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- circlenepal20 September 2007
- DJRose September 2007
- doctor5cap August 2007
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- jedi_grrlie August 2007
- kissteam1 September 2007
- manx9shrine August 2007
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Raise age for buying alcohol 21, say doctors
Doctors are considering calling for an increase in the legal age for buying alcohol to combat an alarming rise in teenage binge drinking.
No one under the age of 21 should be sold alcohol in supermarkets, off-licences and other retail premises, a British Medical Association conference will be told next week.
But the current age restriction of 18 would still apply in pubs.
The proposal is being put in a motion to Staff Grade and Associate Specialist doctors who will meet in London on Wednesday.
If carried, it will be voted on by the BMA's full membership later this month and could be adopted as official policy before the Government is lobbied to change the law.
Dr Sally Winning, a psychiatrist in Aberdeen and chairman of the Scottish Staff and Associate Specialists committee, is spearheading the move.
She said yesterday: "We are not advocating the banning of alcohol up to 21, but by restricting it to a controlled environment we hope to encourage responsible drinking.
"We don't want youngsters drinking on street corners. There is some evidence to suggest that responsible drinking and education at a young age helps to promote healthy drinking habits as people grow older."
Dr Winning said that while 18-year-olds were intellectually very capable, their brains and bodies were still developing physically and the impact of alcohol was greater on them than on a fully mature person.
She said: "We do not want to be deemed heavy handed in removing choice - we want to promote education and healthy ways of using alcohol.
"At 18 you probably haven't learnt your limit on drink and it has to be done in a staged and sensible way."
Evidence suggests that young girls particularly put their health at risk through heavy drinking, which is also associated with unwanted pregnancies.
The BMA in Scotland has already criticised shops and supermarkets for selling cheap alcohol.
Dr Winning added: "Heavily discounted alcohol is directly correlated with binge drinking. The whole system at the moment isn't working. There aren't enough sanctions on people who sell alcohol. We need to start a shift in drinking culture in this country."
Alcohol abuse is estimated to cost the country £20 billion a year through crime and damage to health.
This week the Home Office identified those who drank alcohol under the age of 18 and binge drinkers as those most at risk of causing harm to themselves.
It also singled out binge drinkers between the ages of 18 to 24 as being responsible for the majority of alcohol-related crime and disorder.
A new strategy has been introduced aimed at ensuring existing laws and licensing powers protect young people and tackle irresponsibly managed premises.
The Government hopes to provide more authoritative and accessible guidance about what is safe and sensible where alcohol is concerned.
Parmjit Dhanda, the young people's minister, said: "We want all young people to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being."
No one under the age of 21 should be sold alcohol in supermarkets, off-licences and other retail premises, a British Medical Association conference will be told next week.
But the current age restriction of 18 would still apply in pubs.
The proposal is being put in a motion to Staff Grade and Associate Specialist doctors who will meet in London on Wednesday.
If carried, it will be voted on by the BMA's full membership later this month and could be adopted as official policy before the Government is lobbied to change the law.
Dr Sally Winning, a psychiatrist in Aberdeen and chairman of the Scottish Staff and Associate Specialists committee, is spearheading the move.
She said yesterday: "We are not advocating the banning of alcohol up to 21, but by restricting it to a controlled environment we hope to encourage responsible drinking.
"We don't want youngsters drinking on street corners. There is some evidence to suggest that responsible drinking and education at a young age helps to promote healthy drinking habits as people grow older."
Dr Winning said that while 18-year-olds were intellectually very capable, their brains and bodies were still developing physically and the impact of alcohol was greater on them than on a fully mature person.
She said: "We do not want to be deemed heavy handed in removing choice - we want to promote education and healthy ways of using alcohol.
"At 18 you probably haven't learnt your limit on drink and it has to be done in a staged and sensible way."
Evidence suggests that young girls particularly put their health at risk through heavy drinking, which is also associated with unwanted pregnancies.
The BMA in Scotland has already criticised shops and supermarkets for selling cheap alcohol.
Dr Winning added: "Heavily discounted alcohol is directly correlated with binge drinking. The whole system at the moment isn't working. There aren't enough sanctions on people who sell alcohol. We need to start a shift in drinking culture in this country."
Alcohol abuse is estimated to cost the country £20 billion a year through crime and damage to health.
This week the Home Office identified those who drank alcohol under the age of 18 and binge drinkers as those most at risk of causing harm to themselves.
It also singled out binge drinkers between the ages of 18 to 24 as being responsible for the majority of alcohol-related crime and disorder.
