Lowering the drinking age

[Stopper]

And yes i would think it would be critical to find the right wine to blend with the haggis, as ive heard thats quite a formidable dish.

I wish I'd taken a photograph of it, but trust me, the stuff I had was nothing like the sumptuous-looking delicacy you would find on the wikipedia page, for example. It was cooked in batter, and basically, the only thing that really accompanies it is a big bottle of Coke.

When I was 19 I got fined for buying drink for a friend who was 17. Surely if this 5 year old rule applies, I wasn't doing anything illegal

Sounds to me like you got done, mate.

[mr. incrediball]

being able to buy when you are 6 in haiti or just plan old being able to drink in the isle of man or in britain when your 5 is fairly young, maybe im just a bit of a puritan.

perhaps... sorry i forget his name... was being to specific, here on our funny little island you can drink alcohol at the age of 5 IN PRIVATE (as in not in public.)

[Syzygy]

18 is a good age.

It's like that here in SA and there aren't any problems or issues regarding changing it.

[Iz Man]

I vote for the 18 to serve = 18 to drink.

When I was in the Navy ('88-'92) you could drink beer on base at 18, but 21 to drink liquor. Mind you this was only on base.
Since I'm a beer drinker (and homebrewer) that worked fine for me.
I think that "rule" has changed since.

Here's the Oct 2006 rankings of beer consumption per capita (L/yr):

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

13. U.S. 81.6

C'mon fellow Americans. Grab a pint !!!
At least get us into the top 10.

[Titanic]

I vote for the 18 to serve = 18 to drink.

When I was in the Navy ('88-'92) you could drink beer on base at 18, but 21 to drink liquor. Mind you this was only on base.
Since I'm a beer drinker (and homebrewer) that worked fine for me.
I think that "rule" has changed since.

Here's the Oct 2006 rankings of beer consumption per capita (L/yr):

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

13. U.S. 81.6

C'mon fellow Americans. Grab a pint !!!
At least get us into the top 10.

You sure that right, or is that just OECD countries, because I thought Russians drank the most, unless theirs is whisky and stuff, not beer.

I personally think 21 is the best age to start he dirnking laws. Here it is 18, but it should be raised as my friends have been going out getting pissed reguarly from 16, but if it was 21, they would have to wait till at least 18 before they could realistically get into pubs reguarly. At least smoking is going up from 16 to 18 here later this year.

[Guiscard]

I personally think 21 is the best age to start he dirnking laws. Here it is 18, but it should be raised as my friends have been going out getting pissed reguarly from 16, but if it was 21, they would have to wait till at least 18 before they could realistically get into pubs reguarly. At least smoking is going up from 16 to 18 here later this year.

Realistically there will ALWAYS be places you can drink, whatever the drinking age. I drank in pubs from 14, but then again nearly every bar and club in the city now runs an 'if you look under 21 you need ID', so even though I'm older than that i still get ID'd sometimes. 18 is a good age, I think. Actually, I'd go so far as to say it wouldn't be a travesty if the drinking age was lowered to 16 for drinking in pubs, but kept at 18 to buy from offies. this would promote more responsible drinking than the old cider-down-the-park mentality, at least to an extent.

[heavycola]

Having said that, I had haggis and chips yesterday, and the merlot didn't seem to add much to the experience.

I think for something like haggis you should drink a lighter red wine.

Chablis with your Sheep stomach?

haggis demands buckfast, or perhaps a refreshing tin or 6 of tennants super

[Wisse]

you may drink at your 16 age in the netherlands if i am right

[DirtyDishSoap]

18-21 sounds fine to me...any lower and thats a nooooooooooo

[chessplaya]

16 to drive
18 to drink, vote, and be drafted
21 to smoke weed
25 to lower insurance


That is the way it should be....

oh comon this is harsh i mean:

12-drive
14-weed , alcohol sex
15-3 babies and no1 to give u a shelter
does this look better

[dcowboys055]

I vote for the 18 to serve = 18 to drink.

When I was in the Navy ('88-'92) you could drink beer on base at 18, but 21 to drink liquor. Mind you this was only on base.
Since I'm a beer drinker (and homebrewer) that worked fine for me.
I think that "rule" has changed since.

Here's the Oct 2006 rankings of beer consumption per capita (L/yr):

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

13. U.S. 81.6

C'mon fellow Americans. Grab a pint !!!
At least get us into the top 10.

Don't blame wisconsinites, especially milwaukee. We consume the most beer per capita in the US.

[btownmeggy]

Oh, the WHO produced a really great study about alcohol consumption around the world... let me find it...

Here: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publ ... lcohol/en/

Go to the Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004. It breaks down alcohol consumption by country and by beer, wine, and spirits. Truly fun, informative reading.

