic in 20th century ("Drinking Therapy: Medicinal Alcohol Through the Ages”.)

  5. Modern Medicinal Approval Drinking in moderation is good for body and mind -relieves stress -increased cardiovascular health -->generally less likely to have a heart attack; positive correlation in survivability of heart attacks -increases production of good cholesterol -reduces risk of type 2 diabetes -lowers risk of coronary artery disease -moderate drinkers tend to live longer than those who don’t drink at all, or those who drink in excess (studies in China, England, and the U.S.) - reduces risk of stroke - Enhances social Interactions (Mathews)

  6. Lowing the drinking Age to 18 Basic Arguments: -Legal adult at 18 -Can vote and join military at 18 - Drinking is safer in places where is it not restricted (Europe) - More than 100 university presidents support lowering the drinking age to 18 to promote responsibility -Young Adults could be taught to drink responsibly if not forbidden “Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner” -Choose Responsibly Program (CR) (Engs)

  7. Medicinal Objections: Brain Development ("Alcohol and the Developing Brain.) -brain not fully developed until 21-25 - Undeveloped areas of brain affected : * Learning *Memory *Inhibition *Complex Thinking * Planning *Emotional Regulation - Quicker and stronger development of alcoholism for underage drinkers - Teen drinkers: *Perform worse academically *higher rate of social issues; violence, depression, suicidal thoughts - Interferes with medication “...Underage drinking is related to numerous serious health problems, including injuries and death resulting from car crashes, suicide, homicide, assault, drowning, and recreational injuries.”

  8. Objections: Drunk Driving: 21 saves lives (“Mathews”) -Young drivers comprise about 7 percent of licensed drivers but 16 percent of the alcohol-involved drivers in fatal crashes. - Leading cause of death among teens is car crashes * ⅓ of these crashes are a result of teens under the influence - median 16% decline in motor vehicle crashes among underage youth in states that increased the legal drinking age to 21 years. -By the end of 2005, the 21 drinking age had saved nearly 25,000 American lives—approximately 1,000 lives a year. Europeans rely on public transportation, decreasing odds of accidents

  9. Objections: Binge Drinking/ Alcohol Poisoning 44% of students attending 4-year colleges drink alcohol at the binge level or greater. 30,000 college students are hospitalized each year to cope with alcohol poisoning. -vomiting -nausea/dizziness/confusion -hypothermia -seizures -poisoning -asphyxiation -poisoning of the respiratory center in the brain ("Facts About Alcohol Poisoning.")

  10. Medicinal Objections: Violent Destructive behavior -Alcohol is associated with an increased risk of : *hazardous sexual behavior *academic failure *drug abuse *alterations to the structure and function of the brain. (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,) -"Up to 86% of homicide offenders, 37% of assault offenders, and 60% of sexual offenders" were using alcohol at the time of the crime. -75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape admitted to being drunk or using drugs at the time. ( NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism),) “Consider that adolescence is a time of great impulsivity and propensity to violence and/or destructive behavior, the dangers of legalizing alcohol among minors become that much more palpable. “ (“Mathews”)

  11. (google images)

  12. Red: high dopamine normal pleasure and interest Yellow: Medium dopamine Difficulty feeling joy or pain Green: Low dopamine Lack of any pleasure Alcoholics experience far less pleasure and interest than their sober counterparts and depressed brain activity. (google images)

  13. Drinking Ages of Countries • illegal: 9 countries • None: 20 countries • 14 LMDA: 1 country • 16 LMDA: 11 countries • 17 LMDA: 2 countries • 18 LMDA: 103 countries • 19 LMDA: 2 countries • 20 LMDA: 4 countries • 21 LMDA: 15 countries • 18 LMDA but illegal for muslims: 2 countries • 18-25 LMDA: 1 country (Hanson)

  14. Pennsylvania Law -Expressly prohibited: Possession, Consumption, Purchasing, Furnishing to Minors, Hosting underage drinking parties -Serving (On/off premises) Beer, wine, spirits: 18 -For driving, BAC Limit under 21, 0.00 -Lead to license suspension, revocation, denial ("State Profiles Of Underage")

  15. Law and Government -Temperance movement (18 amendment) -Drinking age is State Law (21 amendment) -National Minimum Drinking Age Act (1984) -Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -Reduces federal funding for highways by 10% for states not in compliance with 21 (Hanson)

  16. Politics: Obama’s opinion • no consensus by political party • “Obama is not really going out on a limb by acknowledging that alcohol, measured by acute toxicity, accident risk and the long-term effects of heavy consumption, is more hazardous than marijuana.” (Sullum)

  17. Politics: “MADD” • Mothers Against Drunk Driving “To aid the victims of crimes performed by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to aid the families of such victims and to increase public awareness of the problem of drinking and drugged driving," (“Mission Statement”). • influenced National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 • 10% reduced in each state annual federal highway apportionment • forced states to 21 (“Legislative Analysis of the National”)

  18. Politics: “Amethyst Initiative” • 120+ colleges • “The federal minimum drinking age has been contributed to an epidemic of binge drinking, as well as other excessive unhealthy habits on their campuses,” (Blako). • Breaking laws of school and law (FoxNews.com)

  19. Discussion Questions 1. What should the drinking age be? 2. Do you agree with the drinking ages of other countries? 3. Should politics be involved in this? 4. What is the purpose of the age limit? 5. Do you think the pro’s to drinking alcohol are legitimate?

  20. Link to Bibliography http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/mybib.php

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