A new strategy has been introduced aimed at ensuring existing laws and licensing powers protect young people and tackle irresponsibly managed premises.
The Government hopes to provide more authoritative and accessible guidance about what is safe and sensible where alcohol is concerned.
Parmjit Dhanda, the young people's minister, said: "We want all young people to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being."
Comments
Just as I'm about to turn 18, as well.
Typical....
did that make sense? hah
I disagree with the above. I don't think people, regardless of age, binge drink because it's taboo, or forbidden, or because they don't know when they'll have another chance. People binge drink to look cool in front of their friends. Because if you're taken a shot then i'm taking a shot too even if I've had 5 times what you have.
I've watched groups of 25 year olds do this. It's not about a taboo, or availability, it's peer pressure straight up.
Peer pressure is one reason of course, but not the only reason.
I disagree with the above. I don't think people, regardless of age, binge drink because it's taboo, or forbidden, or because they don't know when they'll have another chance. People binge drink to look cool in front of their friends. Because if you're taken a shot then i'm taking a shot too even if I've had 5 times what you have.
I've watched groups of 25 year olds do this. It's not about a taboo, or availability, it's peer pressure straight up.
So if it's simply to look cool, or due to peer pressure - what made it 'cool' to binge drink in the first place? I don't think that peer pressure is EVER the sole reason for a problem - it can exacerbate the problem by encouraging more people to drink, but the cool image has to have been caused by something else to start with, surely?
I'm totally with the others here - in Italy, it's not uncommon for children to drink wine with their meal, and the attitude surrounding alcohol is more relaxed in general, and, as a result, binge drinking is less common (I've got this information, just in case you're wondering, from an Italian ex-girlfriend of my dad's). In Britain, binge drinking is much more common, because it's forbidden and so something to rebel against.
Similarly, teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted are more common in Britain than in any other country. Britain has the highest age at which you are allowed to consent to having sex. Go figure.
Here's what my perfect world would look like like:
Every drinker must carry a license, like drivers. To earn it, you learn a few things about drinking, like that all alcohol commercials are written to make you believe that alcohol will either make you funny or get laid. And that both happen - intentionally and unintentionally. Or that drinking is the number one cause of teenage fatalities behind the wheel due to lack of seatbelt wearing when drunk.
It gets points, like your license. So, if you are caught doing something fatally stupid like:
Passing out in public
Driving drunk
Starting a bar brawl
drunk dialing (not really, it was just funny to add that in!)
you get points and your drink price goes up for a period of time, after which the the points will disappear if you don't do anything else that's fatally stupid.
**edit: I should learn to proof-read. extra letter.**
Here's what my perfect world would look like like:
Every drinker must carry a license, like drivers. To earn it, you learn a few things about drinking, like that all alcohol commercials are written to make you believe that alcohol will either make you funny or get laid. And that both happen - intentionally and unintentionally. Or that drinking is the number one cause of teenage fatalities behind the wheel due to lack of seatbelt wearing when drunk.
It gets points, like your license. So, if you are caught doing something fatally stupid like:
Passing out in public
Driving drunk
Starting a bar brawl
drunk dialing (not really, it was just funny to add that in!)
you get points and your drink price goes up for a period of time, after which the the points will disappear if you don't do anything else that's fatally stupid.
**edit: I should learn to proof-read. extra letter.**
this is all well and good in theoery, but i doubt it would ever catch on over here in england
I doubt it would catch on anywhere, but the point is I wish we spent more time trying to educate and empower people and not just regulate them. I learn lessons better when I figure them out for myself -- good or bad.
Having grown up in the States and then moved to Canada for college, it was weird to see how perceptions of drinking change. Of course, in both places, there are people who binge drink, drinking until they throw up most every weekend. McGill even has an event called Carnival with games including one where the point is to have everyone on your team drink enough to throw up, then you win. Classy.
Still, it's not so much that kids WON'T drink if the drinking age is lowered. Kids will drink and will still pass out and similar. Still, at least if the drinking age was lowered, they don't have to kide it. I've known people who hestated getting help for someone who was seriously drunk to the point of needing medical attention because they were worried about getting in trouble. At least in bars there are people to tell you that you've had enough (assuming, of course, the bartenders are responsible). It at least gives a chance for kids to realize what they can and can't do in an environment where they can be safe(orr at least safer).
There will always be kids who constantly drink, just as there are adults who constantly drink. It's a personality type and changing the drinking age won't change the fact that people such as this exist. Still, I believe a lower drinking age gives most every other kid the opportunity to learn what's what. Not to mention that it takes far longer to get drunk at a bar than to get drunk in the confines of your own home (at least in my experience).
Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass. All I know is that after being in Canada, I don't drink in the States, even when I'm home for break. It's just not worth the risk of getting in trouble when I know in a couple of weeks (or, earlier in the summer, a couple of months) I can drink legally and comfortably once I'm back in Montreal. It's just not worth the hassle to get alcohol in the States. But then again, I'm not a big drinker. After throwing up from drinking too much, I kind of learned my lesson. I'm more of a sit around with friends and drink wine and play drunken Scrabble kind of girl.
No, i don't buy it. I disagree with the only in a bar thing too. I think if you can drink at a bar and not in your living room that's going to encourage drunk driving.
As for bars, you could be completely right. I just live in a city so drunk driving is really not an issue as we just use public transportation. The most we have to worry about it making sure we get on the right metro (which isn't difficult as there are usually only two directions in which one can go).
It was interesting to live where I did last year. My Floor Fellow’s board was filled with the usual late-night pizza places and information about safe sex, but it also featured a pamphlet of advice from an imaginary character named "Jimmy the Crackhead" who gave out tips like "when taking mushrooms for the first time, make sure to have someone sober there to watch over you." At first I found it funny and a little odd, but seriously, kids do take shrooms, so why not give them advice? Yes, right next to it is where you can go if you need help getting sober, but if they're going to do it, let them do it in a safe environment rather than hiding it.
Not to mention that the first weekend I was out, I went up on Mont Royal for a weekly drum circle called TamTam. The hill was covered with people just relaxing and listening to the drums and many of the members of this gathering on the hill were smoking pot. The police hung out on the bottom of the hill, looking at the wares people were selling by Ave. Park, but they honestly did not care. These people were not revolting. They were not causing mayhem or being rude. They were relaxing and smoking pot. It was honestly not a big deal and these people were not the scum of society. Sure, there were hippies and college students, but there were also just people out for the afternoon, having the weekend off from work. It was nice and relaxing and no one was being negatively affected (I was sober that afternoon and enjoying it just as much as the people who weren't). More than anything else, since I view alcohol as being extremely more dangerous, I don't see why pot hasn't been legalized. But that's a totally different discussion.
Edit: I realize that I sound like a douche; I'm not trying to say that I know more than you. I know that people are negatively affected by drugs, but it's just that I feel that legalization along with promotion of safe practices for those who DO use, increases in drug prevention, and increases in groups that aid those who want to become sober would be so mcuh more effective than just saying that everything is evil and never should be touched (which, again, is akin to saying "sex is bad! Don't do it!") Assume that people will and just take action accordingly.
Pot yes, heroin no. where do you draw the line.... I dunno.
But i think we can encourage safe practices without legalizing everything. I too have seen pamphlets about how to clean needles. At the time I thought it was silly that they were teaching you how to do something you weren't allowed to do, but now I see it makes perfect sense. I think you can say "Sex is bad don't do it, but here's condoms if you absolutely must"
Do you think we should let an 8 year old buy a pack of cigarettes if he has 5 bucks? Surely not.
(As a side note, I think cigarettes are so much more dangerous than, say, pot).
Amy, I completely agree with everything you have said. And you are the only other person I have met who feels this way. Education and awareness is the only way to ensure that people are going to stay safe, and that education just isn't available if all you're taught in school is that pot causes schizophrenia and sex is bad, so you should avoid them both. Besides the lack of education on safety measures, creating the black market means that you cannot be certain of what you are taking - cocaine and ecstasy can be mixed with fertilizer and talcum powder to bump up the quantity and make more money - whereas substances could be approved as pure if there were organizations in place to check them. In Holland there is an organization, actually, that will check the drugs you have bought to make sure they are pure, and, having approved them, return them to you. Drugs can be dangerous - but surely this is the safest way of taking them?
I understand the theory behind what you are saying here, but I strongly disagree with legalizing all drugs. I teach violence prevention, and there is a scary and strong link between illegal drug abuse and severe violence. For instance, more than half or criminals convicted of violent crimes test positive for illegal drugs at the time of their arrest. Also, innocent people are 5-6 times more likely to be murdered by someone on drugs than someone simply trying to get illegal drugs. The presence of drugs is in and of itself dangerous, not just the methods. If there's any doubt, I invite anyone to come with me and teach in an inner city school with children whose parents are homeless and addicted to crack or meth. It's horrible, and their children are screwed. Besides, if we legalized the black market on the "good" version of these drugs would still highly prosper, and so would crime. Look at the marijuana debate - know any smokers who don't want legalization b/c it wouldn't be the "good stuff" anyway?