The Discussion About Legal Drinking Age In Australia
The active drug found in drinks that contain alcohol is a chemical called ethanol. Ethanol decreases sections in the brain to affect the way human behaves to think. It is produced when yeast acts together with sugars in grain, fruits and vegetables, which causes them to ferment or break down. The legal age for consumption of alcohol should be raised to 21 to profit people’s health, mentality and social wellbeing. Extreme alcohol: particularly ages below 18-21, are the most likely group to misuse alcohol that results in; road accidents, brain development and increases the chances of diseases, alcohol dependence and problems regarding family and friends.
Social Wellbeing
[bookmark: _Hlk19124870]Excessive large amount of alcohol also has a negative influence on the people around you, menacing your social dimensions of health. Social wellness is the ability to maintain peaceful in your relationship to create a safe and healthy environment. People below age of 21 possibly will have relationships, friendships, colleagues, classmates, co-workers and family members they have bonded with; however, unnecessary drinking will put themselves at an increased risk of health problems to these relationship or peers surrounding them (Medicine Net) . Research has shown that 39.8% of men who consume too much drink aged 18 to 23 decided that extreme alcohol drinking had a damaging effect on social aspects of their lives (Government of South Australia, 2019). People think that drinking alcohol will make them feel better, this is clearly wrong as alcohol has bad consequences on the person and their social life. (Government Of south Australia)
Reduce Death and Health Issues
Increasing the legal age to 21 would save many lives of both aged 18-21 years old and the rest of the population. Many studies such as those run by MADD (American Addiction Centers) approve that in the USA since the drinking age was increased to 21 in 1984, the overall number of Alcohol-related fatalities of 18-20 year olds has significantly decreased Choose Responsibility/2019). From these studies evidence was found that suggested the 21 year-old drinking age in the USA has saved over 21,000 lives since the mid-1980s as it keeps a portion of the population that are prone to making bad choices due to the fact that there brains are still developing, off the roads (Choose Responsibility/2019) (National Institution of Mental Health/2019). This means the roads are overall safer. Increasing the legal drinking was also found to decrease the number of teen DUI (Driving under influence) arrests, marijuana use, vandalism, crime, and alcohol consumption in the USA (Drinking Age/2018). This can be attributed to the fact that there are less young people drinking making clouded judgements while intoxicated about crime and drug and alcohol use as they are no longer able to access alcohol. This overall, increasing the legal age of drinking to 21 would be extremely beneficial specifically in terms of decreasing alcohol-related accidents and the fatalities that incidents case.
Brain Development
Constructing the legal age consumption to 21 would protect many teenagers from harmful costs of drinking alcohol while brains are still developing and experiencing the effects of drinking differently compared to the adult brain that is fully developed. (National Institution of Mental Health/2018). Having alcohol over-all consists both short and long term effects including slowing the nervous system, kidney and liver issue, cancer of the mouth and throat, slurred speech, unconsciousness and anaemia ( Australian Government, 2019). These effects can be suggestively worse for those younger than 21, as a young person’s body cannot cope with alcohol the same way an adults can( Victoria Government, 2018). Teenager’s brains are still evolving and during this serious growth period, drinking is much more likely to cause permanent injury in the brain function, motor skills, memory and coordination(Zawn Villines, 2019). Research have also been shown to confirm that drinking at a younger age makes a person more likely to suffer from problems such as alcohol dependence, poor impulse control leading to both unsafe sexual activity and violent behaviour(Stepping Stone/2019). Keeping the legal age as it is, at 18 years old, will allow many teenagers whose brains are still developing to have alcohol that will influence them for the rest of their lives (National Institution of Mental Health/2018). Therefore, increasing the legal drinking age to 21 would prevent so many problems both mental and physical for the population in the future. (Zawn Villinies,2019).
Recommendation/ conclusion
The idea of increasing age restrictions on drinking to 21 is definitely reasonable and should definitely be explored. To do this my recommendation is to go through parliament and get more funding to do further studies as well as campaign to get the legal age for consumption of alcohol increased to 21. An education program should also be started, informing students and people in general the effects of drinking alcohol too early in their lives. By doing this, many lives will be saved from alcohol-related accidents and many problems from drinking too young will also be much more unlikely to arise.
The responsible thing to do is to get the legal age of consumption of alcohol to 21 years of age. To do this the government needs to get on board providing funding for it to be legalised. If it is legalised many lives will be saved from alcohol-related accidents and many problems caused by drinking too young will not happen.
Reference
- Australia Government 2019, Alcohol-related brain damage, Viewed 6 August 2015,
