Drinking age to 21?

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

could you amigne if the new government raised the drinking age to 21!! how do americans survive!!! In the good old US, you can buy a gun at 18, but you cant buy a beer until you are 21!!!! (que the Team America song!!)

jester77

Would never work, there would be riots in the streets
Over here 16 is the legal age and it works fine, maybe they should lower it instead and teach them some responsibility earlier on in life!

aidan_walsh

Just had your first sip, frank?

They have a gun culture, we have a drink culture. Whats the shock, exactly?

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

aidan_walsh wrote:

Just had your first sip, frank?

They have a gun culture, we have a drink culture. Whats the shock, exactly?

not really, im in my twenties, 2 of my friends are gonig to the us for the summer, and they are under 21.

AlmightyCushion

As long as they do it after August 30th I don't care

Duggy747

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

not really, im in my twenties, 2 of my friends are gonig to the us for the summer, and they are under 21.

Meh, they're Irish. People will buy them drink no bother. When I was in New York when I was 17 I had no problem getting beer, it's like people expect ya to drink cuz you're Irish...........no complaints here

kizzyr

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

could you amigne if the new government raised the drinking age to 21!! how do americans survive!!! In the good old US, you can buy a gun at 18, but you cant buy a beer until you are 21!!!! (que the Team America song!!)

Ah yes because getting rat arsed on a regular basis is all there is to life:rolleyes:

AlmightyCushion

kizzyr wrote:

Ah yes because getting rat arsed on a regular basis is all there is to life:rolleyes:

Isn't that what being a student is all about.

ruprect

If the government were not hypocrites then the logical thing to do would be ban it immediately.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

kizzyr wrote:

Ah yes because getting rat arsed on a regular basis is all there is to life:rolleyes:

so you are assuming am an alcoholic?

KTRIC

ruprect wrote:

If the government were not hypocrites then the logical thing to do would be ban it immediately.

Jaysus man, what are you smoking :eek: Ban Alcohol ???

Never going to happen.

DarkJager

They got away with the smoking ban, but I'd love to see them try raising the drinking age. There would be riots in the streets....

Duggy747

I take my alcohal in syringe form, gives that twangy boost to your day

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

it could be done, if this guy was on the job
http://img78.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo4f15thumbxx1.jpg

Mossy Monk

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

how do americans survive!!!

I may be wrong but the same way as everyone else?

Sam Vimes

kizzyr wrote:

Ah yes because getting rat arsed on a regular basis is all there is to life:rolleyes:

what are you implying? are you suggesting that there is somehow more to life than getting pissed?

ruprect

KTRIC wrote:

Jaysus man, what are you smoking :eek: Ban Alcohol ???

Well it ain't cigarettes since I am in work, and I can't afford 20's;)
And I ain't smoking anything else since it is illegal- which is exactly the point I am making- hypocrites.

KTRIC wrote:

Never going to happen.

Oh, I know, sure look at Bertie, when he was asked if he had smoked cannabis like Cowen, he says no, when asked if he took pints he said "yes, plenty of those", nobody bats a f-ucking eyelid! all these "drug" activists & "health officials" go mental when Cowen says he smoked once or twice in the 70's, yet dont give a damn when the Taoiseach says he drinks plenty of pints.

Will never be banned and they will always be hypocrites because of this.

kevmy

Smoking ban in public places and drinking ban totally different things
1) Smoking affects those around not just you
2) Alcohol used correctly will not give you cancer\kill you (I know most people abuse it but still a valid point)
3) Smoking is chemically addictive, alcohol is not

As for the age, keep it at 18. It is my strong opinion that young people these days only drink slightly more than they ever did and thats because they have more money. It is more noticeable in the last ten years because a) there was a baby boom (the Pope's children) so more young people and b) they didn't have to emigrate so more young people

ruprect

kevmy wrote:

Smoking ban in public places and drinking ban totally different things
1) Smoking affects those around not just you
2) Alcohol used correctly will not give you cancer\kill you (I know most people abuse it but still a valid point)
3) Smoking is chemically addictive, alcohol is not

Dunno if you are reffering to my posts, probably- since I mentioned a complete ban on alcohol. I agree the smoking ban in "public places" is different, it is a ban in workplaces, drinking is already illegal on the streets. I am referring to the fact they are hypocrites since many drugs which would fall under the same criteria as alcohol, or be less harmful are illegal, therefore logically if you were subject drugs to the same criteria it should also be banned. Many drugs could be subsituted in place of alcohol in your quote above.

But mammy, daddy & bertie drink and have hypocritical views on drugs.

5starpool

I say raise the drinking age to 30.

cson

Prohibition! Prohibition!

