The focal point of the paper is to present an analysis of the article by Toben F. Nelson and Traci L. Toomey, Commentary: Drinking age of 21 saves lives, published in the Cable News Network on September 29, 2009. In this article strongly advocates in favor of rising the age of drinking alcohol to 21. The writers rightly present their arguments that drinking habit at a lower age than 21 would be fatal for human health.
A study by the Institute of Alcohol studies states that if for those who drink excessively in their early teens, the likelihood of binge drinking at age 40 is strong. Binge drinking seems to have fuelled a ‘culture of intoxication’ in the US – the urge to achieve an ‘altered state of consciousnesses’ among the young. The supply and marketing of alcohol is adapting to this development. Short drinks packaged for rapid intoxication are currently very popular among the young. There are numerous other marketing campaigns meant to encourage young boys and girls to drink through easy availability. All these are extremely harmful for youths. The authors indicate, “College student drinking is a serious problem. Each year more young people are injured, sexually assaulted and die as the result of drinking. These statistics would be even worse without the age-21 law.” (Nelson and Toomey, 1)
This is at the centre of the grievous problem, now taking on endemic proportions. The tragedy of young drinking themselves to near death is giving rise to a generation of people who are going to do themselves even more harm, in later life. The damage to their bodies will be revealed in later life even though it may not be apparent now. The National Health Service is taking a huge toll with doctors reporting facilities strained to the limit with the traffic of grievously injured youngsters who felt compelled to drink their brains numb.
On the school and parents side it is understood that they play pivotal roles in ensuring a culture free from binge drinking. However, thousands of parents, mostly among the unprivileged working class, neglect children to the point of not being able to guide their own children away from this epidemic, being hard drinkers themselves. There is the development of a whole night life culture around drinks which may be unavoidable. But, a parent alert and aware of the reality would be able to make an effort to school children to the terrible realities of life beyond the pub or discotheque. Youngsters could do well to be told of a safe limit for drinks and what represents over stepping them. There are curbs on hours which young people should be made aware of. Beyond this, children make their own choice. Schools are invaluable in this respect. There are many ways schools will develop ways of preparing a young mind to think for itself.
In this condition a well-formulated health system is required in the locality with a proper policy to check the aspects of binge drinking. A health care system is an organisation to deliver health care. There are many variations of health care systems around the world. The goals for health systems are good health, responsiveness to the expectations of the population, and fair financial contribution. In other words health care systems should have a quality, efficiency and acceptability on one dimension and equity on another. But in this context the job would not just end in providing care but building a conscious environment would be equally important. Alongside, it is important to pursue with the age 21 law for the better future. The authors did a very good job by presenting this serious problem and indicating that the law 21 should be supported.
Works Cited
Nelson, Toben and Traci Toomey. “Commentary: Drinking age of 21 saves lives”. Cable News Network. 2009. CNN.Com.