Arguments supporting the legal drinking age being set at 21 include: letting the brain fully develop before exposing it to damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, keeping those aged 18-20 in a safe environment, and reducing traffic deaths for those under 21. While on the other hand, changing the legal age to 18 would bring consistency to the legal rights afforded to American citizens such as the right to vote, the mandatory laws regarding registering for Selective Services which could result in serving in the military, possibly in a war, and the ability to purchase and use tobacco products that have known health risks. To completely understand both sides of the drinking age debate, it is helpful to examine the evolution of the country's minimum drinking age law and historical liquor laws, which include prohibition in the 1920s, and the National Drinking Age Act of 1984. The former ban was repealed as a failure after driving the production and use of alcohol, giving rise to increased organized crime and health problems. The National Drinking Age Act raised the age after lobbying by Mothers Against Drunk Driving provided convincing evidence that young people were dying in alarming numbers on the country's highways. ( Shults, Ruth, et al. "Reviews of Evidence Regarding Interventions to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving." (Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age? (2014).
Both sides in this debate consist of committed groups of people throughout the United States. In the eyes of the public, neither argument will be proven right or wrong, but there is mounting evidence that a change in the law could be beneficial to reducing the negative health consequences of excessive alcohol use.
In America, at the age of 18 a person is considered to be a legal adult with the privileges of purchasing tobacco, getting married, fighting for his or her country, voting and even going to jail.