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

[QUOTE=ruprectI am referring to the fact they are hypocrites since many drugs which would fall under the same criteria as alcohol, or be less harmful are illegal[/QUOTE]

what drug 'less harmful' than alcohol?

User45701

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

not really, im in my twenties, 2 of my friends are gonig to the us for the summer, and they are under 21.

hahahahah what a waste of money on flights and other stuff if no drinkey,
i am over 21 but im going to wait to see how this new guy whats his name? ron paul i think, ye im going to wait to see if he can pull anything off. if he does then ill grace the us with my presence

seamus

ruprect wrote:

I am referring to the fact they are hypocrites since many drugs which would fall under the same criteria as alcohol, or be less harmful are illegal, therefore logically if you were subject drugs to the same criteria it should also be banned.

Well the thing about alcohol is that it's not necessarily harmful. It's all about quantity control. It's primary use by most people is a mood enhancer, but it's also a tasty beverage. Many people will have a pint after work to relax, or a glass of wine with their dinner, and it'll have little or no discernible effects on their mood or brain function. In small doses, alcohol is actually good for you.
The point of a drug (in pill, injection or snorting form) is to get high. You're taking it because you *want* to alter your mental state, not for any other reason.
Other drugs taken as a smoke, well that's a slightly different story. There's a fair argument to say that the only reason people start smoking cigarettes is to get high, and once you're used to them you enjoy them much like a beer, and the "to get high" aspect is gone. The same could be said for smoking grass.

SimpleSam06

ruprect wrote:

If the government were not hypocrites then the logical thing to do would be ban it immediately.

Oh yes, thats a good idea, banning things always works well, doesn't create major crime syndicates with more power than the local police, who, by the way, are overworked enough already without some new crimes requiring they imprison a lot more people and do less real good. And all because of a fairly nonsensical moral high ground.

ruprect

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

what drug 'less harmful' than alcohol?

It would be a waste of bandwidth listing them all

Well the thing about alcohol is that it's not necessarily harmful. It's all about quantity control.

Exactly the same thing can be said of many illegal or prescription only drugs.

Oh yes, thats a good idea, banning things always works well

I think it would be a terrible idea to ban alcohol, it just would be logical to do it and hypocritical not to.

_feedback_

kevmy wrote:

Smoking ban in public places and drinking ban totally different things
1) Smoking affects those around not just you

alcohol does that too boss.

emeraldstar

AlmightyCushion wrote:

Isn't that what being a student is all about.

no

Sarky

cson wrote:

Prohibition! Prohibition!

I concur.

I bet I'd look great in a suit and fedora.

Jonesy3110

Quote:

Originally Posted by cson
Prohibition! Prohibition!


I concur.

I bet I'd look great in a suit and fedora.

Hell yes!
Except Id want to brew my own bathtub Gin and open a speakeasy

grumpytrousers

Jonesy3110 wrote:

Quote:


Hell yes!
Except Id want to brew my own bathtub Gin and open a speakeasy

and wear these too...spats.jpg

I think attitude is the problem, rather than legal age
if kids thought it wasn't a big deal, and if there were better ways of socialising rather than the local pub in the back end of nowhere, there might be a difference
and if people didn't think (as AH threads have shown they do indeed) that there's nothing else to do in dublin for fun except get completely, sickeningly hammer and it's either that or sit home watching dvds all the time being boring

french woman ages back was highly surprised young people didn't socialise in sports clubs
what sports clubs =/

Overheal

Ironically: I'm spending the summer back home in the states. I hate being 19 on 20

The law here I havent quite checked: I was working (there? Ireland anyway) as a barmen and I wonder if I can serve but I'll have to look that up.

You definitely couldnt get away with bar/pub drinking here: you look under 30 and they ID. and theyre damn strict. Went to an offy last night with my dad and there was this big sign "Under 30? Have ID ready. We arrest minors." :eek: <-- theres me on the inside with a composed face holding a case of Imported Heinekken

As far as Ireland upping the age? HEll no; besides the clear riot/political fallout, the economy would see an increase in invisible import: dirt cheap flights to Britain and all that - A good weekend on the piss. They underestimate how much drinking gets done in the 18-21 wedge.

As for the socialising aspect: I may have to agree. let aside it cuts back the 'knacker drinking' and promotes the kids to stay in a controlled space, it is one of the few places you can bump into new random people and enjoy yourselves. Here in America? I'm bored. I can't go to the pub and meet new people and nobody in public would ever talk to you here: this is america; and its why I'd never live here again.

Still in Ireland I wouldnt be totally flabberghasted if they did up the age to 21 to act against all the drink driving deaths. Someone new is killed on the roads every day/night.

