Why the big controversy on the drinking age in America?

As many of you many know, the drinking age in United States is Age 21. Americans are considered "age of majority" at age 18. This means that people are held responsible for their own actions as an adult. At that age, a person is able to vote, join the selective service, and who could be tried as an adult.

So the question is, why as an adult in America is drinking not allowed?

Could it be that the brain is not fully developed at age 18?

 According to neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt, the brain is not fully developed until about age 25. Between ages 18 to 25 the prefrontal cortex is still growing. Which is the part of the brain that helps you resist impulse and which allows you to reach a goal by planning and organization. If the development of the brain was the case, then the drinking age would be much higher.

What about the effects to body?

Alcohol effects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, increases your chance of getting cancer, and weakens your immune system. Which is terrible, right? Well why does the law allow 18 years old to smoke cigarette and use other tobacco products?

 The effects of smoking are even a greater risk then alcohol. Although tobacco may cause more deaths then alcohol, the effects take longer to kill the victims. Death usually come in the form of cancer.

 

Some other effects of alcohol are much more immediate. These can be accidental injuries, violence, risky behavior, and even alcohol poisoning.  All these risk can call death but one of the major risk of drinking alcohol is driving under the influence.

Could traffic deaths from driving under the influence be the cause?

President Ronald Reagan signed a law that provided an incentive to raise the legal drinking age to be raised to 21. Adults between ages 18 to 20, deaths dropped down to 60 percent from alcohol related traffic between 1982 and 2007. Ages 21 to 24 only dropped 44 percent during the same time.This is a huge number of decrease in deaths. This has to be the main factor.

Many at age 18 are inexperience drivers. “The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group.” Some countries like Europe, their driving age is higher. Even though in other countries the drinking age is much lower, United States has the highest deaths.

I believe that the drinking age of 21 works in America because it has decreased the number of traffic deaths.