Heartland

Should the legal age to buy alcohol be raised to 21?.

Personally I'd increase the age of smoking & buying tobacco/drinking & buying alcohol/driving/marriage to 21.

You?.

It was the age at which I started drinking actually.

Oh no wait, I'd just turned 22. You lot were in attendance!

boudicca wrote:It was the age at which I started drinking actually.

Oh no wait, I'd just turned 22. You lot were in attendance!

You've made up for it now though, haven't you ... ya Bailey's guzzling lush!

Wait another 3.5 years, and then change it.

In all honesty, I think the age of drinking should be lowered for certain drinks, or for certain amounts (no, I know that'd be a nightmare to police, but hey, this IS hypothetical), to lower the element of "yeah, this is illegal!".

And tobacco should not be sold to anyone. /me goes to fallout shelter

Dark wrote:/me goes to fallout shelter

For a fag?



(Edit: I meant a cigarette, by the way! )

I don't think there is a need to increase the legal age.There is a need for stronger restrictions on the selling of alcohol or tobacco.
When I was a lad ( ) I knew all the shops that would sell single cigarettes to underagers,similarly when I started drinking I knew what pubs I would get served in and what pubs would show me the door without even asking my age.I would assume it's the same today.
Buying these restricted items for use by underagers should also attract heavy fines/possible jail sentences .


As a side note, most of the easy shops and underage pubs are still in business today whereas a lot of the more law abiding premises have changed hands several times over the years.
As for marriage, I was too young at 28.I'm still too young now.


edit..Anne informs me I was 34 when we were married.....feels longer.

scotty wrote:Should the legal age to buy alcohol be raised to 21?.
Personally I'd increase the age of smoking & buying tobacco/drinking & buying alcohol/driving/marriage to 21.

For what reason?

I first drank alcohol at around 15 or so.. likewise for first fags.. and most I know did so, too (those who drink and smoke/have smoked, that is). I doubt it's any different in Britain, so what's the point?

Drink&drugs education programmes are more beneficial than raising the legal age for buying these substances.

I don't really think it matters what age you start smoking at, you'll either get hopelessly addicted or you won't. Where the money to pay for them is coming from is more of a pertinent issue here.

Likewise with drink, you'll always get people who will be socially responsible when they have drink taken, and you'll always get idiotic assholes who are just out to cause grief for others. I think the latter crew will always find a way of causing grief anyway.

In most countries, if you're 18 you can vote. Now, that's a fairly huge responsibility, and if you're considered adult enough to take on that responsibility, then you should also be considered adult enough to make your own choices about your own life (including drinking, smoking, having children, doing things that you can go to jail for, etc).

Being able to and allowed to make a choice does not - of course - imply that you will make that choice. But the one area that (western) society is lacking in is the necessary information that people require to enable them to make an informed decision. You can only make a decision based on the facts you have, and if those facts are lacking (or misleading), then chances are that the decision will end up wrong in some way.

So yes, I'd support leaving things as they are, but would also argue for properly backing it up with real education, information and facts, rather than the barrage of half-truths, misinformation and outright lies I for one was subjected to back in the day.

scotty wrote:Should the legal age to buy alcohol be raised to 21?.

Personally I'd increase the age of smoking & buying tobacco/drinking & buying alcohol/driving/marriage to 21.

You?.

I think that'd be fair - so long as they raised the age at which you had to pay tax/could join the army and get shot/get treated like an adult in the judicial system/vote/etc to the same age.

I mean, if you're going treat 18-20 yr olds like children and tell them they're not old enough to think for themselves on issues like drinking, driving, smoking and getting married, then you can't expect to treat them like adults in the courts or make them pay taxes or fight for their country when the law says they're incapable of making adult decisions about buying a pint of beer for themselves.

No.

But everyone in the civilized western countries will live in a police state in 10-15 years so...

itnAklipse wrote:No.

But everyone in the civilized western countries will live in a police state in 10-15 years so...

Your real name is Jaz Coleman and I claim my €5.

Yeah, mh, but you did cheat.

boudicca wrote:It was the age at which I started drinking actually.

