Anti-aging drugs would not be beneficial to society

Firstly, allow me to apologise for this argument being so late, it's that time of the year where things are busy, so I am sorry about that but I will now continue using the format you have used. 1: New laws 2: Overpopulation 3: Harder job opportunities 4: Economic divide 5: Environmental factors 6: Conclusions 7: References NEW LAWS With regards to laws, I agree, there will need to be new laws and some changes to existing ones but to believe that laws relating to driving will go up or use of legal substances is unlikely, as those rise with new facts not with rising ages. In 2007, British MPs said the driving age should be raises to 18 but this was as a result of factors other than living longer [1] and since 1960, natural life expectancy in the UK has risen by about 9 years [2] which has had no impact on changes to anything other than pensions. Any new law would most likely be related to the drug itself and the usage of it and possibly how it would be given. Chances are, to avoid misuse of the drug, it would be clinic only administered, this would prevent adults from giving it to their children, but this is speculation. As for those who would be affected by changes to age laws, that has happened in the past, in 2007 tobacco in the UK was raised from 16 to 18 [3], 16/17 year olds might not have liked the change but it happened with little consequences and for those who have gotten a licence and no longer meet the age would most likely be allowed to keep driving. OVERPOPULATION Overpopulation is a serious issue and does need to be looked at, but you have to take into account that the countries that will have the drug available to them are going to be the developed states, which have a lower growth rate in comparison to the undeveloped countries and some developed countries, such as the USA and Russia, have a lot of space available for more people, [4] while it could be argued that those might not be habitable, if we speculate that such drugs with vast age increasing capabilities can be made, then we can speculation that we would be able to use land that is currently considered inhabitable. Not to mention that China currently has a declining population because of their one child policy, [5] so this may help out China in that way by allowing families to live longer and have children later. Let's not forget that having a child is something that is a big decision to make and can take some couples a long time, so raising the living age would give them longer to think about it. HARDER JOB OPPOTUNITIES This is already a problem for unskilled workers as we develop in technology, [6] so the only solution to this problem would be for businesses to evolve and promote other forms of jobs, with the age of the internet and social networking, it can be assumed that unskilled workers will be going at the lower end of IT jobs and others that revolve around that area rather than production and sales. While you speculate that it will lead to a new society, that is certain but you say that you don't think we will be able to adapt, however I disagree. If you look at the past in comparison, you will see that there have been massive changes, if you consider that cancer treatment can allow someone to live where they would once have died and we have adapted to this. You have to remember that it's only the modern times where women have been allowed and given a fair chance at many jobs [7] and while society hasn't fully adapted to this, we have come a long way and the same would happen with older people working. ECONOMIC DIVIDE This would all depend on how the drug is used in practice and under what circumstances however there is no doubt that it would be expensive but you state that Africa wouldn't have access to it, if global powers and charities think that it will help prevent overpopulation in Africa, then that's how it will be made available to them. HIV/AIDS drugs are expensive [8] and yet these are provided to poor countries that can't afford them, we know this, so if there is a need for them, that is how they will be delivered. If we go back to speculation, let's say you own a steel production factory, where skilled labour is hard to find, an investment in this drug for your employees might be worth it to give them longer to work and train up new staff, that employee who trained up staff might then get a bonus, which benefits them as a working class individual. ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS No doubt more people will result in a greater risk but the keyword there is risk, you are making an assumption that there will be no/little increase or development in renewable energy sources. As for CFCs, they have been on the way out for a while now [9] so are going to have little impact on a rising population due to age increasing drugs. There is also the matter of recycling, in the UK there is a rising amount of household waste being recycled and in the US, 32% of waste is currently recycled, [10] there have also been advancements in packaging as well, where companies will use less packaging and use biodegradable plastics, which reduces the amount of materials used. CONCLUSIONS Much of this round has seemed to reflect statements which could easily be attributed to the natural rise in human life expectancy and not specifically to age enhancing drugs. While the law specifically on the drug is an important one and the benefit, many of the other points made can be argued as general points to increasing life expectancy. With regards to such a drug, yes there would need to be laws and there would need to be guidelines as to how it would be used and who it should benefit. I don't believe it should be made readily available to anyone and its usage should be justified, such as the example above of keeping on a skilled worker to train others or to people who have lost parts of their life through comas or other incidents, regulation would be essential. REFERENCES [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk... [2] http://www.google.co.uk... [3] http://news.bbc.co.uk... [4] http://www.worldatlas.com... [5] http://articles.businessinsider.com... [6] http://news.yahoo.com... [7] http://en.wikipedia.org... [8] http://aids.about.com... [9] http://www.epa.gov... [10] http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com...