Prohibition Of Underage Drinking

4 Pages 963 Words

Dear Mothers Against Drunk Driving,


As you know, alcohol abuse is a major concern to everyone, one that requires extensive problem-solving ideas to fix. However, this is not as problematic in non-temperance nations (nations in which the consumption of alcohol is not restricted). According to a survey conducted by Doctor Stanton Peele, an alcoholism and addiction expert, while the consumption of alcohol is greater in non-temperance nations (10.8 litres consumed per capita per annum compared to 6.6 in temperance nations in 1990), the number of AA groups per million persons is drastically lower (25 to 170), as well as the coronary mortality (deaths per 100,000 population), which comes to 272 in non-temperance nations in 1990, compared to the almost double in temperance nations, 421. (Peele) I propose that, in order to reduce alcohol abuse in the United States to a level equal to Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and many other non-temperance nations, the U.S government should remove the federal law which prohibits citizens under the age of twenty-one years old to drink alcoholic beverages. If this is done, young adults will feel less rebellious about alcohol. As well, if the drinking age was removed, parents would be able to teach their children how to drink responsibly, to avoid the suddeness of a person's "legal age." By doing this, the nation as a whole can begin to recognize that it is not alcohol, but the abuse of alcohol, that is the true problem.

Making something illegal does not stop teenagers from doing it. In fact, because of their rebellious nature, teenagers are more likely to do something if it is illegal. In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment, more commonly known as the Prohibition Act, made it illegal to import, export, transport, manufacture, or sell any alcoholic drink with a percentage of alcohol exceeding .5 (Pohelek 2). It had been hoped that the prohibition of alcohol would lower t...