Category: Underage Drinking Prevention

I. Background. You’ll find here a summary of each state’s laws about the minimum age to sell alcohol in off-premises venues. That is, in places where customers must take the alcohol elsewhere to consume it. Some states have higher minimum ages for selling spirits. (Spirits are vodka, gin, brandy, tequila, whiskey, rum, etc.) The laws […]

I. Background. What are the effects of alcohol advertising? Does alcohol advertising cause people to begin drinkng or to drink more? Could it cause alcohol abuse? These important questions need answers. And we need research evidence instead of opinions or gut feelings. So, alcohol advertising causes young people to begin drinking. It increases alcohol consumption. […]

Drinking and coronary artery disease risk are related. The evidence clearly shows that drinking alcohol in moderation leads to lower risk of coronary artery disease. That’s one of the reasons it generally leads to longer life. Beer, wine and distilled spirits appear to have the same health benefits. Spirits include rum, vodka, tequila, gin, whiskey, […]

The Drug Resistance Abuse Resistance (DARE) program is a very popular one. Teachers love it because police officers, not they, teach it. Administrators love it because it shows that they’re “doing something” about alcohol and drugs. Police love it because it beats boring patrols and night shifts. Students love it because it’s more interesting than […]

Our society uses many techniques in efforts to reduce underage alcohol abuse. (This includes alcohol abuse by those of legal age but still young.) A few are effective, but most are not. And there’s no silver bullet. Therefore, we must continue examining additional possibilities. Here are some creative ways to try to reduce underage alcohol […]

Alcohol Enforcement is Important Alcohol is part of the University experience. Frat parties, bar hopping and tailgating before football games are just as collegiate as classes and exams. Then there’s alcohol enforcement. Yet it caught most everyone by surprise when [University of] Virginia’s new Alcohol Beverage Control [ABC] officer stationed in Charlottesville started bringing down […]

Lower the Legal Drinking Age Interview with Dr. Ruth Engs The minimum drinking age continues to stir controvers. However, the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered says expert Dr. Ruth Engs. She’s Professor Emeritus of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington. Dr. Engs is interviewed by David J. Hanson. Hanson– Dr. Engs, […]

Some Assumptions Debate over the legal drinking age continues. It’s largely between scientific findings and ideological beliefs. Underlying current minimum age laws are the assumptions of American prohibitionism. Drinking alcohol is dangerous and undesirable. Consuming any amount  of alcohol is equally undesirable. Moderate social drinking is the forerunner of chronic inebriation. Drinking typically results in problem […]

The drinking age issue has caused debate for decades. Opinions continue to differ. Here are some of the many arguments in favor of lowering the minimum legal drinking age. There is widespread misunderstanding about the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Act of 1984. Unfortunately, its title is misleading. It doesn’t actually require states to lower their drinking […]

The federal government is spending taxpayer money in a political campaign to defend the minimum drinking age. “Responses to Arguments against the Minimum Legal Drinking Age” is by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In it, the the federal government identifies arguments against the minimum legal drinking age. It then suggests counter […]