Should the drinking age be increased to 21?

Zombienosh · 06-01-2011 12:56PM #1

Should drinking in Ireland be 21+?
After a visit to the west and seeing it being 21+ there, and wonder why isn't it 21's here? We have a bigger drink problem than everyone else no?

Would it lose too much money? would it encourage something else? Would it have any effect at all?
I'd be all for it. Week after week I see too many drunk young ones wreaking havoc.

AnonoBoy · 06-01-2011 12:58PM

Pipe down Grandpa!

We need our Barcadi Breezers to put up with your reminicising and storytelling.

Lumen · 06-01-2011 12:58PM

The west of what?

IMO, the drinking age and humping age should be the same.

Mark200 · 06-01-2011 12:58PM

Well there's plenty of countries that have a lower drinking age than us but don't have the same problems. So I don't really think there's any reason to believe that raising the drinking age by a few years will have any significant impact.

Peoples attitudes towards drink need to change. Somehow.

seamus · 06-01-2011 12:59PM

Would it have any effect?

It should be 16 here and alcohol awareness included in the national curriculum from the age of 12 instead of "Alcohol is bad mmkay", and some laughable religious "pledge" to not touch it till we're 18.

We need to make alcohol consumption a more open and normal thing rather than a sordid adult pasttime.

06-01-2011 12:59PM

The West of where? Do you mean America?

God no, it's fine the way it is.

starbelgrade · 06-01-2011 12:59PM

Zombienosh wrote: »

After a visit to the west and seeing it being 21+ there, and wonder why isn't it 21's here?

The age limit for drinking is the same in the west as it is in the east.

It's even the same in the midlands.

Zombienosh · 06-01-2011 12:59PM

Lumen wrote: »

The west of what?

IMO, the drinking age and humping age should be the same.

the west of the camp site.

Cheap Thrills! · 06-01-2011 12:59PM

The west? What west?

No leave it as it is. How are the young folk supposed to get match fit for the sport of drinking unless they get practicing early!?

Look at the state of them in Americay, smell of a wine gum and they're locked and that's the adults.

tut! :rolleyes:

m@cc@ · 06-01-2011 01:00PM

Zombienosh wrote: »

Should drinking in Ireland be 21+?
After a visit to the west and seeing it being 21+ there, and wonder why isn't it 21's here? We have a bigger drink problem than everyone else no?

Would it lose too much money? would it encourage something else? Would it have any effect at all?
I'd be all for it. Week after week I see too many drunk young ones wreaking havoc.

Would be about as effective as the law prohibiting the use of cannibis.

Sanjuro · 06-01-2011 01:00PM

The problem in this country is not the age at which people drink. It's how people drink. We're stuck in a culture that thinks drinking as much as you can as fast as you can is the way to have a good time. Binge drinking is the problem, and that's not a problem that is just with younger people.

Kimono-Girl · 06-01-2011 01:01PM

i say raise it to 21!

but only because i'm 24....

Zombienosh · 06-01-2011 01:01PM

Mark200 wrote: »

Well there's plenty of countries that have a lower drinking age than us but don't have the same problems. So I don't really think there's any reason to believe that raising the drinking age by a few years will have any significant impact.

Peoples attitudes towards drink need to change. Somehow.

Yeah this is true, how do you even begin changing peoples attitudes... nearly everyone i knew growing up functioned in life by hanging on til the weekend and getting so messed up they cant remember anything.

drunkmonkey · 06-01-2011 01:01PM

The current legal drinking age is 8 as long as you have a parent with you.

phasers · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

Raise it to 45, and lower the smoking age to 9

prinz · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

Sanjuro wrote: »

Binge drinking is the problem, and that's not a problem that is just with younger people.

Precisely. Sort that problem out first and then we can think about the age limits.

06-01-2011 01:02PM

Sanjuro wrote: »

The problem in this country is not the age at which people drink. It's how people drink. We're stuck in a culture that thinks drinking as much as you can as fast as you can is the way to have a good time. Binge drinking is the problem, and that's not a problem that is just with younger people.

It is absolutely horrible when you have about 2 drinks in a night and someone comes up to you and asks, "are you OK? You didn't drink very much".

Yeah, it might be because I am not a binge drinker?

fakearms123 · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

Its 16 in France and you don't see many French hooligans hammered out on stags in eastern europe flashing their testicles to cars driving by, I've yet to see a program called Boozed Up French Abroad so I think we're alright at with 18 here in Ireland.

FreudianSlippers · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

If you're talking about the US (Canada is 18 and 19 in some parts, Mexico is 18) - you have to consider that the US has a much bigger problem with binge drinking than we do here.

Also, from experience firsthand, the illegality of drinking under 21 is dangerous in the US.
It brings out more drink driving, more theft, more dangerous drinking etc.

Then when one finally turns 21, they go out and get absolutely shítfaced for a year straight and do stupid ****.

I think "responsibility" with drink is actually much higher here because of the lower drinking age. It's less of a big deal here tbh.

Zombienosh · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

m@cc@ wrote: »

Would be about as effective as the law prohibiting the use of cannibis.

hmm thats a different debate but im pro cannabis over drinking.

starbelgrade · 06-01-2011 01:02PM

Zombienosh wrote: »

nearly everyone i knew growing up functioned in life by hanging on til the weekend and getting so messed up they cant remember anything.

I don't remember any of that type of carry on when I was younger.

Princess Peach · 06-01-2011 01:03PM

I was in the US before and everyone I knew under 21 had a fake ID, bought drink and went to bars. So it really made no difference. And they also had no sense of "know your limit."

Ahhh beer pong.

AnonoBoy · 06-01-2011 01:03PM

phasers wrote: »

Raise it to 45, and lower the smoking age to 9

I'll check that 45 and raise you 57 on the smoking age.

I gots me some pocket rockets, gonna take the whole pot!

prinz · 06-01-2011 01:04PM

fakearms123 wrote: »

Its 16 in France and you don't see many French hooligans hammered out on stags in eastern europe flashing their testicles to cars driving by, I've yet to see a program called Boozed Up French Abroad so I think we're alright at with 18 here in Ireland.

It's actually becoming more and more common in France too. Monkey see monkey do.

starbelgrade · 06-01-2011 01:05PM

Binge drinking is just a wankery PC term for having a good night out on the lash.

blaze1 · 06-01-2011 01:06PM

You'd just get older knacker drinkers..

aDeener · 06-01-2011 01:06PM

i've noticed, and it's just in my own experience, that people who start drinking later in life seem to be a lot more mental with it

starbelgrade · 06-01-2011 01:08PM

I know a bloke who didn't start drinking until he was 22.

A year later he was dead.

Got ran over by a lorry.

Zombienosh · 06-01-2011 01:10PM

My aul fella didn't drink for years growin up, then became a raging alcoholic....

Rabidlamb · 06-01-2011 01:13PM

What difference would it make by changing the legal drinking age ?.
This is Ireland where we have statute books full of laws but no enforcement.

Another political football for the Helen Lovejoys to get all upset about.
Like fannying about with mg's of alcohol allowed in the blood or closing time in off-licenses.

m@cc@ · 06-01-2011 01:14PM

starbelgrade wrote: »

Binge drinking is just a wankery PC term for having a good night out on the lash.

Sure we're only having the craic.

Should the drinking age be increased to 21?

Should the age for drinking be increased or Lowered?? 83 votes

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