Drinking age

I drink a bit...but I never get drunk...I like to confuse the drunks.

in my wonderful country we can drive when we turn 14 (get learners) havesex when were 16 and get married, drink, smoke when were 18. also when were 16 we can move out

hi again:

this is my opinion.. if the us dropped the drinking age to say.. 16 and put up the driving age to say.. 18 kids will have 2 years of getting to know and understand alcohol and how to drink responsibly and then after 2 years can get behind the wheel. they will have the experiace of getting to know how much alcohol they can handle,

because most kids..

turn 16 get drivers licence
turn 21 get shitfaced and get in their cars.

yes that would be a great idea but the body is not nearly fully developed internally to handle alcohol at age 16. that's the whole problem..

In a lot of Eurasian countries there's no drinking age at all (which I think is wrong)
I think 18 or 19.
You're right, if you're old enough to die for your country, why can't you drink??

I dont think there should be a drinking as such... i mean i like it @ the moment cos... well. they should make it clearer.... but i think @14 (or something like that) you can drink in certain pubs with a meal... and @ 18 you can drink... "normaly" in pubs... without a meal
It is annoying though cos when me , my dad and my dads friend went to the pub, I was allowed to go in the pub @ 14 But I had to drink water that tasted of orange juce... and i hate orange.... cos i couldent drink alcohol and i dont really like cola... so my choice was really limited.


though I did have some vodka cherry sneakily in the pub in the butlins campsite... and there really tight on everything @ the moment

i'm sorry, i didn't read the thread so i'm sure this has already been said but...

it's not a matter of whether you're mature enough or not. your brain stops growing at the age of 21. if you drink while you're brain is still growing there IS a chance that your brain will be stunted in it's growth.

don't be a fuck, just because it's not legal doesn't mean you can't do it.

What Became Of Subtlety?:

well in England it's legal to drink alcohol in your own home at the age of 5
you can have a cider in a pub with a meal at the age of 14
to buy alcohol you have to be 18

I think it should be 16 not 18, but I think the 2 other parts to the law are about right

Is that true? Why was i not informed?!?!?!!!!?!?!?!?!?!????!!!!!!one!!!?!????!?!?!?!??three????!?!?!?!????

isnt it dum that at the same age you can drink you can drive?

ya kno, i think 21 is waaaaaay too young to start drinking......but in general drinking just isn't good.

I think keeping the legal drinking age at 21 is a good idea.
Granted, minors still get drunk BUT [at least in my area] they do it in secret mainly at ranches or secluded houses, backyards and such. This at least doesn't have a bunch of dumb drunk teens out in public.
21 SEEMS more mature and of having better judgement to not drive drunk or act a fool in public.
Lowering it to 18, from my experience, is not a good idea I've seen a lot more teens become destructive reaching this age, than act adult.

I think the drinking age should be raised to 21 in the UK. I'm not a big drinker, my Mum drinks far too much so I drink rarely and don't go crazy when I do, but I've seen people my age and younger get into so much trouble drinking.

A friend of mine choked on his own tongue and nearly died. There is a point when it goes from having a few drinks and having a giggle to getting carried away and a lot of people jump right over that line.

I live in a city where the drinking age is 19.
In my experience, people start drinking occasionally at like 14/15. By 16/17, they're already getting pissed every weekend.
By 17/18, people already have fake IDs they use to buy alcohol and go to clubs.

Macfadyen:

I live in a city where the drinking age is 19.
In my experience, people start drinking occasionally at like 14/15. By 16/17, they're already getting pissed every weekend.
By 17/18, people already have fake IDs they use to buy alcohol and go to clubs.

Yeah pretty mugh this except its 18 here,
But I think that's fine.
21 just seems way to old. Like imo you're an adult at 18, you get all these other responsabilities at that age, you should have the right to drink what you want. I mean, if you can get tried as an adult, you should at least be allowed some beer.

Where its 21, people definitely drink before that, in their own homes etc. Just from personal experience I've seen things get way more out of hand at house parties than at actual bars.

A teen at 18 drinking just doesn't seem like a good idea to me :/
A teen at any age! really...
I guess the reason I'm siding with keeping it at 21 is because I've seen a lot more teens get even more destructive at the age of 18 than any other.
I sound like a broken record but maybe it's just my experience.
The law is unfair I guess.
You can join the army at 18, you can be judged as an adult at 18, you can friggin' buy cigarettes at 17 [here] and a whole lot of other things most likely.

Macfadyen:

I live in a city where the drinking age is 19.
In my experience, people start drinking occasionally at like 14/15. By 16/17, they're already getting pissed every weekend.
By 17/18, people already have fake IDs they use to buy alcohol and go to clubs.

It's very similar here. Particularly, I think, because I live in quite a rural area. Younger kids, before they're driving, have nothing to do except sit on the streets of the tiny town or village and drink.

What I was trying to say with that is, kids will drink. You cant avoid it. By keeping the age high, you're making the subject ~taboo~
Maybe it's just my family, but I'm 17 and I'm never offered a drink or anything at family parties. Nothing of the sort. I'm considered far too young. In my opinion, it's better to lower the drinking age and stop making a big deal out of the subject. Rather kids learn responsible drinking at home than at a party where they learn the hard way.
And as much as people deny it, by putting down restrictions, you make the whole thing just a little more appealing, at least subconsciously.

^agreed, my thoughts exactly.

Macfadyen:

What I was trying to say with that is, kids will drink. You cant avoid it. By keeping the age high, you're making the subject ~taboo~
Maybe it's just my family, but I'm 17 and I'm never offered a drink or anything at family parties. Nothing of the sort. I'm considered far too young. In my opinion, it's better to lower the drinking age and stop making a big deal out of the subject. Rather kids learn responsible drinking at home than at a party where they learn the hard way.
And as much as people deny it, by putting down restrictions, you make the whole thing just a little more appealing, at least subconsciously.

I think it's a big deal :/
And I have always been offered alcohol at family parties, more so than hig school parties.
Actually, I've felt more pressure to drink at home than peer pressure elsewhere.
Don't get the wrong idea though, my family isn't a bunch of bumbling drunks. They rarely drink, but everytime they do I am offered. Since I was like 12 years old. I actually believe the first time I tried beer, was when I was 5 at a family party.
Personally, I think it's disrespectful to drink infront of my parents.

i like "our" drinking age. you can buy beer and wine at 16, booze (vodka and the like) at 18.
[makes sense to me.]

I just wanna get something clear.
You're all talking about the "drinking age" but you keep discussing different parts of it.
What I mean is, in the UK it is legal for someone to drink alcohol at 5 years old as long as it's in a private home and they have parental consent.
Then at 11 years old they can drink in a resturant that has a licence to sell alcohol as long as the licence holder and child's parent allow it.
Then at 18 years old they can purchase alcohol without parental consent. Although alot of places are now asking for ID for anyone who looks under 21.
(This is the last time I checked which was a couple of years ago).

I'm just saying you need to be clear about if you are discussing what age people are legally allowed to consume alcohol, or at what age they are allowed to purchase it.

I think 18 is an ok age to purchase alcohol, like someone said they are legally an adult and have to take full responibilities for their actions. Also if they want to start purchasing it, then their probably used to having a few drinks anyway.

However, I think there needs to be tighter control of those under 18 getting their hands on alcohol. They don't just sit around with family having a couple for some celebration or other. They wander the streets and sit in parks drinking heavily. It's not safe for them and, more increasingly, for others who are out while they're drinking.