*DEBATE* Should The Legal Drinking Age Be Increased To 21? Winner = 01101101entor

[Bef]

Well actually 18 is just the legal age to BUY alcohol. The legal drinking age is 5. Sounds silly but yep... Also 16/17 year olds can drink with there meals.
So, anyone from 5 onwards can drink in there own home... which is pretty odd. I think that that should be raised to say 14. Some pubs and clubs only serve 21 and overs, it depends what sort of a cliental they are aiming at... I think that the law is quite good... I mean, it keeps people from drinking in the streets and home. I think that people drink more when they are in the own home as there is less for them to do...
Raising the age will just cause more crime. It wont stop drinking, it will just make people have to drink elsewhere, teenagers grow up so fast now. Its the way of todays world. We have lost our innocence, and theres no way of changing that.
I mean, you can get married, have children, smoke, drive, own your own home, get a job etc before you can legally drink in a pub properly. Isn't that enough. Most 18 year olds are mature enough to handle there drink... Plus, what would Uni be like without alcohol... Bloody boring thats what!
Anyway, im ranting a bit. All in all, i think the age is right... If it was raised to 21, it would just cause more crime and problems and maybe kids would be more likely to turn to drugs... If the punishment of serving alcohol to 18 year olds was to be the same as drug dealing then it destroys the point. Alcohol is not dangerous. People are.

I would like to add that i believe the most sensible thing to do would to crack down on drinking in the streets. It seems that most of the um less mature under age drinkers just go find some lane, down a bottle of vodka and then cause mayham... If you are in a controlled enviorment like a pub or club then theres people to keep things under control... Plus, it costs a hell of a lot more to go drinking in a pub then it does to nip down the offlicence and get a half bottle of vodge...
So that kind of cuts down on binge drinking. I believe most binge drinking goes on in the streets.

[JT-Fan]

Should the Legal drinking age be increased?

No.
There are many reasons why the legal drinking age should be increased but to me I have one reason why it shouldn't be. That one reason is the cause of why so many teenagers drink.
"What you can't have you want."
The whole idea to the majority of teenagers who choose to drink is to be "cool." By drinking they are rebelling against law's, rebelling against what they have been told not to do. So if they think that drinking is cool because they are not allowd, then if we lower the age limit the whole "thrill" factor of drinking would be lessened.
With alcohol available to them it would not be so "cool" to drink, because it's possible for everyone to. Therefore with the "cool-factor" being lower they would listen to the health problems.
So overall NO it should not be increased, with teenagers being able to get what they want they will realise the novelty will wear off.

[Xegena]

Well actually 18 is just the legal age to BUY alcohol. The legal drinking age is 5. Sounds silly but yep... Also 16/17 year olds can drink with there meals.
So, anyone from 5 onwards can drink in there own home... which is pretty odd. I think that that should be raised to say 14. Some pubs and clubs only serve 21 and overs, it depends what sort of a cliental they are aiming at... I think that the law is quite good... I mean, it keeps people from drinking in the streets and home. I think that people drink more when they are in the own home as there is less for them to do...
Raising the age will just cause more crime. It wont stop drinking, it will just make people have to drink elsewhere, teenagers grow up so fast now. Its the way of todays world. We have lost our innocence, and theres no way of changing that.
I mean, you can get married, have children, smoke, drive, own your own home, get a job etc before you can legally drink in a pub properly. Isn't that enough. Most 18 year olds are mature enough to handle there drink... Plus, what would Uni be like without alcohol... Bloody boring thats what!
Anyway, im ranting a bit. All in all, i think the age is right... If it was raised to 21, it would just cause more crime and problems and maybe kids would be more likely to turn to drugs... If the punishment of serving alcohol to 18 year olds was to be the same as drug dealing then it destroys the point. Alcohol is not dangerous. People are.

I was going to post the bit in red however. I agree it should not be raised as 18 is the age at which you become a legal adult. There are countrys like the Dominican republic were not only is drinking alcohol legal but drink driving is. And they dont have as many problems as us now many people may think thats because they have terrible poverty but the fact is that only the countryside is in terrible poverty the rest is actually just average people like you or me and yet there is not as many accidents. This prooves that alcohol isnt the problem its the irresponsibleness of the people who drink it. I was also going to rant on about the 5 year old thin but it has already been done to perfection .

