The legal minimum age for alcohol consumption is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age at which alcohol can be legally consumed may be different from the age at which it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary from country to country and many laws have exceptions or special circumstances. Most laws only apply to alcohol consumption in public places, with alcohol consumption at home largely unregulated (one exception is the UK, which has a legal minimum age of five years for supervised drinking in private places). Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcoholic beverages. [1] Most countries have a minimum legal drinking age of 18 or 19. [2] Most laws apply only to the consumption of alcohol in public places and not to consumption in private homes. Some countries also have minimum age requirements for certain beverages, such as distilled spirits. The fifty States had raised their minimum drinking age to 21 in the summer of 1988. South Dakota and Wyoming were the last states to comply with the change. The average minimum age for alcohol consumption varies in the rest of the world.
It ranges from 13 in Burkina Faso to a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Brunei. The legal age for alcohol consumption and purchase in the Faroe Islands is 18 years. [163] This limit remained constant until the late 1960s and 1970s. Meanwhile, many states have lowered the minimum age for alcohol consumption to 18. In other parts of Asia, the minimum age of consumption varies. Malaysia (16), China (18), South Korea (19), Japan (20) and Thailand (20) are notable countries with different minimum ages. “The Age of Alcohol Consumption.” dictionary Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drinking%20age. Retrieved 11 October 2022. After Prohibition, almost all states exceeded the Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21. However, between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the MLDA to 18, 19 or 20 years, mainly in response to the change in voting age.
Studies conducted at the time showed that traffic accidents among teenagers increased as states reduced their MLDA. In addition, the “blood borders” between states with different MLDAs have attracted public attention after high-profile accidents in which teenagers under the legal drinking age traveled to a neighboring state with a lower MLDA, drank legally, and crashed on their way home. Stakeholders called on States to increase their MLDA to 21. Some did so in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but others did not. To promote a national age of alcohol consumption, Congress enacted the National MLDA. A review conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office in 1988 found that increasing the age of alcohol consumption reduced alcohol in adolescents, driving after drinking, and alcohol-related traffic accidents in adolescents. In Canada, there is no federal law on the minimum age for alcohol consumption.
Each province and territory can set its own legal drinking age. In the late 20th century, much of North America changed its legal drinking age (MLA) as follows: In Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, the legal drinking age and legal age to purchase vary between 0 and 20 years (see table below). Especially in South America, the legal age of purchase is 18, with two exceptions: health experts cite evidence that the age of 21 is necessary to protect young adults from alcohol dependence. States that raised the minimum age for alcohol consumption to 21 experienced a decline in the number of car accidents. Mexico earns millions of dollars from its tourism industry. When traveling on vacation with your family, think about the age of alcohol consumption and the penalties that may result from breaking the law. The minimum age for alcohol consumption in Mexico is 18, and alcohol is available around the clock in many places. (1) Beer within the meaning of Article 5052 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, In Lithuania it is illegal to sell, serve or deliver alcoholic beverages to persons under 20 years of age. During the colonial period under British rule, there was no drinking age. It was not uncommon to see young teenagers drinking in taverns.
Despite these improvements, too many teenagers still drink. In 2012, 42% of Grade 12 students, 28% of Grade 10 students and 11% of Grade 8 students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. In the same year, approximately 24% of Grade 12 students, 16% of Grade 10 students and 5% of Grade 8 students reported drinking alcohol in the past two weeks. In most European countries, the minimum age for alcohol consumption is 18, while some countries even allow legal consumption at the age of 16. The minimum legal age for alcohol consumption is the minimum age for the purchase or consumption of alcoholic beverages. The minimum age for legal consumption of alcohol may differ from the minimum age for purchase in some countries. At that time, many states changed their minimum voting age to the age of alcohol consumption. Germany is one of the most interesting countries when it comes to the minimum age for alcohol consumption. It has one of the lowest minimum drinking ages in the world, allowing 14-year-olds to drink alcohol when accompanied by an adult. The most well-known reason for the law behind the legal minimum age for alcohol consumption is the effect on the brain in adolescents. Because the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on memory and long-term thinking. In addition, it can cause liver failure and cause hormonal imbalance in adolescents due to constant changes and maturation of hormones during puberty.
[3] Young people are also particularly at risk when drinking alcohol,[4] as they may not have the necessary knowledge about low-risk alcohol consumption. In fact, public health researchers found that people`s age when they drank the first full serving of alcohol was significantly linked to knowledge of low-risk alcohol consumption and beverage counting. The level of knowledge about low-risk alcohol consumption and the frequency of beverage counting increased more with age at first alcohol use during adolescence than at the last period. [5] A “young person” is defined as any person under the age of 17 by the Children and Youth Act, 1949 Section 2. Wisconsin was the first U.S. state to reach a minimum age for alcohol consumption in 1839. It prevented the sale of wine or alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 without parental consent. The minimum legal age to drink alcohol is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a regulation from the Ministry of Tourism allows hotels to serve alcohol only to people over 21) and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where alcohol consumption is prohibited). [113] Proclamation No. of the Revised Family Code. 213 (2000) Section 215 defines a minor as any person who has not yet attained the age of 18. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws set the minimum legal age at which a person can purchase alcoholic beverages.