Americans Support the 21 Drinking Age 
A Nationwide Insurance survey finds that Americans overwhelmingly reject an ongoing push to lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.

Nationwide Insurance survey finds parents fed up with “party schools” and politicians who support lowering drinking age. Read the news release.

An estimated 25,000 lives have been saved by the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA). 

For two decades the legal drinking age in the U.S. has been 21. But during the last 18 months, nine states have entertained the idea of lowering the drinking age minimum and three states have live legislation. And more than 100 college and university presidents have signed on to a misguided initiative that uses deliberately misleading information to confuse the public on the effectiveness of 21 law.

• 72 percent of adults think lowering the drinking age will make alcohol more accessible to kids.
• Only 14 percent of Americans think a lower drinking age will curb teen binge drinking.
• Nearly half believe lowering the drinking age would increase binge drinking among teens.
• More than half of the adults surveyed say would not send their children to colleges or universities with “party school” reputations. 
• More than half say they are unlikely to vote for a state representative who supports lowering the legal

  limit.  

Where MADD stands on underage drinking and the 21 minimum drinking age law: 

• Underage drinking is not just a youth problem but an adult problem. 
• Lowering the drinking age passes the problem on from colleges to high schools.
• Adults should talk to youth well before peer pressure begins about underage drinking, preferably around 4th grade.
• We need to limit social and retail access of alcohol to those under 21.

Nationwide Insurance is partnering with MADD to host a national symposium on binge drinking Nov. 6-7 in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the event is to bring parents to the forefront of the discussion and to explore how they can use their influence to curb underage drinking.