Would lowering the legal drinking age make alcohol less of a big deal, and less attractive to teens?
History says no. When we had lower legal drinking ages in the U.S., the underage drinking problem was worse.3 For example, before the 21 minimum legal drinking age was implemented by all states, underage drunk drivers were involved in over twice as many fatal traffic crashes.3 I thought Europeans have fewer underage drinking problems … is it because their kids drink from an earlier age? That’s a myth. European countries have worse problems than America does, as far as binge drinking and drinking to intoxication.2 Studies show that Europe has more underage drunkenness, injury, rape, and school problems due to alcohol.1,3 Since alcohol is more available there, it actually increases the proportion of kids who drink in Europe. Some people propose a 40-hour alcohol education course for teens that would entitle teens to drink before 21. Is this a good idea? Research shows that education alone doesn’t prevent risky behaviors. For example, driver education by itself does not reduce youth car c
