On military installations, it is legal to drink at 18 years old w/ military ID.

The Europeans do just fine with 16 as a general rule, but they severely[i] punish drunk driving: in some cases with [i]permanent loss of driving privileges.

Beyond that, whatever the age to legally buy a drink in public, parents should be able to serve their children, and to have them served with wine or beer in restaurants when the parents so request.

My perspective is a little unusual: in my family, diluted wine was served by 6 and undiluted wine by 9 or 10, though in quite limited quantities. And, by 10, children began tasting and discussing fine wines with the best palates in the family.

In my extend family, I have never heard of anyone having alcoholism, other than a spouse or two with addictive personalities.

EyeTeeGuy wrote:On military installations, it is legal to drink at 18 years old w/ military ID.

Not when I was in the Navy (1999-2004).

The legal drinking age should be based on sex, hair color, and height...

That way, we could have a government department for determining the formula and modifying it each year. (Plus a summer study committee each year and all the meetings and support staff that entails.)

What? I'm creating jobs!

Most importantly, the federal government should not be strong arming states into the drinking age they want.

I'm not sure there should be a law for drinking age, but the states should make their own laws.

Jargon GO wrote:Not when I was in the Navy (1999-2004).

And not when I was in the AF 1998-2008

snibble wrote:The legal drinking age should be based on sex, hair color, and height...

That way, we could have a government department for determining the formula and modifying it each year. (Plus a summer study committee each year and all the meetings and support staff that entails.)

What? I'm creating jobs!

I think part of the reason the legal age is 21 is due specifically to sex.

Growing up in Canada, and now living in the USA I can honestly say that Canadian teens never had the same 'need to drink' as US teens, simply because we got out of high school and were able to drink first year of University/College.

You Yanks have to wait till AFTER you graduate College which is a big joke on every campus you visit!

I think lowering the age to 18 would reduce this need to get drunk, experiment with alcohol as its no longer 'cool' to sneak a drink. You're just putting the booze on a pedestal! :P

/2 cents

I've had to wait until I was 21 and 18 year olds can do it, too.

Considering that the human brain doesn't stop developing until sometime after the age of 20, drinking at a younger age can stunt brain development. I've always understood that this may be one reason why the drinking age in the US is 21.

merd919 wrote:Considering that the human brain doesn't stop developing until sometime after the age of 20, drinking at a younger age can stunt brain development. I've always understood that this may be one reason why the drinking age in the US is 21.

Yeah. Look at those Jatravartid Europeans with their lower alcoholism, binge-drinking, and drunk-driving rates per capita.

This may be true with large quantities of alcohol. Though drinking in small amounts can sometimes be quite healthy. Especially with wine.

merd919 wrote:Considering that the human brain doesn't stop developing until sometime after the age of 20, drinking at a younger age can stunt brain development. I've always understood that this may be one reason why the drinking age in the US is 21.

Jargon GO wrote:Not when I was in the Navy (1999-2004).

Well - it should have been. If you're getting shot at, you ought to have the right to have a beer when you make it back.

That said, ... as a scientist, I do understand the implications of ethanol to the body and brain.
my 2 cents. ... and thank you for serving.

I agree that over consumption at a younger age does have its effects on brain development; so does smoking,preservatives,certain food products, and a host of other items.
I am with RPM, arrest me if you will, but my children from the age of 15 started with small amounts of wine; although they now complain that their palates wont allow them to buy, ugh, the penguin et al.

kylemittskus wrote:Yeah. Look at those stupid Europeans with their lower alcoholism, binge-drinking, and drunk-driving rates per capita.

That may have more to do with the unhealthy water and better mass transit (and higher gas prices). But then again ....


"Alcohol statistics in Europe have been much higher than in any other zone, varying from about 17 liters per person yearly during peak years down to a little over 10 liters per person per year in the end of the 1990's. The US shows the second highest alcohol consumption level, followed by Africa." -- Alcohol Statistics in Europe

"The EU is the heaviest drinking region of the world, although the 11 litres of pure alcohol drunk per adult each year is still a substantial fall from a recent peak of 15 litres in the mid-1970s." -- Alcohol in Europe Report by an EU Commission in Oct of 2010.

In Conclusion 6 (page 11) lies this little tidbit: "Adolescent binge drinking has increased in most countries in the 1990s, followed by mixed trends in the past few years." regarding the use of alcohol in Europe.


Oh, another page on the EU site states: "Europe has the highest proportion of drinkers in the world, the highest levels of alcohol consumption per capita and a high level of alcohol-related harm."


So I believe your statement is bunk!

MarkDaSpark wrote:That may have more to do with the unhealthy water and better mass transit (and higher gas prices). But then again ....


"Alcohol statistics in Europe have been much higher than in any other zone, varying from about 17 liters per person yearly during peak years down to a little over 10 liters per person per year in the end of the 1990's. The US shows the second highest alcohol consumption level, followed by Africa." -- Alcohol Statistics in Europe

"The EU is the heaviest drinking region of the world, although the 11 litres of pure alcohol drunk per adult each year is still a substantial fall from a recent peak of 15 litres in the mid-1970s." -- Alcohol in Europe Report by an EU Commission in Oct of 2010.

In Conclusion 6 (page 11) lies this little tidbit: "Adolescent binge drinking has increased in most countries in the 1990s, followed by mixed trends in the past few years." regarding the use of alcohol in Europe.


Oh, another page on the EU site states: "Europe has the highest proportion of drinkers in the world, the highest levels of alcohol consumption per capita and a high level of alcohol-related harm."


So I believe your statement is bunk!

USA! USA! USA!

iamjakex wrote:Growing up in Canada, and now living in the USA I can honestly say that Canadian teens never had the same 'need to drink' as US teens, simply because we got out of high school and were able to drink first year of University/College.

You Yanks have to wait till AFTER you graduate College which is a big joke on every campus you visit!

I think lowering the age to 18 would reduce this need to get drunk, experiment with alcohol as its no longer 'cool' to sneak a drink. You're just putting the booze on a pedestal! :P

/2 cents

+1, except for F!rosh week for engineers. A whole lot of binging during that. Or weekly Engineering Pub. Maybe it was just the engineers who drank a lot

I always thought a high school diploma should be the requirement. For those who can't graduate from high school, then it's 21.

ERMD wrote:I agree that over consumption at a younger age does have its effects on brain development; so does smoking,preservatives,certain food products, and a host of other items.
I am with RPM, arrest me if you will, but my children from the age of 15 started with small amounts of wine; although they now complain that their palates wont allow them to buy, ugh, the penguin et al.

You made me click reply to your post to figure out what filter was being applied to your last sentence....only to find out it wasn't a filter.

merd919 wrote:Considering that the human brain doesn't stop developing until sometime after the age of 20, drinking at a younger age can stunt brain development. I've always understood that this may be one reason why the drinking age in the US is 21.

That's likely made-up pseudoscience by Interested puritans.

Moderation in drinking experience for young people helps them work with it healthily. But the time I was 13 and my mates were buying cheap awful lager from the Co-op to drink behind the bike sheds, I was drinking wine at family dinners, in small quantities, and enjoying it a lot more

Age 10 I did get drunk on champagne on Christmas day at our friends' place down the road. My family laughed.


Start em early and responsibly and they won't end up drinking for kicks, but instead, for taste.