Poll: Raising the drinking age

[Phoenixlight]

I think a universal age restriction of 18 is fine, I don't drink the stuff anyway as I value my internal organs but most (all?) of my friends do.

 

[Keepitclean]

Exactly. Pointless and ineffectual.

It's not outlawing things that will solve the problem, it's SOCIAL CHANGE that will. Making something illegal is the worst way of changing society.

Christ, when are people going to realise that?

I guess we need to figure out how to make that social change. I'm not 100% sure about this but maybe deregulating alcohol all together might allow for the social change. In coutries where there in little or no alcohol I am told have less alcohol related problems. Though, that is second hand information and I think it would make everything worse in the short term but it may have long term benfits.

 

[smithy_2045]

People say it wont matter. However, this weeds out the law abiders. The idiots and such may defy the law, but plenty of people actually are law abiding people. Will it make a huge difference? Maybe not. But raising the age would reduce overall deaths.

For a start, it's already legal for people under the age of 18 to drink alcohol on private property. They're just not allowed to purchase it themselves.

Secondly, the idiots are precisely the people this is targeted at. Not many sensible consumers of alcohol are involved in alcohol related violence.

Finally, a lot of the idiots who are out trying to start shit are going to be looking for a fight, drunk or not.


I don't even drink, but this is a terrible idea.

 

[C95J]

people will always find a way to get the drink they need, regardless of the drinking age.

 

[Keepitclean]

We've had a bit of that in England, to lower crime and drink related incidents and violence. Truth is, i can only imagine those who are 18 to be a very small part of the problem, the real problem is with the slightly older generation who lull themselves into thinking they can handle their drink, who've been doing this for some time and think its ok to act like a twat because they're drunk.
The whole culture has to change, how you'd go about doing that i really dont know, much harsher penalties for being drunk and disorderly or incidents such as drunken asault, couple it with a morale stigma (like drink driving) and i think you may be in with a shot.

How old is slightly older? Like 21-30 or 30+? I'm asking this because people of all ages have commited offences minor and major under the influence of alcohol.

 

[Paulie92]

If you raise the age you'll just have people hanging out with their friends at parks or wherever they can get away with for another three years. When was this raised again? I thought we gave up on it along time ago?

 

[Keepitclean]

If you raise the age you'll just have people hanging out with their friends at parks or wherever they can get away with for another three years. When was this raised again? I thought we gave up on it along time ago?

It was well before Kevin Rudd got dumped from being Prime Minister.

 

[luclin92]

i think it should be 16 for the weaker beverages, and 21 for the strongest ones.
i want this so the kids wont ruin themselves to fast.
im 18.

 

[Paulie92]

If you raise the age you'll just have people hanging out with their friends at parks or wherever they can get away with for another three years. When was this raised again? I thought we gave up on it along time ago?

It was well before Kevin Rudd got dumped from being Prime Minister.

ORLY? Christ that was ages ago I thought we'd resolved the issue, Australia we get shit done!

 

[Keepitclean]

i think it should be 16 for the weaker beverages, and 21 for the strongest ones.
i want this so the kids wont ruin themselves to fast.
im 18.

Yeah but the kids are getting drunk off goon. It's not that strong just cheap at like $8 a 4L goon bag.

 

[Vault101]

If you raise the age you'll just have people hanging out with their friends at parks or wherever they can get away with for another three years. When was this raised again? I thought we gave up on it along time ago?

I havent read anythign about it I just thourght it might be anteresting topic to talk about

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Yes .... because I am now 26 and I hate dealing with 18-21 years old in the bars and pubs. So they should raise the drinking age to 21 ... if not 25 ^_^

Not because it would change anything, just because it would be better for me.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Even when the government introduced that "alcopop" tax to curb underage drinking it did nothing to fix the problem save the removal of alcohol infused caffinated drinks from stores.

When they statted it all up, the end results were zero effect on the sales of premixes favoured my young woman and while there was a marked effect on the sale of premixes favoured by young men the was an equal rise in the sales of unmixed spirits of the same type... So the end result was young women didn't give a shit and young blokes just bought bottles of rum and bourbon instead of the premixed versions. That was really effective, Mr Rudd. You certainly will go down in the history books... probably under "Wowsers, Fucking Useless".

Raising the age limit on drinking will only raise the ages of the people who are causing the problems. That's not a solution that's just shifting shit around to try and massage the stats.

It did however make it unfeasible for stores like IGA to stock up on cans like Elevate, which earlier used to sell in cases for about $7. As the price went up the stores just stopped stacking the shelves. True, drinkers just brought cheaper alternatives but at least they got fucking rid of elevate.

If I come into power Dr,Pepper is next!

 

[ottenni]

As if raising the age limit will help at all. Not while goon is so cheap and makes such a damn comfy pillow anyway. Anyway its not like being under the age limit stops people drinking, it just makes them think its funnier when they get caught and get let off with a warning.

 

[Xrysthos]

I wouldn't mind, as long as it wasn't raised above my age. Which is egoistical, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a 100% honest answer.

 

[scott91575]

Drinking alcohol is one of the dumbest activities man has created. It makes you stupid, aggressive and annoying... Not to mention, it f'ing kills you, slowly ... Lol

Actually, people that drink, even every day and in large quantities, live longer than people that don't drink. 1-2 drinks a day for max lifespan. Yet even people that average 6 drinks a day live longer than someone who does not drink.

There are tens of studies done on the subject. Every single time alcohol abstainers claim there is some issue, and the study is redone to alleviate that issue. Every time it comes back the same...people that do not drink to not live as long as people that do.

Certainly I do not condone becoming an alcoholic in order to lengthen your lifespan. In fact, it can lead to death at an early age (although ironically enough the average lifespan is still longer than people that do not drink). Yet people that drink alcohol, especially within moderation, live longer. Physicians are wary about saying alcohol is good for you, and don't know the exact reason why. Some claim it's due to the fact people that drink tend to be more social and well adjusted (that is about the best they can come up with without saying alcohol is good for you). Yet study after study shows people that drink alcohol live longer.

 

[HippySecond]

I'm an aussie and I think while some people might think it would be an idea to change it, practically it would be bad.

18 is old enough for those of us that bought beer with stuble at 16-17.

Funny how it's always people they have been drinking since 18 that want to protect the children by giving them a different experience.

Lets just have things keep on keeping on, Nothing is F***** everything is cool

 

[darkonnis]

How old is slightly older? Like 21-30 or 30+? I'm asking this because people of all ages have commited offences minor and major under the influence of alcohol.

i find the 2 groups which cause more trouble than anyone else are between the ages of 28 - 35 and 50+ usually men in groups of 3/4.

 

[bak00777]

it wont help much, like you said they will find a way to get the booze, or they will just binge at private residences