Oh no wait, I'd just turned 22. You lot were in attendance!

that figures...

emilystrange wrote:

boudicca wrote:It was the age at which I started drinking actually.

Oh no wait, I'd just turned 22. You lot were in attendance!

that figures...

T'was in Planet Dave's bathroom that I had my first (and I swear, last) drink related spew

boudicca wrote:
T'was in Planet Dave's bathroom that I had my first (and I swear, last) drink related spew

Ha ha we all say that!

No really, it was last May after the Sisters gig, 6 vodka and oranges in quick succession, not having eaten for 24 hours, I was asking for it.

The lightheadedness that preceeded it wasn't even fun and nothing I couldn't achieve through holding my breath for 30 seconds and spinning round in a circle...

in some quarters, that's called 'dancing'

From my point of view, the problem seems less to do with age, and more to do with social responsibility. Whilst I enjoy a good night out, people seem to be binge drinking excessively, and this fuels alcohol related violence and disorder. I believe reasons for this include the extended licencing hours, and also the high cost of housing, which means that people live with their families for longer, as a mortgage is too costly. Instead of saving, some of these people have a huge disposable income to spend at the weekend. Rather than increase the legal age, it would be better to increase the financial penalties for those who want to fight and cause damage after a pint, and also for adults who deliberately purchase alcohol for persons who are under age

I'm not so sure about "extended licensing hours" being a problem. Here in Ireland, pubs are required by law to be closed all day Good Friday. That means from the stroke of midnight on the Thursday (actually on Thursdays, regular closing time for a regular pub is 11:30, but y'know... ).

Now, in my own experience, if you visit any pub at that time, you will see far more binge drinking than you'll get in a country with more permissive hours. There's such a short time to get a few beers in, particularly if you don't go directly from work, that a lot of folks will end up drinking way more than their capacity in a very short time. Recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, in a country where pubs/bars/whatever stay open till 3, 4 or even 5 in the morning, I've frequently gone out and started drinking at midnight, and so would the natives. There's more scope to pace yourself, and to enjoy a good night out without feeling any obligation to get hammered.

A lot of that is - quite naturally - also down to culture. More permissive licensing laws would certainly lead to an epidemic of binge drinking, but only in the short term. In the long term, things would settle to an equilibrium and alcohol intake would actually be less.

Brideoffrankenstein wrote:

boudicca wrote:
T'was in Planet Dave's bathroom that I had my first (and I swear, last) drink related spew

Ha ha we all say that!

I spent half the morning of my recent birthday shouting at Ralph down the big white telephone.

I also attribute this to the previous night's "Heartland Effect"...

smiscandlon wrote:

Dark wrote:/me goes to fallout shelter

For a fag?



(Edit: I meant a cigarette, by the way! )

I know which one I'd rather have.
(yeah, I'm UKish, I got your meaning. )

It's a question of supply and cost. Some people are always going to love to get out of it by whatever means they can. Alcohol is cheap and available, and suits their purposes. 'Find' and make available a substance which is going to be attractive by its availability, its cheapness and its capacity to bend reality. Just make sure that it doesn't give the user the tendency to hit people.
I know I've cut to the chase a little here, and could go on about the health risks inherent in anything of this nature, but I'd argue that if we take as read that people are going to ingest something, it might as well be something that mellows!
Soma, anyone?

The age at which you can vote, drink, smoke, have sex or credit cards, or have an opinion should be increased to 35. It's not as if you young whippersnappers ever bother to vote anyway, you drink alcopops, and if you can't afford it then you shouldn't buy it.

Lots of love

Grumble grumble grumble Evil Old Bastard.

The legal age for alcohol purchase and consumption here in the USSA is 21, and it means exactly jack sh1t. Most kids are already drinking in high school, their booze supplied by older friends or siblings, and sometimes even by their own parents. Many kids obtain fake IDs, anyway...

EvilBastard wrote:The age at which you can vote, drink, smoke, have sex or credit cards, or have an opinion should be increased to 35. It's not as if you young whippersnappers ever bother to vote anyway, you drink alcopops, and if you can't afford it then you shouldn't buy it.

Well, no one should be allowed to have fun whilst *I* can't, that's for damn sure! I don't care how old they are...