What is underage drinking? —Simply put, it is the act of drinking alcohol below a minimum age.
All over the world, the legal drinking age varies per country. There are countries that do not have laws against underage drinking. These are the countries wherein children, no matter how young, may be able to acquire and consume alcohol. This includes some Asian countries such as Macau and Vietnam. Other countries have set a minimum legal drinking age, which varies from 18 to 21 years old, depending on what the country considers to be the boundary between childhood and adulthood. And still for other countries, commonly Arab countries, where alcohol consumption is completely illegal. [1]
In the U.S., the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 requires all states to impose restrictions that 21 should be the legal drinking age. This law directly prohibits possession and purchasing of alcohol by minors, however, consumption is not explicitly prohibited. Different states offer different policies on underage drinking depending on whether they are with their parents or if it is for educational or religious purposes. Some ban underage drinking altogether.[2]
The minimum age for drinking alcohol was NOT imposed just so we can find ways of punishing our teens. It is being enforced for very important reasons. The trend is that the consumption of alcohol by adolescents before the legal drinking age often results in human tragedies with alarming consistency. Alcohol-related homicides, suicides, vehicular accidents and other unwanted accidents are the most common causes of death among young adults. And the involvement of alcohol-related car accidents is twice as high as those of intoxicated adults.[3]
That is why extensive anti-underage drinking campaigns have been launched not only in the U.S. but all over the world in an attempt to make kids and adults alike understand the importance of preventing underage drinking. This is so when our children grow old enough to ask, “What is underage drinking?” we would know exactly what to tell them.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underage_drinking
[2] http://epw.senate.gov/title23.pdf
[3] National Research Council Institute of Medicine (2004); Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility; Washington D.C; The National Academy Press; p. 13