Germany considers raising legal drinking age to 18

TZ-Online: Schützt ein Verbot unsere Kinder?

German politicians are discussing whether or not to increase the legal age for consumption of alcohol to 18 after a 16-year-old almost died after drinking 52 shots of Tequila.

Isn't is only 16 for beer anyway? So a 16 year old drinking tequila was already breaking the law. And I doubt an 18 year old would have handled 52 shots of tequila any better.

52??!! How do you manage that without first throwing up/falling sleep... anyway - I doubt raising the age would stop that kind of thing from ever happening again...

i haven't made up my mind yet.
near my office, there are several (inner city) schools and most (male) pupils buy beer for lunch. bloody idiots. they think they look cool and/or mature when holding a bottle of beer in their hands. wishful thinking on their side imo. (i keep thinking what a waste of tax payers money as teachers won't be able to teach them much after lunch)

I agree totally with SiM, exactly what I was going to say!

They stop for lunch? They knock off at 1 o'clock. At least they do at my daughters school. I've always considered the attitude to alcohol very sensible here and banning teenagers from drinking won't stop them, it will just make it illegal and therefore even cooler! After all you're supposed to 18 in Britain but that didn't stop me or my mates drinking in pubs at 16. (Not at lunchtime though!)

For pity's sake, it was 40 shots of vodka that killed John Bonham and he was well over 18.

Edit: He was actually 32 when he died. Sweet sweating jesus, that's a young age to die.

My son (17) has at least a couple of days a week with a 1 or 2 hour gap around midday.

On some of them he & his classmates go to local Chinese and eat the midday offering.
At least thats better than going to McDoof.

And they dont drink alcohol...

i think the present regulation is ok.

I say raise it to 21...

I don't know if most Americans agree with me on this... but looking back, all the time I'd spend out with friends hunting around for beer was probably more fun than when we actually had it. Later, in school the age limit forced us to have house parties, which were always more crazy and fun than normal old bars.

Then again, if you want the kids to be safer keep it how it is.. but I think 21 is more fun

What a useless idea.. if someone wants to drink 50 shots of vodka they're going to drink 50 shots of vodka (well, up until they pass out anyway).. there are stupid people everywhere, it doesn't matter about the age..

haha.. some truth in that thefirelane.. I remember when I wasn't old enough to drink, we'd have many adventures trying to get it, and man, once you got it you'd just drink and drink until your threw up! If it had been legal that definitely would have taken the appeal away and I'd probably have stopped at a few..

I don't agree with raising it to 21 (I think voting, tobacco, alcohol, military service, etc. should all start at 19) but I see your point. Thwarting the law really was fun and house parties do beat the shit out of bars.

Hmm...16 does seem like a kid to me so I could see 18. That said, folks here raised under the 16-year-old rule seem to have just as healthy an attitude toward drinking as folks I know from 18 and 21 minimum countries.

When I was in high school in Chicago, the minimum age to buy beer or hard alcohol was 21. That didn't stop anyone I knew that wanted to drink...from buying or from drinking.

In fact, it might have made it more enticing for them to drink hard alcohol instead of beer - which I would assume is more likely to lead to the 'ODing' incidents like the tequila example.

A single bottle can provide a faster route to drunkenness for more people and it is easier to "borrow" a bottle from parents and transport discreetly versus a big multi-pack of beer.

Now I'm curious - do shopkeepers here actually check the age when someone buys beer or alcohol? I'm wayyy over that age minimum so I have no idea!

I don't think you should be allowed to be a teenager until you're at least 20 yrs old.