Road safety actors and other organizations have called on states to raise the legal age for alcohol consumption to 21. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several states raised the minimum age, but others did not. To promote the introduction of a national legal minimum age, Congress adopted the national legal drinking age. A 1988 analysis by the U.S. General Accounts Office (GAO) found that raising the minimum legal drinking age reduced the level of alcohol consumption among adolescents, the number of adolescents driving after drinking alcohol, and alcohol-related traffic accidents among adolescents. In addition, changing the legal drinking age appears to be a key tool to reduce the negative effects of alcohol use among adolescents. And therefore, reduce the negative consequences associated with the abuse of this substance. Nevertheless, alcohol consumption is one of the main risk factors for premature death worldwide, especially among adolescents, who are much more sensitive to its effects and are more likely to suffer from mental, neurocognitive and psychophysical problems, as well as future alcohol dependence in adulthood. In this sense, Western Europe is the region where the largest number of young people aged 15 to 19 consume alcohol (about 70%), which shows that in addition to limiting the age of access to it, it is also necessary to ensure that the rules are respected and that no institution violates the law. After prohibition, almost every state passed legislation setting the legal minimum age of 21 for alcohol consumption. However, between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the legal drinking age to 18, 19 or 20, mainly in response to changes in the voting age. Studies conducted at the time showed that as states lowered the legal drinking age, the number of traffic accidents involving minors increased.
In addition, the “bloody borders” between states with different legal minimum age limits for alcohol consumption have attracted public attention after the media widely reported some car accidents involving young people who have not reached the legal drinking age but have been able to drive in a border state of a lower permissible age, where they drink legally and have a car accident on the street. could cause. Go home. In 1984, the United States passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the rule that harmonized the age limit at which young people in all states of the country, that is, at the age of 21, could buy alcohol. The results were not long in coming, and in just six years, alcohol consumption among people aged 18 to 20 increased from 59% to 40%. In Mexico, however, the National Commission on Drug Addiction (Conadic) has proposed raising the legal drinking age to 21. The basis of this approach lies above all in the harmful consequences that the consumption of alcoholic beverages can have on minors. Can I consume alcoholic beverages if I am on vacation in Mexico with my family and I am a minor? Young adults, in particular, may need some sort of identification document when buying alcoholic beverages in the shops, supermarkets, and even bars of the hotel where they are staying. In this case, it is important to know that to prove the age of majority, the person must provide their identity if their data and current photo appear clearly. These documents can be either passport, identity card or driver`s license. What documents are required when buying alcohol? The minimum legal age for alcohol consumption or the legal age for alcohol consumption is the minimum age from which a person can legally buy and/or consume alcoholic beverages.
However, it acknowledged the efforts made by the authorities to implement preventive measures such as breathalyzer testing and monitoring to avoid the sale of alcohol at specified times; control the density of alcohol outlets to reduce access to alcohol-related problems by limiting alcohol consumption; and strengthening tax policy for alcoholic beverages. Aboitiz Saro argues that the consumption of alcoholic beverages at an early age causes various problems, so it is necessary to increase the age to allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The case of the United States shows that the most effective way to combat the consumption of juvenile alcohol is to raise the minimum age of legal acquisition. For this reason, and although in most parts of the world the age of majority also serves as the minimum age to buy alcohol, several countries decided to set the limit a few years later, such as the United States, Japan, Paraguay or Iceland, as shown by 2016 data from the World Health Organization. For example, the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for decision-making, reasoning, problem solving, risk assessment and self-control, is one of the last areas to be developed. Similarly, the amygdala, the field of risk assessment, also develops into adulthood. In many parts of the world, it coincides with the age of majority (18 years); However, there are countries and/or regions where the purchase and/or consumption of alcohol is more restricted – the highest minimum age – or even more permissive – before the legal age of majority. However, when studies focus on specific age groups or societies, the results suggest that the price of alcohol does not affect consumption among adolescents, although it does affect the reduction of illnesses and deaths associated with the use of this substance. In this regard, we must point out that the legal minimum age for the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages is 18 years. It is important to mention that although each Mexican state controls this regulation, it is a regulation that is adopted throughout the country. Therefore, the fact that a person under the age of 18 consumes or buys this type of drink is considered illegal.