Thomas Nieminen

UWRT 1101-003
Gabrielle Turgeon
Arguementative Research Paper Rough Draft 1
18 February 2017
PageWith
| 1 so many deaths, accidents, and social irresponsibilities every year regarding young

teens and alcohol, the drinking age should remain at 21 years of age regardless of all the

petetions trying to lower it to 18. Statistics and responsibility dont lie but young immature teens

can. I will be discussing some specific reasons why the drinking age should be staying at 21 and

will form my arguments based on facts and statistics gathered from my research.
One of the first reasons why the drinking age should stay at 21 is because the brain

doesnt actually fully develop until the age of about 25. In this case it would make the age of 21

much more reasonable. According to the new research found by the University of Rochester

Medical Center in New York, the adult and teen brain are very different. Adults have been known

to think with prefontal cortex which is the brains rational part. It is the major component to

decision making and understanding consequences. Teens on the other hand primarily have been

known to use the amygdala which is all about emotions. It is known that the emotional and

decision making part of the brain are still developing and not necessarily at the same rate. This is

the cause of the teens to making choices without really thinking of possible outcomes or

consequences. Without teens being able to make good decisions already as it is, adding alcohol

makes things a lot worse.

This issue in society is one that we can really control and should be because of the

negative effects it is having on not only young ones taking part of the drinking games but also

anyone that is connected to their lives. It is carefree to allow teens to be drinking because a

majority dont really quite get the concept of responsibility at all. It isnt about enjoying a drink

anymore because of its tastes, but instead it becomes a competetion and loss of reason within

themselves which leads to destrution of oneself and a danger to society. I have seen the damage

alcohol creates firsthand as I have been around many people during many parts of my life. I have
Thomas Nieminen
UWRT 1101-003
Gabrielle Turgeon
Arguementative Research Paper Rough Draft 1
18 February 2017
seen young
Page | 2kids take apart of crazy drinking games that almost have completely taken their life.

Many people dont realize the danger behind feeding these young ones alcohol but the effects to

society and themselves is tremendous.

Keeping alcohol out of the hands of younger people saves lives. According to research,

ever since the drinking age has been changed from 18 to 21 in 1984, there have been a lot less

vehicle related deaths and injuries, deaths by suicide and homocide. According the the National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, increasing the minimum drinking age is creditied to have

saved over 18,220 lives on just nations highways between 1984 and 1998. Other research

showed that excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 death and 2.5 million years of

potential lost life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States in the years from 2006-2010. These

are huge numbers and they speak for themselves. When that many number of young people are

dying each year from alcohol, then you know the problem is the substance and how they are able

to obtain it so easily. The law needs to stand firm or the numbers will get even bigger each year

and more deadly.

It is not just about numbers of deaths or any kind of statistics relating to casualties but the

sense of not being able to move forward with things in their life. Instead of young ones focusing

on the important things in their life and what they need to accomplish them, they are more

worried about where they will come up with the money to buy the next alcohol. They lose focus

on what actually matters in life such as relationships and love. Alcohol destroys so many

relationships yearly and I have personal experiences in my own life that have made me so strong

in my belief. My brother got involved with alcohol early on and messed up so many things in his

life including friendships that were apparently suppose to last. Alcohol creates its own life

inside yours which always seems to have negative impacts. You always want more and it ruins
Thomas Nieminen
UWRT 1101-003
Gabrielle Turgeon
Arguementative Research Paper Rough Draft 1
18 February 2017
your perception
Page |3 on many of the beautiful things that life has to offer such as your family. Ever

since my brother got into drinking heavily I no longer speak or have any form of interaction with

him and its for my own good. Alcohol has destroyed personal relationships within my family

and the only experiences I have had are negative.

Alcohol is not meant for young teens who arent able to process information like they

should compared to the mature adult. Alcohol is always one of the leading causes of death and

destruction every year and will continue to unless the laws and people change regarding to the

availibility of alcohol for them.

Sather, Rita, and Amit Shelat. "Understanding the Teen Brain ." Understanding the Teen Brain.

University of Rochester, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?
ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051
https://4prevention.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/the-top-five-reasons-we-should-
keep-the-drinking-age-at-21/
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm