The legal drinking age can be defined as the age at which someone can buy and consume alcoholic beverages. The age limit set is widely different across the World, while some countries set a different age limit of when a person can purchase and when someone can drink alcoholic beverages. But it is important to note that the legal age drinking limit mostly cover drinking at public places since it is very difficult to monitor behaviors of persons at home. Most of the European countries have set their legal drinking age at 16 while in Canada most of the provinces have set the legal drinking age at 19. This paper will discuss the reasons why the Canadian government should not lower the legal drinking age in her Provinces.
The drinking age limit should not be lowered in Canada; this is because lowering the legal drinking age will not come with any benefits to the society but more of negative effects. For example, a study conducted in Canada using the national Canadian death data of 1980 to 2009 showed an increase in the number of male deaths resulting from injuries or motor vehicle accidents to have risen. There was also an increase in mortality rate, it is clear that most of those accidents or deaths resulted from alcohol drinking, the persons involved must have been under alcohol influence (considering the legal drinking age in the provinces). Therefore, lowering the legal drinking age limit will do more harm since more accidents, injuries and deaths will be witnessed, and if lowered to 16 then more young people will die. The young people come with a lot of rationale in a country, for instance, serving the country. And it is notable that they cannot serve the country after having one or two beers.
Lowering the legal drinking age will also lead to many cases of drunk driving; most of the young people are always involved in issues of driving while drunk, and if the age limit is lowered then the country will experience more of such cases. For example, a case where the legal drinking age is lowered to 16, if the cases of drunk driving were mostly reported for ages after 19 then more such cases will also be witnessed for persons under 19. This will harm the society, therefore, a reason of not to lower the drinking age.
There are also some medical concerns of lowering the drinking age, the young adults are still vulnerable when it comes to emotional regulation, organization and how they plan their activities as compared to the old adults. Thus, lowering the legal drinking age to include them will interfere with the growth of their brain, specifically the frontal lobe; this is what leads to problems associated with emotional regulations, and as well more death due to depression.
Ethically it is not safe for the young people to go out in night clubs and bars, lowering the legal drinking age will give them a chance of going out to such places, this will only lead to more cases of crimes and assaults in the neighbourhoods. And also increases the cases of addictions amongst the younger people. This will in turn lead to binge drinking and more cases of alcohol poisoning, and uncontrolled sexual activities amongst the younger population.
Alcohol drinking and illegal drug abuse come hand in hand. Most of the young people who start drinking early in their lives are more probable to get involved with the use of illegal drugs. Therefore, lowering the drinking age will increase the chances of more young people getting into the use of illegal substances and more deaths at younger ages. This is because most of the young people are fond of trying things to get them high fast, more so when they hold get-together or go out in clubs to drink.
Another reason for not to lower the drinking age in Canada is to help protect the society. If the drinking age is lowered to 16 then it will expose even a 10 year old to get drunk. It comes with the carelessness of the younger people; a 16 year old would drink and leave the alcohol in her or his room, thus leading to easy access to alcohol to their younger siblings. Lowering the drinking age will also lead to many cases of misbehaviours and violence in high schools, most of the high school students are of the restricted drinking age. Therefore, lowering the legal drinking age will include them thus, more cases of messed schools in the provinces.
Lowering the legal drinking age will also increase the cases of fake IDs in the country. For example, most of the teenagers of age 16 or even 15 will go looking for the fake IDs so that they join their peers who are 19 into drinking and partying. This will in turn lead to many criminal activities associated with fake identifications and a messed generation. This as well prevents alcohol related deaths amongst the youths. With fake identifications chances of killings will increase amongst the youths, they will believe that if no camera captured the incidence then the identification cannot easily trace back to them.
It is also important to not lower the legal drinking age in Canada to help protect the youths from long term effects of excessive drinking. For example, if someone starts drinking excessively at 16 then his or her chances of experiencing effects of alcohol drinking will be increased by three years as compared to the 19 year old. An example of a long term effect is cancer.
In conclusion the Canadian government should not lower the legal drinking age at the provinces. Someone can argue that why limit an 18 year old from drinking but he can go to war and serve the country. But as discussed in the essay, the age limit will save the society from the stated factors such as associated deaths of ages 16-18 involving drunk driving cases, deaths associated with depression/emotion regulations, illegal substance abuse, misbehaviours resulting from binge drinking amongst the youths and also indiscipline cases reported from high schools, being most of the youths of 16, 17 and 18 are still in high school.