Overheal

Overheal wrote:

You definitely couldnt get away with bar/pub drinking here: you look under 30 and they ID. and theyre damn strict. Went to an offy last night with my dad and there was this big sign "Under 30? Have ID ready.

Yup.
They ID'd my mother when we were over there a few years ago.

JC 2K3

Beckham Tinkling Urchin wrote:

what drug 'less harmful' than alcohol?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,,2040886,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6474053.stm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=65988

snickerpuss

User45701 wrote:

hahahahah what a waste of money on flights and other stuff if no drinkey,

Really? I couldn't imagine not being able to go without drink for a while. Thats a problem. Can you not have fun without it?

Blush_01

Surely the consumption of alcohol should be far from a focal point of a night out. The idea that someone is "wasting" their J1 because they're under the legal drinking age is ridiculous!

To be really honest, I couldn't care less if people get hammered every night of the week - although I find it depressingly pathetic - as long as they don't brag about it. The fact that you can't remember how you got home last night isn't a funny story, it's frightening.

JC 2K3

Blush_01 wrote:

Surely the consumption of alcohol should be far from a focal point of a night out. The idea that someone is "wasting" their J1 because they're under the legal drinking age is ridiculous!

To be really honest, I couldn't care less if people get hammered every night of the week - although I find it depressingly pathetic - as long as they don't brag about it. The fact that you can't remember how you got home last night isn't a funny story, it's frightening.

If the elitist, holier-than-thou brigade started to impose restrictions narrowing what people's perception of fun should be permitted to be, then life would ultimately get a lot less fun.

Fremen

3) Smoking is chemically addictive, alcohol is not

Actually, alcohol is one of the few drugs whose withdrawal symptoms can kill you. Over time, it is extremely chemically addictive.

Blush_01

#Elites wrote:

although i do agree with you on the bragging..i hate when people go "oh yeaah i had like 10 pints..i was so locked" like really who the **** cares?

Exactly. If that makes me holier than thou (and I can't see how it does) then I guess I'm happy that I don't need to tell everyone how rat-arsed I was in order to confirm that I had fun on that night out that I can't remember. It's almost as though there's such a lack of confidence in people that they have to compete as drinkers in order to validate themselves.

JC 2K3: If someone has to get so drunk that they can't remember the night out (which the majority of people do) then are they really having fun? Is the fact that you can only remember shards of the night a signifier of a good night out? (I guess that's why amnesiacs have such a great time...) I genuinely cannot grasp how a negative image of frequent, excessive alcohol consumption within society impinges on a persons potential for fun. That negative image isn't preventing people from doing what they want if that's what they want to do, but why pretend to agree that it's an intelligent course of action, if you don't believe it? I have a great night out when not drinking alcohol, despite being out in a pub with other people who are getting drunk. The only difference when I'm heading home is I can see how utterly smashed and helpless lots of people are, how dangerous it is for them to be in that state - simply with a view to getting home safely, if nothing else - and those other people don't recognise how close that taxi came to knocking them down, for example.

JC 2K3

Blush_01 wrote:

JC 2K3: If someone has to get so drunk that they can't remember the night out (which the majority of people do) then are they really having fun? Is the fact that you can only remember shards of the night a signifier of a good night out? (I guess that's why amnesiacs have such a great time...) I genuinely cannot grasp how a negative image of frequent, excessive alcohol consumption within society impinges on a persons potential for fun. That negative image isn't preventing people from doing what they want if that's what they want to do, but why pretend to agree that it's an intelligent course of action, if you don't believe it? I have a great night out when not drinking alcohol, despite being out in a pub with other people who are getting drunk. The only difference when I'm heading home is I can see how utterly smashed and helpless lots of people are, how dangerous it is for them to be in that state - simply with a view to getting home safely, if nothing else - and those other people don't recognise how close that taxi came to knocking them down, for example.

Well, occasionally getting smashed is fun. Having shards of what happened that night gradually come back to you over the course of the next day is kinda fun I think. Of course I wouldn't do it all the time(And I think it's a slight over estimation to say the majority get THAT drunk on every night out). People doing it all the time would be slightly pathetic I agree and perhaps indicate problems in the person. But if getting drunk wasn't fun people wouldn't do it.

Bottom line is:
-You can have a great night wihtout alcohol.
-You can have a great night with a moderate amount of alcohol.
-You can have a great night with excessive consumption of alcohol.

