Alcohol purchase age increase..

[cheekyboy_123]

Every now and again you hear a discussion with regards to anti-social behaviour, which is then linked to alcohol in some form or another..
I 've always wondered why not just increase the age from 18 to 21 (as they have in the US)..
I know this won't completely stop the flow of alcohol to the underage but may help to make a difference.
The government would also stand to lose millions in tax (from the thousands of students), not to mention all others companies involved in this trade..
So my question is, do you think this will/could ever be enforced?

[hornydragon]

They change dthe age for tobacco so dont see why not but why buy beer when drug dealers will sell to any one with cash. Solution? Legalise and tax all drugs they have only been illegal since 1900 ish befor ethis Opium dens rife across london and we went to war with china to make sure we had enough cheap opium, only since mass munitions construction has alcohol been more closely controlled prior to that open to all.

[johntheexpat]

A sober Students Union.

That would be brilliant!

[FZR400RRSP]

I've advocated raising it to 21 for ages.
People tend to mature a lot between 18 and 21, IMO.
It would lead to less mess/hassle in towns of an evening, I'm convinced of it.

[Kebabhead]

Originally Posted by cheekyboy_123

I 've always wondered why not just increase the age from 18 to 21 (as they have in the US)..
I know this won't completely stop the flow of alcohol to the underage but may help to make a difference.

So my question is, do you think this will/could ever be enforced?

Kind of like answers your question

[loz]

I think its a good idea too.

Though there will always be ways round it, but the key thing is that kids wouldn't be able to drink legally in the pub/club and then take it out on everything in the street when they leave.

Instead they will still drink (you can never stop it), but it won't be anywhere near as much, and it will take place in private at parties and such.

I think it would help greatly to clean up our high streets of an evening.

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by bowfer

People tend to mature a lot between 18 and 21, IMO.

A lot of the hassle is from older people 40's + some of the sites definately are!

Living in the "claimed binge drinking capital of europe" you see some sites! there is some hassle but age is not the main issue!

[fortean]

If the law recognises someone as an adult at 18 then I don't see why some adults should be more restricted than others.

Changing the age limit could just increase the average age of adults that cause problems due to alcohol. Until they start consuming it they can't really learn how to manage their consumption properly.

What really helps is education. It can either be gained from experience or passed on by parents. People can start to learn, on their own, at 18 at the moment. Forcing them to wait until they're 21 means they have more money to spend on alcohol than they would at 18.

I would expect that are also many more under 21's that drink sensibly than don't.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by hornydragon

but age is not the main issue!

I don't agree.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by fortean

Forcing them to wait until they're 21 means they have more money to spend on alcohol than they would at 18.

Yes, but it also means they're more mature.
18 year olds would drink battery acid, if they thought it was cheap and it impressed their peers.
A 21 year old is far less likely to behave like that, IMO.

As for 'education'.
Seriously, what more can be done?

I'd also outlaw alcopops.
Booze should taste like booze, not like lemonade.
There are mixers, of course.
But unless you drown a vodka and coke, you taste the vodka.
You can't taste any vodka in a Smirnoff ice.
I could give one of those to my 6YO and she'd like it.
That's wrong.

[mrapbp]

So you can go to war and die for your country, get married and have kids, watch films with violence and hardcore sex but you cant have a beer..........

Not sure its the anwer tbh, raises to many other questions!

[sniffer66]

Originally Posted by mrapbp

So you can go to war and die for your country, get married and have kids, watch films with violence and hardcore sex but you cant have a beer..........

Not sure its the anwer tbh, raises to many other questions!

No-one should be allowed to get married and have kids younger than 21 quite frankly !

[loz]

Originally Posted by mrapbp

So you can go to war and die for your country, get married and have kids, watch films with violence and hardcore sex but you cant have a beer..

Perhaps there are good reasons to raise them to 21 too.

[LFC_SL]

Originally Posted by cheekyboy_123

I 've always wondered why not just increase the age from 18 to 21 (as they have in the US)..
I know this won't completely stop the flow of alcohol to the underage but may help to make a difference.

Well it will not because if you was so inclined to purchase alcohol for secondary-school age teenagers then a mere age rise will not change that as they will simply find somebody slightly older - plenty of those around. And everyone knows the newsagents and off-licenses less inclined to ask for ID. Supermarkets will every time if in doubt. But all the same if you are a current university student showing your ID then you are legally entitled to purchase alcohol anyway so I am not sure what your argument is

And on another point, if you are referring to university age, then it will only be under-age under your proposal precisely because its been raised to 21. Interesting fudging of the line there

What I will say is that its a combination of upbringing and societal attitude in my opinion. We all know that there is a prevalent belief that getting ****** is equated to having a good time. That may be so in some instances, but every weekend I would doubt. Gaining maturity is not of course limited to alcohol and certainly not everyone grows out of the habit of getting ****** and doing stupid things. Such an approach is not necessarily to do with your upbringing and peers and might simply be the kind of person you are

For those who are attending or have attended university, we all know the people who lived a sheltered life and so let loose with a sprinkling of freedom you will find them downing Smirnoff before heading out. Whereas everybody else got over that years ago. You can go to the pub like a civilised person and drink normally whereas they will be paying over the top prices for spirit mixes. I am not of course referring to anybody I am living with. Not at all

On a side note I would say you have to be careful with your definition of anti-social. Having sex on a street is anti-social everywhere. Sitting on steps with cheap WKD would not raise eyebrows in the part of Manchester I know, but in a middle-class area in the south of the country people could not call the police fast enough

[fortean]

Originally Posted by bowfer

Yes, but it also means they're more mature.
18 year olds would drink battery acid, if they thought it was cheap and it impressed their peers.
A 21 year old is far less likely to behave like that, IMO.

That may be because the 21 year olds that you are basing your assumption on have been allowed to take responsibility for their own life from the age of 18. If you remove some of that responsibility until they are 21 then there could be unforeseen consequences.

And why 21? Why not 30 or 40? What really is the difference in a person on their 21st birthday compared to the day before. An age at which a person is considered an adult was chosen and is in use. That in itself is an arbitrary age but it's the one we use. Why do you want to acknowledge someone as an adult and then treat them as a child?