Whiskey and Red Bull
By Koby
When drunk, adults have the judgement equivalent to a 6 year old. Why, then, are they allowed to drink, if a 6 year old is not?
Now I'm not proposing that we buy our 6 year old's beer, but we seriously need to rethink alcohol.
How should America regulate drinking?
See results without votingAbove, we see a glass of whiskey compared to a can of Red Bull. dwilliamson recently made a brilliant hub about Energy Drinks and Teens. In the hub there was a proposal for regulation in energy drink consumption for teenagers. Teenagers are thought to have such bad judgement that they can't be trusted with caffeine.
Now, we know teenagers have a tendency to be reckless, and take more unnecesary risks than other age groups, but drinkers and alcoholics are infinitely worse. I am not against some kind of regulation for energy drinks, but when we regulate caffeine in teens, we must regulate alcohol in adults. Alcohol is more dangerous and more addictive, and no matter what your age is, alcohol can take you. Whether you are 16 or 61, alcohol doesn't care, it will strip you of your judgement.
When an american is 18, they are permitted to leave their family. They can enlist in the army. They can kill someone. But they cannot wash away their troubles in a cold beer. They have to wait three more years for that. This way of thinking doesn't make sense, and it doesn't work. Adults drink before they turn 21, the age limit doesn't keep them from drinking, it just makes it illegal when they do drink. Now america needs to make up it's mind. It needs to either practice complete prohibition (never going to happen) or lower the drinking age to 18, and apply a tighter regulation to the amount one can drink once they are of age.
Special thanks to dwilliamson for inspiring this hub.
Should teens be given a regulation for their energy drink consumption?
See results without votingComments
You can't just lump all drinkers into a group and say they have the judgment of some arbitrary age. Many of us drunks are capable of cognitive decisions. I'm not saying your wrong, but allow some discretion when referring to group that consists of over 60% of American adults.
You use way too many commas.
First of all, the can in the picture is a red bull COLA, not a regular red bull (they are differently age-regulated usually). Second, the reason teenagers and red bull doesn't mix is not due to the caffeine, but due to the health risks in not fully developed individuals. Taurine and the various chemicals are known to cause a myriad of negative symptoms in premature adults. The same mindset guided us to the conclusion about age regulation regarding alcohol, it is not regulated because teenagers would otherwise be reckless, but due to health risks being elevated in those years of your life.
I would also like to address that drinking doesn't necessarily reduce you to the mental maturity of a six year-old. In fact, I'm drinking as I'm writing this very comment. There's this thing called emotional intelligence, which allows us to act with discipline and to know ourselves; when to slow down and how to interpret yourself correctly.
I would also like to point out that when an American hits the age of 18, they are NOT ALLOWED TO KILL, I dropped my jaw reading that comment.
Bottom line is that energy drinks and alcohol affects your body in different ways from one another, which is why the age regulations are different. Reasoning that they are equally affecting your psyche is a logical flaw.
Scott 2 years ago
Very insightful and mature!
Love you!
Dad