Drinking Age

[andrewgprv]

Leave it up to the parents to decide. Is there anyone out there that acutally waits till 21 to start drinking anway? I know I started at 14 and that's probably about average.

 

[addiv]

I too think there should be no specific drinking age. It's the responsibility of the parents and from a certain age of the child itself.

 

[Paalikles]

My priest run Norway allows beer, cider and wine from the age of 18.

I d rather see it set to 20, though I guess I am contradicting myself a bit - at the age of 17, I REALLY wanted to go to the pub, but they did not want to let me in because I was underage for drinking.

14 is not a good idea imho.
21, as in the US is perhaps a bit much.

There should perhaps be a difference between strong spirits (like my favorite - whiskey) and beer/wine - say 18-19 for the latter, and 20/21 for the first.

Just my 2 NOK though

 

[Ossric]

14 seems like a good age, i think i started around the age of 13

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

People should be able to drink whenever they want.

But save that, I would settle for a graduated system, whereas wine is at any age, light spirits (below 20%) are from 14, and by the time you are 18, you can by whatever you want.

 

[Hitro]

Originally posted by Akka
I'm mostly with Hitro on this one.

About time after that abortion thread.

By the way, to all, when you talk about "starting" to drink, what do you mean? A first beer or a first time getting trashed (assuming that wasn't the same )?

 

[Archer 007]

Originally posted by Hitro
14 to buy stuff under 20%, 16 over. Any age in presence of parents or other adults.

A tiered system sounds nice. I know alot more people who were introduced to moderate drinking at home, and in turn did not grow up to be drunks.

 

[kangyio]

When you try to be strict about the law there will be people who want to break it to show they are distinguished.I personally think the law about drinking age shouldn't be there,but having said that,people who don't have self control and drink a lot are there.So the age should be somewhere when people do have the ability to possess self control,whether they actually have it or not by that age is another issue.

 

[bobgote]

i'd say 18, that is what it is here, and works pretty well.
maybe lower it to 16 possibly, but I think 18 is a good age for legal drinking. At 16, people here are generally too immature to drink responsibly (but then again, if they aren't mature enough at 16, they probably never will be). also if it's 16, it doesn't coincide with the legal driving (by yourself) age. They say "if you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot", but you are technically allowed to do both legally on the same day, well hey, how do you think they're going to celebrate this occasion?

 

[bobgote]

Originally posted by archer_007


A tiered system sounds nice. I know alot more people who were introduced to moderate drinking at home, and in turn did not grow up to be drunks.

kids under 18 should be required to have responsible parents

i reckon that seeing my dad have a glass of wine a night was a good example for me

 

[The Yankee]

If it's for culture reasons, such as special occasions or festivals, then it's up to the people in charge. Otherwise, I think it should be the same age as voting and getting drafted or joining the military.....18. I mean, if you are with the Marines and on base, you can get alcohol legally at 18...so why not for civilians?

 

[WillJ]

Originally posted by The Yankee
Otherwise, I think it should be the same age as voting and getting drafted or joining the military.....18. I mean, if you are with the Marines and on base, you can get alcohol legally at 18...so why not for civilians?

That's it!!! It's all done by the military, in order to get more recruits!



Reminds me of what Chris Rock once said. [paraphrasing]: "Why the hell can the government draft you into the military at age 18, but you can't drink until 21? You mean to tell me that an 18-year-old who fought for our country for three months out in the desert in blinding sandstorms and loses a leg can't drink?! A freakin' ONE LEGGED TEENAGER comes into a bar, and the bartender has to say, 'Sorry sir, I can't serve you'? That ain't right!"

Anyway, I agree that the legal drinking age should be 18.

 

[omichyron]

Originally posted by Aphex_Twin

Children can't always be held responsible for their actions as they don't always have discernament. True, not adults are responsible, but there are far more children who aren't responsible.

And alcohol is more dangerous at younger ages because the damage done is more likely to be permanent.

that's why they have parents. It's not the government's job to say little timmy shouldn't be out getting drunk. it's his mom and dad's job to explain responsible drinking to him and set age limits. in nations with lower drinking ages, less of an underage binge drinking culture develops. I know that here the tradition is to get together with a bunch of friends and drink til you puke and/or pass out just because you never know the next time you'll have the liquor on hand to manage it. Germany lets kids drink at 16, and as a result we Americans looked like a bunch of drunks compared to the local population when I went there on a student exchange. since they can get alchohol whenever they want, they don't go get absolutely trashed whenever they have the chance.

 

[The Yankee]

Good point....the more something is forbidden to someone (under-age people), the more they want to take it to excess.

 

[Archer 007]

Originally posted by bobgote

kids under 18 should be required to have responsible parents

i reckon that seeing my dad have a glass of wine a night was a good example for me

See, good example

The problem is that most parents are going to be restless and not care about their children.

 

[onejayhawk]

I always thought that the Jewish tradition of watered wine for the whole family made a lot more sense than total abstinence followed by total freedom. Watching a bunch of teenagers slam a six pack just to get drunk strikes me as proof taht Darwin was wrong. Man has never evolved from the knuckle dragging stage.

J

 

[The Yankee]

Well, I have the feeling they're more likely to shove a 6-pack down their throats because they're denied such things. I'm just thinking back to Prohibition as the example.

But, then again, there do need to be limits. Parents need to fill in the big gap here.

I'm one of (probably) few teenagers that have never binge-drinked or got drunk or anything close. I don't know what my limit is, but I never bothered to test it. There's no point in it. I'll enjoy my drink or two (only once have I done three) every once in a while and I'm fine. Since I'm not driving now, that part doesn't matter either...but if I were to drive, then I wouldn't bother with alcohol and go straight to soda.

 

[History_Buff]

18+

Drinking is a descision that can severly imapct your life. Therefor, at the age where you can become a legal adualt (18 here) you can start drinking.

 

[Sarevok]

its 20 in Nihon, so 20.

 

[HighlandWarrior]

Originally posted by mayakovsky
I say never! I just don't see why drinking is legal and marijuana is illegal. (U.S.) If one is banned then so shall the other. But if both were legal I'd say a good age is 18. It's hard for me to understand why a young man or woman can fight and die for our country and still can't get a beer.

very untrue statement. men or women in the armed forces can buy beer on base. now once they leave the base it's different.