To find out how old you need to be to drink anywhere in the world, we looked at the drinking age in each country covered by the WHO World Alcohol Report 2014. Where data were not available from WHO, age data reported by the International Alliance for Responsible Alcohol Consumption were used. When we met countries that distinguished between on-site and off-site alcohol consumption, we opted for the lowest number and added a reference to the age difference. Alcohol consumption varies considerably from country to country, as does the legal drinking age. In the United States, you must be at least 21 years of age or older to purchase or consume alcoholic beverages (with some exceptions in some jurisdictions). Surprisingly, this is one of the highest ages in the world to drink. To the north of the United States is Canada, which has a legal drinking age of 18 to 19, and the legal drinking age is much lower in many other countries. In fact, some countries don`t have a minimum drinking age (although there may be a minimum age to buy alcohol) – although the vast majority of these countries still have laws on the age you need to have to buy alcoholic beverages. Conversely, in some countries (usually under strict Muslim rule), alcohol consumption is completely prohibited.
AIM – Alcohol in Moderation, “What is the Legal Drinking Age (LDA)?”, www.aim-digest.com, January 2015 As can be seen in the table below, there has been a lot of volatility in the drinking age in the states since the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Shortly after the ratification of 21. Constitutional amendment in December, most states set their buying age at 21, as that was the voting age at the time. Most of these limits remained constant until the early 1970s. From 1969 to 1976, about 30 states lowered their purchasing age, usually to 18. This was largely due to the fact that the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 with the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971. Many states began lowering their minimum drinking age, most in 1972 or 1973. [2] [3] [4] Twelve states have maintained their purchasing age at 21 since the repeal of prohibition and have never changed it. We probably don`t need to tell you that different countries have very different approaches to alcohol. Different tastes, different styles and, perhaps more directly, different laws. Depending on where you go in the world, the drinking age can be 15, 18, 20 or 21. In some countries, there may not be a legal drinking age.
It is a criminal offence to consume alcohol in public or to influence alcohol. [113] It`s not just ordinary people who struggle to understand these apparent contradictions — some states even publish seemingly contradictory information about their juvenile laws. For example, if you`re looking for underage alcohol laws in New York City, you`ll find this booklet from the State Liquor Authority that pretty clearly states, “If you`re under 21, it`s a violation of the law to consume alcohol with intent to consume alcohol.” The most recent legal age in the world is 15, with Mali and the Central African Republic currently allowing alcohol consumption. Seven countries do not have state-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban alcohol consumption altogether. Of the 190 countries, 61% have an alcohol consumption age of 18 or 19. The United States and 11 other countries have an MLDA of 21, the highest MLDA of any country where it is legal to drink (although some parts of India have drinking ages of 25 and 30). Alcohol is banned in 16 countries, all Muslim, although some have exceptions for non-Muslims. One-fifth of this profession has a serious drinking problem I asked Hanson what he thought of the legal situation in Arkansas, where the law also states that minors are prohibited from possessing alcohol under any circumstances, but that parents can still give alcohol to their children.
If a parent gives a child a drink, does that mean the child is breaking the law, but the parent is not? 7. When reporting a medical necessity due to the consumption of alcohol by a minor for another minor: In some states, a minor is not punished for consuming alcohol if it turns out that he or she drank alcohol while reporting a medical emergency for another underage drinker. Each state sets its own specific requirements for what is considered legal. “It`s amazing — what do we parents say?” said David J. Hanson, professor emeritus of sociology at SUNY Potsdam, in an interview. Hanson has studied alcohol policy for more than 40 years, claiming that sometimes conflicting regulations on underage alcohol cause confusion and “legal nonsense.” Before 1 July 2007, minors who had reached the age of 17 May 2007 could reach the age of 17 May 2007. As a waiter or waitress in rooms or areas where the presence of 3.2 percent “malt brandy” was incidental to serving or preparing food. Minnesota defines “3.2% malt liquor” as beer, ale, or any other malted beverage that contains no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. From 1 July 2007, minors who have reached the age of 16 may be employed in this way.
But it turns out that not everything minors drink is strictly illegal: At least 37 states have some sort of exception in their drinking laws that allows minors to drink at home and in the company of family members. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the patchwork of state laws regulating exemptions to laws governing underage possession of alcohol seems simple: The history of alcohol consumption in the United States is complicated. As with many other vices, alcohol is both celebrated – “It`s Miller time!” – and condemned in popular culture. More than 1 in 7 American adults say drinking alcohol is a sin, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey. Timing of changes in the age of alcohol consumption or purchase or laws restricting access to alcohol for minors: the method of calculating the legal age for alcohol is slightly different from the calculation of the Korean age, which adds an additional year to the age of the person, while this method does not take into account only the month and day of birth, but only the year. [105] From 1976 to 1983, several states voluntarily raised the age of purchase to 19 (or, less commonly, to 20 or 21), in part to combat drunk driving deaths. [ref. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required states to raise their purchasing and public ownership age to 21 in October 1986 or lose 10 percent of their federal funding for roads.