As can be seen in the table below, since the repeal of prohibition in 1933, there has been great volatility in the age of alcohol consumption in the states. Shortly after the 21st Amendment was ratified in December, most states set their purchasing age at 21, which was the voting age at the time. Most of these limits remained constant until the early 1970s. From 1969 to 1976, about 30 states lowered their purchasing age, usually to 18. This was largely due to the fact that the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 with the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971. Many states began lowering their minimum drinking age, most in 1972 or 1973. [2] [3] [4] Twelve states have maintained their purchasing age at 21 since the repeal of prohibition and have never changed it. (2) State Acquired Rights Act as compliant. If before the last of the 1. October 1986, or (B) on the tenth day after the last day of the first session, the legislature of a state meets after the date of enactment of this paragraph, that state will in fact have a law prohibiting the purchase and public possession of an alcoholic beverage in that state by a person under the age of 21 (other than a person who is 18 years of age or older on the eve of the date of entry). in force under this Act and who may lawfully purchase or publicly possess liquor in that State at that time), that State shall be deemed to comply with subsection (1) for each taxation year in which this Act is in force. It`s important to make sure your restaurant or bar complies with alcohol laws.
This can help you avoid penalties or fines and perhaps prevent someone who isn`t old enough to drink from making a bad choice. After all, some of life`s best things are worth the wait. In 1984, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, stipulating that federal highway money would be withheld by U.S. states that had not set the legal drinking age at 21. By 1988, all states had introduced the minimum age. Alcohol Policy Information System. The National Minimum Drinking Age 1984. alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/the-1984-national-minimum-drinking-age-act In other parts of Asia, the minimum drinking age varies.
Malaysia (16), China (18), South Korea (19), Japan (20) and Thailand (20) are notable countries with different minimum age limits. Filed Under: Laws Tagged With: Legal drinking age, legal drinking age in the United States, when did the legal drinking age change to 21? Raising the minimum drinking age has allowed all young adults to drink less alcohol overall, even with easy access to alcohol. Most laws only apply to alcohol consumption in public places and not to alcohol consumption in private homes. Some countries also have a minimum age for certain beverages, such as distilled alcohol. In Canada, there is no federal law setting a minimum age for drinking. Each province and territory can set its own legal drinking age. While this age may seem a bit random (maybe even arbitrary), since you`re a legal adult at 18, Congress didn`t just choose the number of a hat. There is a long and rich history about alcohol in America and why the legal drinking age is set at 21. In the late `70s, the vast majority of states lowered the legal drinking age to 18. This, of course, has led to a massive increase in drunk driving and deaths. Soon, it was declared a national health crisis.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH): The United States has one of the highest legal drinking ages in the world. After prohibition, nearly all states introduced a legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21. However, between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the MLDA to 18, 19 or 20, mostly in response to the change in voting age. Studies conducted at the time showed that motor vehicle accidents among young people increased as states lowered their MLDA. In addition, the “blood boundaries” between states with different MLDAs came to public attention after high-profile accidents in which underage teens drove to a neighboring state with a lower MLDA, drank legally, and crashed on their way home. Stakeholders called on states to increase their MLDA to 21. Some did so in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but others did not. To promote a national drinking age, Congress enacted the National MLDA. A 1988 review by the U.S. General Accounting Office found that raising the drinking age reduced alcohol consumption among adolescents, driving after drinking among adolescents, and alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents among adolescents. In 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.
Germany is one of the most interesting countries when it comes to the minimum drinking age. It has one of the lowest minimum drinking ages in the world, allowing teenagers to drink alcohol at the age of 14 if accompanied by an adult. The legal drinking age is the minimum age to buy or drink alcoholic beverages. The minimum age for legal alcohol consumption may differ from the minimum age for purchase in some countries. Prior to 1984, some states had set the legal drinking age at 18, 19 or 20. (b) Effect of withholding funds. Funds withheld under this section on allocation to a State after 30 September 1988 may not be distributed to that State. While there are calls for a further lowering of the current drinking age, the passage of the Drinking Age Act and the proliferation of lockdown systems for intoxicated offenders have contributed significantly to reducing rates of first-time and repeat offenders under the influence of alcohol. While some may disagree, these two decisions have saved lives and made our roads safer. We should all agree that this is a very good thing. That`s because of several health risks associated with it, as outlined in the Surgeon General`s 2oo7 call to action, Caster notes.
These include being one of the leading contributors to injury deaths (which is the leading cause of death in people under 21), causing dangerous health problems such as alcohol poisoning, effects on the developing brain, and others. The introduction of the automobile really turned the tide. This, the lack of regulation and the universal availability of alcohol, gave birth to the temperance movement. This movement was a political crusade led by Christian women who were also suffrage advocates. In her view, alcohol restriction is an integral part of women`s rights, as alcohol abuse leads men to waste their money and time, which harms their families. France, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Greece all have a minimum drinking age of 18. From the founding of America until the early 20th century, there were no restrictions on the purchase or consumption of alcohol. In those early days of the country, young people at a younger age were treated like adults. On average, they left home much earlier, worked, got married and had children much earlier than they do today. As a result, there have never been more than 10 states restricting the purchase of alcohol, while the vast majority of states were under no legal drinking age.
Despite these improvements, too many teenagers still drink. In 2012, 42% of Grade 12 students, 28% of Grade 10 students, and 11% of Grade 8 students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. In the same year, approximately 24% of Grade 12 students, 16% of Grade 10 students, and 5% of Grade 8 students reported excessive drinking in the past two weeks. The drinking age has been raised to 21 due to federal funding for highways. However, when the legal drinking age dropped nationwide in the `70s, alarm bells began ringing, notes licensed clinical psychologist Suzette Glasner-Edwards, PhD, associate professor at UCLA`s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. “Research conducted after this period strongly suggested that an increase in road accidents among young people was associated with this change in the legal drinking age,” she tells Teen Vogue. “As a result, citizen efforts have begun to push states to reinstate 21 as the legal minimum age.” The current legal drinking age of 21 in the United States is a source of disagreement among some Americans.