[Mentor]

Theres little reason, and isnt going to happen.
The goevemnts aim is to creat Eupoean style drinking not start banning it or rasing its age barryer. This is quite obvios seeing as they already implented the 24 hour drinking laws "/
People drink when the 12, and the legal age is 18, rase it to 21, there still gona be drinking at 12, So it realy makes no difference, other than getting a few pub owners and alchol retailers in trouble.
Alchol related crime is NOT costing the goverment, since the tax rased threw the selling of alchol far outweghs the cost of the damage. This is of cause from a purely finantal point of view, rather than valueing things such as peoples life that can be lost in drink driving accidents.

I dont belive rasing the age will solve anything, its more likely to cause more problems, as well as damageing the echonemy, in respect of clubs that target the groups and make there living of the alchol consuming, no alchol chances are these places will loose out majorty, as the alchol sale is where the majorty of there money is made, the govement will also loose money becuse theres no tax cash. It wont stop drinking driveing, as drinking dirven is an offence initself, so what diffence dose it make if they cant drink legaly, as the dirnk driveing offence would have a much higher level of prosicute than underage drinking, which rairly results in a prosutoion or even a trial "/

Plus, The Uk more aless puts the age someone becomes an adult at 18, it means they are now seen as responable enogh to look after there own affairs, and all protctive laws used for the youths are removed, they can get credit cards, watch any movie, and drink.
Rasing the dirnking age would just creat a dubble standard and erroed this view point, to keep the balence othing things would requre rasing to the higher age range, this would cost the goverment alot, and **** of one hell of alot of people. So is compleat stupidty to do, and probly would not be done.

On a slightly offtopic view point. Drinking i think is ok at 18, but WHY is smokeing allowed at 16? Should smokeing not also be rased to 18, as i belive its kinda a double standard, why are the set at diffent times to be allowed, both are harmful? i belive smokleing should probly be rased to 18 to.

In summary.
Drinking stay at 18 becuse, Its the commonly accepted age of adulthood, Rasing it would not effect people drinking it, Rasing it would go agaist current goverment policy, It would not reduce alchol related crime.

[HUGECOOL]

Oh, wow. Spell check please.

Well, I'm from America and the current drinking age is 21. I really wouldn't see a difference since most of my friends are drinkers and under 21. o_O

Even if someone who was underage could afford to purchase alcoholic beverages with their own money, it would make no difference when they're on the evening news because they killed someone due to their intoxication.
Even though 21+ year olds are also capable of causing said crimes, it won't really give the government a good image when cases of "young adults who drown themselves in liquor and cause problems" are heard.

The legal driving age in UK is 18 (I think) and it won't help that the drinking age is 18 as well. I wrote a small story thing here. o_O

It could be someone's 18th birthday and they've been a good person their entire lives. Parents decide to give them a car as a birthday present so the 18 y/o decides to go driving with friends. But wait, they can buy liquor now as well. They drink and decide to drive again. The alcohol begins to thin the blood and blur the vision. They crash into a car of a family of four. No survivors.

The generation we live in is not a smart one and it won't help if they're willing to risk someone else's life just to have a good time.

[Mentor]

[COLOR="Black"]Oh, wow. Spell check please.

Im dislexic my spellings terrible "/

The legal driving age in UK is 18 (I think) and it won't help that the drinking age is 18 as well. I wrote a small story thing here. o_O

It could be someone's 18th birthday and they've been a good person their entire lives. Parents decide to give them a car as a birthday present so the 18 y/o decides to go driving with friends. But wait, they can buy liquor now as well. They drink and decide to drive again. The alcohol begins to thin the blood and blur the vision. They crash into a car of a family of four. No survivors.

The generation we live in is not a smart one and it won't help if they're willing to risk someone else's life just to have a good time.

