Students should think twice before drinking on vacation
March 5, 2019
With spring break in one month, many students will be going somewhere for vacation. There are 190 countries with the legal drinking age of 18. There will be students going places out of the country, where the legal drinking age is under 21.
Although it is legal for students to drink in that country, there is still some controversy on whether or not drinking while on vacation is ethical. This is because in Minnesota one must be at least 21 years of age to drink alcoholic substances. Even though it is technically legal, some people believe that drinking underage should not be allowed when traveling to a location where it is legal.
Some people believe that it is ethical to drink underage if one is on vacation, if it is legal in that country. Everyone that is in a country needs to follow those laws, and if drinking is legal in that country, then it is ethical.
This is a map showing the legal drinking ages in every country. The legal drinking can range from no age restrictions all the way to illegal at any age. There are 83 percent of countries that can drink at an age younger than 21.
Students thoughts
Junior Olivia Anderson has been to St. Martin several times, where drinking is legal for her.
She said, “Just because you are a U.S. citizen, but you’re not in the U.S. doesn’t mean you have to be like, I’m not 21 I can’t drink.”
Generally speaking, parents have been making decisions for their kids since the day they were born. Because of this, some say that parents should decide whether or not it is best if their children drink underage drink. Others believe it is difficult for parents to enforce their say in things if their child is already a legal adult, because their parents technically cannot enforce a rule on them.
“If it is legal and you’re of age I don’t think it should be up to your parents because you’re your own person and your an adult and can decide for yourself,” junior Lexi Roti said.
Underage drinking increases the risk for being involved in an accident.
— American Addiction Center
Professionals concerns
There are many concerns with underage teenage drinking due to health issues. A brain is not fully developed until age 25. Drinking can cause brain damage, affecting one’s adult life. In addition, teenagers allowed the responsibility to drink at a younger age while on vacation, can sometimes get out of hand causing injury and even death on them and people around them.
An American Addiction Centers is concerned with safety of teenagers drinking at a young age. “Underage drinking increases the risk for being involved in an accident, being victim of a crime, becoming injured, and suffering from addiction later in life.”
The organization also added that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) said that 60 percent of youth says that they drank at least one time before the age of 18.
With spring break right around the corner, students will be traveling all over the world. With this, comes controversial drinking laws. Some countries allow people to drink under the age of 21, younger than in the United States. This being said, considerations will have to be made when deciding whether one should drink alcohol or not.
