THE US neuropsychologist who first identified the damaging effects of alcohol on the early adult brain has warned Australian medical experts against using his research to justify a rise in the minimum legal drinking-age to 21.
A wave of respected medical opinion has signalled its support for raising the legal drinking age since the proposal was brought up in the NSW Parliament more than a week ago. With the excesses of schoolies week as a backdrop, fears of an out-of-control binge-drinking culture among teenagers has fuelled the debate, backed up by frequent citations of the proven harmful effects of alcohol on the developing adolescent brain.
But Professor Scott Swartzwelder, from Duke University's Institute for Brain Sciences, whose 1995 research with colleagues first alerted the world to the link between disrupted brain development and early alcohol consumption, says any country with a youth binge-drinking problem needs to be wary of the risks as well as the benefits of raising the legal drinking-age limit. > > > > Read More