And no one has the right to judge anyone as "pathetic" based on how much or little they drink on a night out, unless that person blatantly is drinking far too much too often and likely has a problem.

cson

Blush_01 wrote:

Exactly. If that makes me holier than thou (and I can't see how it does) then I guess I'm happy that I don't need to tell everyone how rat-arsed I was in order to confirm that I had fun on that night out that I can't remember. It's almost as though there's such a lack of confidence in people that they have to compete as drinkers in order to validate themselves.

JC 2K3: If someone has to get so drunk that they can't remember the night out (which the majority of people do) then are they really having fun? Is the fact that you can only remember shards of the night a signifier of a good night out? (I guess that's why amnesiacs have such a great time...) I genuinely cannot grasp how a negative image of frequent, excessive alcohol consumption within society impinges on a persons potential for fun. That negative image isn't preventing people from doing what they want if that's what they want to do, but why pretend to agree that it's an intelligent course of action, if you don't believe it? I have a great night out when not drinking alcohol, despite being out in a pub with other people who are getting drunk. The only difference when I'm heading home is I can see how utterly smashed and helpless lots of people are, how dangerous it is for them to be in that state - simply with a view to getting home safely, if nothing else - and those other people don't recognise how close that taxi came to knocking them down, for example.

Take a look at any ad for an alcoholic drink. What are the people doing? Rightly or wrongly its a characteristic that is somewhat uniquely Irish. Someone mentioned in the thread earlier about having no problem getting alcohol bought for you in America if you're Irish.

Blush_01

I was in America when I was 18. I chose not to drink, but those I was with did drink, and we had no problems getting served in the Irish bar we were in. ID never even came into it.

As for the alcoholic drink ads, I'm not sure I know exactly what you're getting at. The only ads I know of that portray getting completely ossified are the ones recommending a sensible attitude to alcohol consumption. All others seem to have alcohol consumption as a side note or subliminal message, rather than the blatant focus of the advert, with the possible exception of WKD ads.

cson

Nah, what I'm getting at is all those ads, the people in them are having a great time = they're subliminaly saying you have to drink to have fun.

veXual

/flame flame

Don't be takin our precious alcohol!!!!!!!

/end teh flamage

NZdubstar

I think it would be harsh to raise it to 21, we don't want to be living in even more of a Nanny state, it's bad enough as it is. The US is incredibly harsh on these things, I was put in a cell overnight for drinking a beer on the path outside my house for example. I think Irish people will drink excessively no matter what we do, as long as we can get our hands on it. It is pretty shocking though how drunk we get, but for most people, it becomes tired, and pointless after a while. I try and restrict my booze intake nowadays because the hangovers had me wrote off for 3 days sometimes. Since moving to NZ I am drinking probably 20% of what I did in Ireland, just because the lifestyle is different here, but I know when I go home it'll be back to 5 pints on a thursday, 8 pints on a friday, 12 on a saturday, 5 on sunday for recovery etc...
As for the "riots" if they raised the age, who's going to riot? do you really think anyone would take a bunch of 18 year olds rioting for want of alcohol seriously? LOL! No! I'd personally take pleasure in watching the young upstarts getting baton charged on O'Connell st.

Black Swan

kevmy wrote:

3) Smoking is chemically addictive, alcohol is not

Huh? Excessive and prolonged alcohol drinking does not result in a physical dependence that is chemically based?

bluewolf

bluewolf wrote:

Yup.
They ID'd my mother when we were over there a few years ago.

Have a fake drivers license and it has worked everywhere in New York.It says that I am 24 and I have a babyface!

AlmightyCushion

Overheal wrote:

Went to an offy last night with my dad and there was this big sign "Under 30? Have ID ready.

I was watching an American tv show the other day (think it was My name is earl) and he went into a shop where there was a sign saying "We ID everyone under 35" or something like that and I was shocked.

seamus

AlmightyCushion wrote:

I was watching an American tv show the other day (think it was My name is earl) and he went into a shop where there was a sign saying "We ID everyone under 35" or something like that and I was shocked.

Ah the Americans are hilarious though. Their work ethic seems to either be "By the book" or "Not at all". My mum was in a restaurant in Boston and asked for a glass if wine. The waitress asked for ID. My Mum is nearly 60. The waitress didn't seem to 'get' the inanity of her request, even if it was company policy. She couldn't understand why my Mum was laughing.

AlmightyCushion

seamus wrote:

Ah the Americans are hilarious though. Their work ethic seems to either be "By the book" or "Not at all". My mum was in a restaurant in Boston and asked for a glass if wine. The waitress asked for ID. My Mum is nearly 60. The waitress didn't seem to 'get' the inanity of her request, even if it was company policy. She couldn't understand why my Mum was laughing.

Could you imagine carrying your age card around with ya till you're sixty. The bleeding thing would look like ya any more and you'd never get served.