Lower Drinking Ages Lead to More Binge Drinking, Study of U.S. States Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130206162327.htm

Feb. 6, 2013 — People who grew up in U.S. states where it was legal to drink alcohol before age 21 are more likely to be binge drinkers later in life, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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"It wasn't just that lower minimum drinking ages had a negative impact on people when they were young," explains first author Andrew D. Plunk, PhD, a post-doctoral research fellow in psychiatry. "Even decades later, the ability to legally purchase alcohol before age 21 was associated with more frequent binge drinking."

The study shows that people who lived in states with lower minimum drinking ages weren't more likely to consume more alcohol overall or to drink more frequently than those from states where the drinking age was 21, but when they did drink, they were more likely to drink heavily.

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