The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 in Australia Persuasive Essay Example

the Americans or of reckless profligates like the French, they are simply a nation of drunkards. "(Mack, 2006). Alcohol is used in many social and life situations; it is used in celebrations, relaxation, and social gatherings. All through Australia, in every class, it is not considered good form for a man to drink by himself. Very few even of the most hopeless drunkards ever do so.

The consequence is, that when a man feels inclined to drink, he immediately looks out for someone to drink with. At whatever hour of the day a mans meets another whom he has not seen for say twelve hours, etiquette requires that he shall incontinently invite him to come and drink. This is a custom that pervades every class in the colony, and cannot be departed from without something more than a breach of good manners. (“Drinking Etiquette,” n. d. ) Alcohol helps people remove their barriers; lose their inhibitions, and form friendships, relationships, and acts as a social lubricant.

In Australia many business deals have been conducted over a drink or two. In addition to the Australian drinking culture, at 18-years-old you are legally an adult. Thus, society has many expectations of young adults such as employment and study. Australian policies allow 18-year-olds to vote, marry, drive a vehicle, and obtain a gun license; furthermore, it is 18-year-olds right as an adult to drink. “Eighteen-year-olds could vote to change government, get married, have children, enter into legally-binding contracts and were treated as adults by the justice system,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said on a matter. News, 2010). Before the Vietnam War in 1962 the legal drinking age in

Australia was 21. “The drinking age in Australia was lowered to 18 from 21 during the Vietnam War on the grounds that if 18-year-olds could be conscripted, they should have the right to vote and drink as well. ”(Urban, 2009). Therefore, the law has been previously changed and it would be unadvisable to change the law again; these changes won’t resolve the abuse of alcohol and the impacts on youth.

Moreover, if the drinking age of 21 is to be implemented, the contradiction arises with the legal adult age. Finally, the comparisons between Australia and America in relation to the successful execution of the change in the drinking age; though both countries are similar, their differences in history and in culture; therefore, they should not be compared. Despite America’s 21-year-old legal drinking age, it’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that “in 2003, 29. 3% of youth ages 12-20 reported consuming alcohol in past 30 days. (Fennell, 2007). This demonstrates that even though America has a high legal drinking age; this does not stop the youth from drinking. As reported in the Journal of American College Health - Vol. 56, No. 3 - by Dr Reginald Fennell – executive editor for the journal and the professor of health education at the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio “[p]erhaps it is time for the United States to re-examine the minimum drinking age and progressively return to a minimum drinking age of at least 18 years. ”(Fennell, 2007).

Hence, even American doctors believe that the legal age of 21-years-old is ineffective and should be reduce to 18 years of age. The information above demonstrates that

raising the legal drinking age to 21 will be unsuccessful and it is not a solution to the drinking problems in Australia. Given the above arguments, the legal drinking age in Australia should remain at 18-years-old. When a pastime is ingrained in a country’s culture; therefore, it is difficult for the government to change “the way things are” and the norm in society.

All the legal policies in Australia permit 18-years-old as adults; there are numbers of expectations of adults such as voting, marriage, and entering legally-binding contracts. Thus, it is an adult’s right to consume alcohol, as it is to perform these other “adult” tasks. America is a good example that a higher legal drinking age is not a solution and would not work for Australia. In my opinion, instead of changing the legal drinking age to 21, they should introduce tougher penalties and higher fines for alcohol fuelled crimes.