Minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) policies are among the most widely studied alcohol control policies in the world, and most studies have found that higher MLDAs result in lower rates of alcohol consumption, later initiation of drinking, reduced frequency of heavy drinking, and reductions in other alcohol-related problems (Carpenter and Dobkin, 2009; Carpenter et al., 2007; Cook and Tauchen, 1984; Fell et al., 2008; Wagenaar and Toomey, 2002). Contemporaneous effects of MLDA on suicide and homicide among adolescents and young adults have been demonstrated, with lower drinking age predicting higher death rates by both causes (Birckmayer and Hemenway, 1999; Jones et al., 1992).
