Does a higher drinking age save lives?

Does a higher drinking age save lives?

Despite uneven and sometimes lax enforcement, the best available evidence suggests that the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years has saved more than 800 lives annually among young adults aged 18–20 years in the United States.

Will lowering the drinking age to 18 save lives?

The 21-year-old drinking age is saving lives… Lowering the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol to 18 would increase the number of 18-20 year-olds killed or injured in motor vehicle crashes. Others too would die in crashes involving drinking teenagers.”

Is lowering the drinking age a good idea?

Though the act successfully reduced traffic fatalities related to drunk driving accidents, underage drinking has not stopped. Lowering the drinking age would also reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents among underage drinkers.

Would lowering the drinking age cause more accidents?

Initiatives to lower the drinking age to 18 ignore the demonstrated public health benefits of MLDAs of 21. Impact on industry: Lowering the drinking age to 18 will increase highway crash deaths among young people.

What country has the highest drinking age?

Surprisingly, this is one of the highest drinking ages in the world. Just to the north of the U.S. is Canada, which has a legal drinking age of 18 to 19….Those nations are:

  • Malaysia.
  • Northern Mariana Islands.
  • Oman.
  • Palau.
  • Samoa.
  • Sri Lanka.
  • United Arab Emirates: Varies from 18 to 21 based on jurisdiction.
  • United States.

How did raising the drinking age save lives?

In an unrefuted study, Peter Asch and David Levy showed that raising the drinking age merely transferred drunk driving deaths from the 18-20 age group to the 21-24 age group. They argued that the problem with saying that the drinking age has saved lives is that it looks only at deaths for people aged 18-20.

Is there a case to lower the drinking age?

The case is closed in the debate over whether the government should lower the legal drinking age, as research consistently reports the law helps save lives, rather than encourage underage drinking, according to a new study .

What happens when the drinking age is raised to 21?

Fewer motor vehicle crashes – States that increased the legal drinking age to 21 saw a 16% median decline in motor vehicle crashes. 6. Decreased drinking. After all states adopted an age 21 MLDA, drinking during the previous month among persons aged 18 to 20 years declined from 59% in 1985 to 40% in 1991. 7.

What’s the legal drinking age in the United States?

Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age. A Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21 saves lives and protects health. Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws specify the legal age when an individual can purchase or publicly consume alcoholic beverages.

Is it true that raising the drinking age has saved lives?

They argued that the problem with saying that the drinking age has saved lives is that it looks only at deaths for people aged 18-20. Raising the drinking age may have reduced deaths among people 18-20 but resulted in more deaths among people 21-24.

What was the impact of raising the drinking age to 21?

States that increased the legal drinking age to 21 saw a 16% median decline in motor vehicle crashes. 6 After all states adopted an age 21 MLDA, drinking during the previous month among persons aged 18 to 20 years declined from 59% in 1985 to 40% in 1991. 7

Which is better higher drinking age or lower drinking age?

In countries with lower drinking ages, rates of heavy alcohol use are higher, research says. Research supports the claim that a higher drinking age saves lives, according to a new study, but some say stricter enforcement of laws – and a lower drinking age – would work better.

Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age. A Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21 saves lives and protects health. Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws specify the legal age when an individual can purchase or publicly consume alcoholic beverages.