[btownmeggy]

Realistically there will ALWAYS be places you can drink, whatever the drinking age. I drank in pubs from 14, but then again nearly every bar and club in the city now runs an 'if you look under 21 you need ID', so even though I'm older than that i still get ID'd sometimes. .

Now this is something I was wondering about. To those of you that live in civilized countries: How often do people (people who might possibly look under the drinking age) get carded (ID'ed)?

I've drank (drunk? stupid irregular past participle) around the world, including at least one other civilized country (Canada), and only in the US have I ever been carded. In the US, I think youngish-looking people are carded at least 50% of the time.

[Stopper]

I'm not sure if my country is civilized or not, but I've never been "carded" anywhere, from the age of 16. I have, however, been refused entry to nightclubs for (a) not wearing suitable attire, and (b) having already had one over the eight. When I say "refused entry", I'm being euphemistic.

Plus, that WHO report suggests that Russians drink no more than the British, and indeed, that the British drink less now than they did in 1978. That'll mean nothing to non-British people, but it's confirmed my suspicions of quite a few media stories over the last few years.

[btownmeggy]

I'm not sure if my country is civilized or not

UK? Definitely civilized. I use the term simply as a classist insult to disparage people like Marvaddin and Mandalorian, and their, ha, economically underdeveloped countries.

[GreecePwns]

In Greece, the age is 16, but they never do anything about it. My friend was drinking in front of an officer once. He was 14. He offered the officer a drink. The officer refused, but just told him to go home because he could be a danger to others.

[Anarchist]

16 to drive
16 to drink, vote, and be drafted
16 to smoke weed
Insurance is the tip of the iceberg for organised criminals, the money made from it goes on to fund people smuggling and terrorism, just say no!

I support this! and families have the right to allow their children to drink/smoke regardless. Also by lowering the drinking age youve also opened up gambling. Huzzah

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

IM ashamed that nederland isnt on there, considering all the surrounding countries are!

[Anarchist]

In Greece, the age is 16, but they never do anything about it. My friend was drinking in front of an officer once. He was 14. He offered the officer a drink. The officer refused, but just told him to go home because he could be a danger to others.

Once again im in the wrong country,Damn imperials.

[Anarchy Ninja]

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

Almost in the top 3!

[Hitman079]

what are those numbers?

[Fircoal]

I vote for the 18 to serve = 18 to drink.

When I was in the Navy ('88-'92) you could drink beer on base at 18, but 21 to drink liquor. Mind you this was only on base.
Since I'm a beer drinker (and homebrewer) that worked fine for me.
I think that "rule" has changed since.

Here's the Oct 2006 rankings of beer consumption per capita (L/yr):

1. Germany 147.8
2. Ireland 138.3
3. Czech republic 138.1
4. Austrailia 119.2
5. Austria 106.3
6. U.K. 96.8
7. Belgium 93.0
8. Denmark 89.9
9. Finland 85.0
10. Luxembourg 84.4

13. U.S. 81.6

C'mon fellow Americans. Grab a pint !!!
At least get us into the top 10.

Don't blame wisconsinites, especially milwaukee. We consume the most beer per capita in the US.

US at 13th spot. That just can't be right.

[Iz Man]

what are those numbers?

Rankings in liters/yr of beer imbibed per capita.

the next 10 are as follows:

11. Slovakia 84.1
12. Spain 83.8
13. U.S. 81.6
14. Croatia 81.2
15. Netherlands 79.0
16. New Zealand 77.0
17. Hungary 75.3
18. Poland 69.1
19. Canada 68.3
20. Portugal 59.6

Like I said, this is only BEER consumption. It does not include liquor or other alcoholic beverages.

I'm actually surprised our Canadian brothers up north are not higher up on the list.
Maybe they make up for it with Crown Royal..

[boogiesadda]

shit in places in new york you have to be 20 to buy cigarettes but yes if you can go die for your country involuntarily you should get all the rights afforded to any adult

[Stopper]

Like I said, this is only BEER consumption. It does not include liquor or other alcoholic beverages.

Well, according to the WHO report, yer average 15+ American drinks just over 8 litres of pure alcohol per year, compared to Britain's just over 10.

Plus, you've all been on a downward spiral since the boozey days of Jimmy Carter, when you nearly matched Britain.

Pussies.

[flashleg8]

Well, it's 5 years old in Britain, as far as I remember. You just can't purchase alcohol if you're under 18, and there are strict regulations on licensed premises (but it's not a blanket under-18 ban).

So, knock yourself out, young man.

EDIT: Actually, btownmeggy's since posted with that wikipedia link - just scroll down to United Kingdom. I promise I didn't put it there.

5 years old?!!!
F*ck me, I've been drinking since I was 2! Guess I should have moved to Sierra Leone (where it was apparently legal according to the wikipedia link).