But the point you made previos to this undermines it. A person celibrating there 21st birthday could also be driving, also buy alchol. And as its the first time leglay the same encoagement to get drunk is there, they already have a car, and would be more likly to be driving around so same likly hood of the same event happening, at 21 as 18, or indeed any age. Athogh thats only if the person invoilved were stupid enogh. Since only a very stupid 18 year old would do that, just as a very stupiud 21 year old, 30 year old 50 year old etc would do that? The age realy makes little diffence, and the age set dosnt realy effect who would go drinking anyway, "/

[nvrspk4]

I don't see any benefits at all of people being allowed to drink at a lower age. Yet I do see many benefits, as baving has stated in his post, to making the drinking age higher. I think it would also be productive to move the age to 23 if it was allowed, it may not be necessary but could be useful. By 23 most are out of college and fending for themselves and responsible for their actions. Yes many may contend that one is responsible for one's actions at 18 or 21 but who ends up paying the fine? Probably your parents. Also you would still be in college so your parents are partially supporting you. Once you're 23, its you who pays the fine, you who has to deal with your job, you who serves the jail time with nobody to support you or pay for the lawyer. Then there's all the issues with drunk driving which I'm sure that you're all aware of. But really, putting it to 23 makes people think more, those who ignore it regardless are the ones who would start underage anyway and its up to the law to attempt to put a stop to them. Even if alchohol was completely banned it would make it more popular as showed during the US Alchohol Ban via the 16th Amendment. Therefore its best to set a reasonable age, but one that will cause thought in the proposed drinker and cause more caution. Even if not 23, 21 should be instated for the same reasons.

[Mentor]

I don't see any benefits at all of people being allowed to drink at a lower age. Yet I do see many benefits, as baving has stated in his post, to making the drinking age higher. I think it would also be productive to move the age to 23 if it was allowed, it may not be necessary but could be useful. By 23 most are out of college and fending for themselves and responsible for their actions.

Unless you been held back a year most people will be out of collage by there 19. so youd leave collage at 18 "/ so where does 21 come in?

Yes many may contend that one is responsible for one's actions at 18 or 21 but who ends up paying the fine? Probably your parents. Also you would still be in college so your parents are partially supporting you. Once you're 23, its you who pays the fine, you who has to deal with your job, you who serves the jail time with nobody to support you or pay for the lawyer.

Exsactly like it is for most 18 year olds then... if parents will pay when there 18 parents will pay when there 21, 23 or even 30.. the people who turn to there parents costnatly for things will do it what ever age they are

Then there's all the issues with drunk driving which I'm sure that you're all aware of. But really, putting it to 23 makes people think more, those who ignore it regardless are the ones who would start underage anyway and its up to the law to attempt to put a stop to them. Even if alchohol was completely banned it would make it more popular as showed during the US Alchohol Ban via the 16th Amendment. Therefore its best to set a reasonable age, but one that will cause thought in the proposed drinker and cause more caution. Even if not 23, 21 should be instated for the same reasons.

Nether offer any benifit thogh? Rasing the age will only increase the numbers doing it illgaly, and danmage alot of the echomeny. It will also cause a massive disrupting with the basic sosal system the entire contary runs in, 18 is when in EVERY aspect you are declard a FULL adult, whether by banks, video retailers. EVERYTHING is set at that age, changeing that would complty mess it up, if all other things were rased accordingly the govement would have to put forward BILLIONS to pay for supporting them. Along with loosing the MILLIONS in gains from tax on alchol sold, to that target age group "/

[iluvben]

Mentors posted , there no point me trying to win this debate now ;P

Concentric - Admin
Please don't post in a debate unless you have a comment relating to the topic at hand.

[Baving]

Congratulations to 01101101entor for his most compelling arguement,
http://www.habboxforum.com/showpost....0&postcount=44

He has won the debate.

Most people from reading the debate say that there would be no point in raising the legal age to 21 years, as this would cause more trouble than there already is. Also the legal age that you can drink on your own premises is 5 so people under-age are already drinking.

Some people also stated that some clubs / bars are already only servering people that are over 21 years of age. This could soon be bought into more bars / clubs as more are seeing the positive side.