18 and 19 year olds will drink anyway, why bother increasing the drinking age?

The original idea of lowering the drinking age was that it was recognition that 18 and 19 year olds were drinking alcohol anyway. There is evidence of the ‘halo effect’; the idea that lowering the drinking age has in turn lowered the “acceptable” drinking age, resulting in increased harmful drinking amongst those below the legal drinking age. NZ Police report that due to the halo effect, the de facto drinking age is now 14-17.