Legal drinking age

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The legal drinking age is the age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. These laws cover a wide range of issues and behaviors, addressing when and where alcohol can be consumed. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary among different countries and many laws have exemptions or special circumstances. Most laws apply only to drinking alcohol in public places, with alcohol consumption in the home being mostly unregulated (an exception being the UK, which has a minimum legal age of five for supervised consumption in private places). Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcoholic drinks.

Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Paraguay, Solomon Islands, India (certain states), the United States (except U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico), Yemen (Aden and Sana'a), Japan, Iceland, Canada (certain Provinces and Territories), and South Korea have the highest set drinking ages; however, some of these countries do not have off-premises drinking limits. Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Ethiopia, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Nicaragua,and Zimbabwe have the lowest set drinking ages.

The most commonly known reason for the law behind the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in adolescents. Due to the fact that the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have negative effect on the memory and long-term thinking. Alongside that, it can cause liver failure, and create a hormone imbalance in teens due to the constant changes and maturing of hormones during puberty.  

Video Legal drinking age

Africa

The most common minimum age to purchase alcohol in Africa is 18. Although it varies from the lowest age limit in Ethiopia being only 15 years, Zimbabwe with a minimum purchase age of 16 years, Gambia with a age limit of 17 years and Uganda where the minimum legal purchase age is 18 but minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider with a meal at a restaurant. Cameroon and Egypt are the only countries in Africa with a minimum purchase age of 21 years. However Algeria, Angola (except Luando Province), Central African Republic, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Togo, Tunisia and the Western Sahara have no laws on the book restricting the sale of alcohol to minors. In Libya, Somalia and Sudan the sale, production and consumption of alcohol is completely prohibited.

Maps Legal drinking age

Americas

The minimum age to purchase and consume varies, but the most common age is 18 years. However in North America the age limits varies between 18 and 21 years of age. Throughout the United States the minimum legal age to purchase any alcoholic beverage from a shop, supermarket, liquor store, bar, club or any other licensed premises is 21 years of age. In Canada each province can decide which minimum age limit is to be set to buy or consume alcohol. Most provinces have a minimum age of 19 years, while Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec have set a minimum age of 18 years. In South America all countries have set a minimum purchase age of 18 years, except for Guyana where minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider in a restaurant provided they buy a meal, and Paraguay the only country with a minimum legal purchase and drinking age of 20 years.

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Asia

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Europe

Most countries within Europe have set 18 as the minimum age to purchase alcohol. Although Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Serbia and Switzerland (except Ticino) maintain a minimum purchase age below 18 years permitting minors either full or limited access to alcohol. In 2005, 2007 and recently in 2015 the European Union has failed to enact a law forcing member states to raise their purchase age to 18 years. But in the past years several European countries have raised their drinking/purchase age or enacted laws restricting the access to alcohol for minors:

• In 2002 the autonomous communities Madrid, Valencia and Catalonia raised their minimum purchase age to 18 years. Previous to 2002 Valencia and Madrid had a minimum purchase age of 16 years, and in Catalonia minors aged 16 or 17 could purchase alcohol up to 23% ABV on and off premises.
• In 2004 Denmark raised its off premises purchase age from 15 to 16 years.
• In November 2005 Switzerland passed its "Food and Commodities Regulation" (German: Lebensmittel- und Gebrauchsgegenständeverordnung), introducing a ban on alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 16, although the 1980 passed "Alcohol Law" (German: Alkoholgesetz) already required a minimum age of 18 years for the retail sale of distilled spirits. Therefore, it is illegal to sell fermented alcohol (e.g. beer, wine, sparkling wine or cider) to anyone under the age of 16, and any distilled alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. Further the canton of Ticino introduced a contonal law in 1989 banning all alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 18 years.
• In 2006 the autonomous communitie Castile and León raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.
• In late 2006, Gibraltar lawmakers passed the "Children and Young Persons (Alcohol, Tobacco and Gaming) Act 2006", which raised the minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. But the new law made an exception: minors aged 16 or 17 can purchase and consume on premises beer, wine or cider under 15% ABV or pre-packed containers of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 5.5% ABV (e.g. alcopops).
• In 2009 France raised its minimum purchase age to 18 years, and fines were increased for selling or serving alcohol to a minor (up to 7,500 EUR). Previous to 2009 the minimum age to purchase any alcohol from off licensed premises was 16 years. In order to purchase alcohol on premises the minimum age was 16 years for low alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider, perry, mead, crème de cassis and juices from fermented fruits or vegetables that contain 1.2 to 3° alcohol, natural sweet wines from controlled cultivation - to purchase or be served stronger alcoholic drinks one had to be 18 years of age.
• In October 2009, the government of Malta passed a new law raising its drinking and purchase age from 16 to 17 years.
• In 2010 the autonomous community of Galicia raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.
• In 2011 Denmark passed a new law, raising the minimum age for off-premises sale of alcohol >16.5% ABV to 18 years of age. The age to purchase alcohol <16.5% ABV remaines at 16.
• Italy raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 in 2012. Previously Italy did not have a purchase age for off-premises sales, and the minimum age of 16 years for on premises sales was barely enforced.
• In 2013 the government of Portugal restricted alcohol sales to young people: distilled spirits can not be sold to anyone under the age of 18, and other alcohol (e.g. beer, wine or cider) can't be sold to anyone under the age of 16. Previously the minimum age for all kinds of alcoholic beverages was 16 years.
• As of 1 January 2014, the minimum legal purchase and consumption age was raised from 16 to 18 in the Netherlands. Previously young people over the age of 16 could purchase and consume alcohol <15% ABV, and adults aged 18 and over could purchase alcohol over 15% ABV.
• As of March 2015, the autonomous community of Asturias raised its drinking age from 16 to 18 years. Asturias was Spain's last community with a drinking age of 16 years. The new law brings the drinking age into line with the rest of Spain.
• As of 1 January 2018, Lithuania raised its minimum drinking age from 18 to 20 years

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Oceania

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See also

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References

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External links

• IARD International Alliance for Responsible Drinking

Source of article : Wikipedia