Drinking Age Comparisons

Until the legal drinking age changes :-)

USA absolutely does things to reduce alcohol consumption. Most famously our high drinking age, but also high taxes, rules about public consumption, and various local laws.Most countries will let 18 year olds drink beer in a park.

Drinking wine at 17 is fine in many countries. The US is probably among the strictest.

or the fact that there are no drinking laws in most of Europe (or hardly enforced). As a 16 year old, no one will deny you a beer in Germany or France, but good luck getting a drop in the US in most places.

Showing your ID to buy alcohol because the govenment has decided that under 18's cannot buy it. That's widely practiced and accepted without issue

One thing that comes to mind is the 21 year age restriction on the US, which seems to actually be enforced. Where I grew up in Europe there was an 18 year limit officially but not really, and you could get all the booze you wanted as an teenager. Cannabis too.I went to an international school, so we'd get American kids coming in and realising that they could drink before graduating into a dry university. At least one of my friends got his stomach pumped after a massive binge.I wonder

Just speculation, but I have the impression that alcohol "problems" are a larger problem in countries where the age required to legally buy alcohol is rather high.In my home country (Austria) I could buy alcohol at age 13 without any problems. No one would ask for an ID. I think nowadays they are a little bit stricter, but you are still legally allowed to buy alcohol once you turn 16. Once you turn a little bit older alcohol isn't that interesting any more. Of course, you'd still buy a beer (

I think it's an American problem of treating 18 year olds like 14-16 year olds. Same goes for drinking. Why can't we trust (young) adults like other countries do?

You should try to go to "most of Europe" and try to get alcohol as someone <16 and see how that goes.

Drinking is allowed over 20 years old but some university students tend to drink on eighteen on party. It's illegal but not thought as serious problem.For high school student or below, smoking is problem (So vending machine must have authenticate feature like card(Taspo) or face age recognition) but drinking is looks like not popular but still considered as problem.