Legal Age to Drink Everywhere

The most well-known reason for the law behind the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in teenagers. As the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on memory and long-term thinking. In addition, it can cause liver failure and cause hormonal imbalance in adolescents due to the constant changes and maturation of hormones during puberty. [3] Youth are also particularly at risk of injury when drinking alcohol,[4] as they may not have the necessary knowledge about low-risk drinking. In fact, public health researchers found that people`s age to drink the first full serving of alcohol was significantly related to knowledge of low-risk alcohol consumption and beverage counting. Knowledge about low-risk alcohol consumption and frequency of beverage counting increased more sharply with age at first drinking in adolescence than at the end of the period. [5] The following charts include the Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) and related data for 190 independent states recognized by the U.S. Department of State on July 15, 2015. Data are from the World Health Organization`s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014 2014, unless otherwise noted. No information on alcohol age was available for Djibouti, Lebanon, Marshall Islands, North Korea or South Sudan, the other five countries listed as independent states by the State Department.

UK leads the way as teen alcohol consumption declines in Europe Canada, India and the United Arab Emirates have different legal drinking ages. Here`s a quick look at how not only the legal drinking age, but also the culture and education surrounding alcohol consumption varies from country to country. Manzoor Butt: “The consumption of illegal toxic alcohol kills hundreds of people every year in Pakistan; Primary care physicians need to take a more proactive role in saving precious lives,” Middle East Journal of Business, April 2015 So here`s our handy guide to where it`s absolutely forbidden to drink alcohol and where you won`t have any problems. Countries where no youth aged 15 to 19 reported heavy episodic alcohol consumption in the past 30 days were Mauritania, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. But the case of a Briton who ended up in jail in Dubai earlier this year for drinking alcohol in public shows how different the rules are for drinking abroad. 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. “Ten grams of alcohol is a standard drink that is almost a bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a standard drink of spirits,” Rekve said. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a standard beverage as 14 grams of pure alcohol. In North America, the legal drinking age and the legal purchasing age vary between 18 and 21 years: in 2016, Luxembourg was the country with the highest percentage of 15-19 year olds reporting high episodic alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, at 54%, according to the WHO. It was followed by Equatorial Guinea with 53.7 per cent and Lithuania with 53.2 per cent. The United States is currently among the 11 countries where the legal drinking age is 21, one of the highest of any country where it is legal to drink. According to the report, in 2016, more than 50% of people in America, Europe and the Western Pacific (Japan, Australia, Oceania) drank alcoholic beverages. For comparison, in 2016, only 32.2% of people in Africa and 33.1% of people in Southeast Asia (India, North Korea, Sri Lanka, etc.) drank. In addition, 94.9% of the inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Iran, Yemen, etc.) abstained from alcohol throughout their lives. Alcohol consumption is illegal in many Eastern Mediterranean countries, at least for Muslims. For tourists, the legal drinking age in Dubai and the Northern Emirates is 21.

Want to know more about the legal drinking age around the world? Check out the map below to find out the legal drinking age in countries around the world! Studies have varied, but some researchers say no amount of alcohol is good for your health, and excessive alcohol consumption can damage the body and brain, especially in a young person. There is some evidence that high alcohol exposure may be associated with brain impairment and cognitive deficits, including memory problems. The minimum age to buy alcohol in India is 18 years old in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim and Pondicherry. The legal drinking age is 21 in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Meghalaya, Punjab and Delhi. Alcohol is banned in Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep. The minimum drinking age also means that establishments can discriminate against you based on your age and deny you access to an establishment, even if you don`t drink. There are also laws that prevent you from having certain jobs that involve serving or selling alcohol, or that punish people who let young people drink on their property. In addition, in each state, the acceptable blood alcohol limit for seniors is 0.08, but young people are subject to much stricter blood alcohol laws that allow for a very small margin of error. Section 78 of the Children`s Act – No person shall sell, lend, give, supply, provide or offer liquor to children under 16 years of age unless there is a written order signed by the parent or guardian of the child known to that person. The police have a duty to confiscate any alcoholic beverage in the possession of a child under the age of 16 without the written consent of parents or guardians.

[38] On the other hand, places like China, Bolivia, and Indonesia have no minimum drinking age at all, so if you want to let go, there`s your next vacation destination. In Central America, the Caribbean and South America, the legal drinking age and the legal purchasing age range from 0 to 20 years (see table below). In South America in particular, the legal age of purchase is 18, with two exceptions: some states do not allow people under the legal drinking age in liquor stores or bars (generally, the difference between a bar and a restaurant is that food is only served in the latter). Contrary to popular belief, only a few states prohibit minors and young adults from consuming alcohol in private places. The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age at which alcohol can be legally consumed may differ from the age at which it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary from country to country and many laws provide for exceptions or special circumstances. Most laws only apply to alcohol consumption in public places, with alcohol consumption in the home generally unregulated (an exception is the UK, which has a legal age of five for supervised consumption in private places).

Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcoholic beverages. [1] Most countries have a legal drinking age of 18 or 19. [2] It is technically legal for minors to possess and consume alcohol at home and in public (not on authorized premises), as there is no law prohibiting it.