USA: Alcohol...

[Cossack]

First of all, I don't like alcohol in any form. It tastes bad, it smells bad it makes you throw up, etc. No good <- IMHO

Now to the topic.

In USA, several laws are passed that prevent anyone younger than 21 consume alcohol, some laws except beer. You also cannot: touch bottles, see other people drink it, buy it, show it in public. Of course not many people follow these rules, but they are enforced.

What's my point?

Once in a shop, I saw a young cashier ask someone older to sell the bottle of wine, because she couldn't touch it. And I started to wonder if lawmakers made these law for mentaly ill. I mean, no one would go crazy from just touching the bottle of wine.

Other situation, someone younger than 21 goes into a liquor store and buy himself a bottle of... juice. Yes, normal orange juice. They sell it in some stores. Cashier did not let him buy it... It's a Liquor store - can't buy juice...
How rare...

Somehow, showing a young couple drink wine or beer on a jewelry commercial is allowed.

Am I the only one who noticed that?

[squealpiggy]

In Europe drinking is an integral part of socialising and culture. Drinking alcohol is not seen to be such a big deal. The rules around alcohol sales in the UK are that you have to be 18 or over to buy it, you have to be 18 or over to sell it, if you are under 18 and you are selling alcohol you need someone over 18 to supervise the sale.

You can drink alcohol if you are underage as long as it is under the supervision of an adult and in your own home. If you are in a pub or restaurant and are over 14 you can, under supervision of a parent or guardian, have a glass of beer or whine with the meal.

Really strict aolcohol laws always seem weird to Europeans who have a fairly progressive way of looking at such things. But you have to remember that it wasn't so long ago that alcohol was illegal in the US.

People think that it is whacked out and crazy that the US has such strict laws on sale of alcohol, though I do think that it is a good idea to have stricter control over it's sale. However I think that 21 is just too old for the restrictions to be set! Put it this way:

You can drive a car at 16.
You can marry with parental consent at 16.
You can marry without parental consent at 18.
You can join the military at 18.
You can vote at 18.
You can be sentenced to death at 18 (younger in some states, not at all in others).

But you cannot drink a beer for at least another three years.

[Fruiterian]

well, the first two that you mentioned vary. I know that the marrying age in Texas and Tenessee are lower with parental consent, and in other states, you can get your driver's liscense earlier or later.

In New Jersey, you have to be 16 to get a permit, 17 to get a restricted liscense, 18 to get the full liscense.

prohibition was rather recent, and rather long.

but i'm told that the main reason for this is because of deaths by drunk driving. :/

they do slam it into your head quite a bit in the driving manuals and driver's ed classes.

but i have a feeling that quite a few people under 21 have already tried alchohol. it is available. not legal, but available.

[ZekeyLizard]

Coss-man, Snortlehog, I hate to burst your bubble but those age-restriction laws dont add up to jack-shate.

I have hung outside of the gas station near a McDonalds and seen people who I KNOW are way too underaged buy bottles an bottles of beer and cigarettes.

[squealpiggy]

Zekey I know that drinking laws are often broken but that doesn't stop them from being there. And the attitude about drinking between here and the states is very different. I was dating a girl from Seattle, we would meet in the pub I worked at and she would have one small drink like a baileys or something and then drink coke, I woud have maybe two pints in an hour. She said I might have a drinking problem! She aso said that in Seattle if you are underage then it is easier to buy heroin than beer, though that just sounds like she was being dramatic to me.

As for the state differences yeah I'm aware that it is very different sometimes from state to state, but I thought there was a federal law for age of consent, so how could you get married younger?

[Scribbly]

As a dutchie, I find this very odd and amusing.
You can buy as much alchohol as you want if you're 16 (as long as it contains less than 20% alchohol or something like that) and you can buy as much like you want when you're 18.. also smoke weed...

Being used to this fact, I find it very normal. Maybe it's because you can only drive > 18. At that time you've been drinking alchohol for about 2/3 years (yes, ofcourse 'lil kids under 16 drink a bit of bacardi breezer or whatever too) and you'll know your limit and you'll (hopefully) be smart enought not to drink (much) when driving.

:weebl: