Minimum drinking age laws are one set of tools that have
been used to combat heavy alcohol use by college students.
In 1984, the United States Congress passed the National
Minimum Purchase Age Act,15 which encouraged each state
to enact a minimum legal standard of 21 years for purchasing
alcohol. The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) law
may be the single most effective method to combat alcohol
use and its adverse consequences among young people.15–17
The authors of several studies have noted that this law was
associated with a significant decrease in traffic fatalities
involving drivers 18 to 20 years of age. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration estimates that since 1975
the MLDA of 21 years has saved more than 19,000 lives in
collisions involving drivers in this age group, and the proportion
of youth traffic fatalities involving alcohol dropped
from 63.2% in 1982 to 35.1% in 1999.9,18 Studies of highway
fatalities in the 1970s, when the MLDA in some states
was lowered, revealed a similar increase in deaths during
that time period.16 In addition, the authors of a recent review
of literature from 1960 to 200017 found that the MLDA law
was associated with reduced alcohol consumption in under-
21-year-olds, fewer alcohol-related traffic fatalities, and