Lowering the Drinking Age Does Not Reduce Underage Drinking
Posted Sep 09 2010 6:25am
by Lisa Frederiksen
One of the common myths with regards to underage drinking is the belief that a lower drinking age will take care of the problem. People often say things like, “Look at the Europeans – their young people don’t binge drink because they’ve been drinking a glass of wine, watered down, since they were kids. It’s not the forbidden fruit.”
But the reality is that the Europeans, Russians, Asians, Africans, South Americans, Australians… do not have underage drinking figured out, either – at least not any more. They have problems with underage and adult drinking on par with, and in many instances, far exceeding those in America.
by Lisa Frederiksen
One of the common myths with regards to underage drinking is the belief that a lower drinking age will take care of the problem. People often say things like, “Look at the Europeans – their young people don’t binge drink because they’ve been drinking a glass of wine, watered down, since they were kids. It’s not the forbidden fruit.”
But the reality is that the Europeans, Russians, Asians, Africans, South Americans, Australians… do not have underage drinking figured out, either – at least not any more. They have problems with underage and adult drinking on par with, and in many instances, far exceeding those in America.
To get a more complete picture, check out the • U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking , 2007, page 9, “Binge Drinking is Not Limited to the United States.”
• European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD)’s 2007 Reports