Drinking alcohol

[CAV of Gang Green]

What's the story with that CAV? Is it 18 in the US, are they discussing changing that too?

 

No. The reason I'm concerned about smoking is because...

 

I believe they should BAN smoking.

 

What has smoking ever done for anyone exept kill? No soda tax in NY, just ban cigarettes.

[Cornflakes]

I'm all about Prohibition. Alcohol is the worst drug ever. I think the minimum drinking age should be raised to 50. :laughingsmiley:

[CAV of Gang Green]

I don't know about 50. It's more likely to hurt you at 50 than at 21.

[Luciana]

p.s. I just wanna throw in. Alcohol isn't a problem as much as stupid people who can't control themselves are.

 

CAV- Going by what you're saying, I guess we should just ban candy and ice cream and chips and soda and fast food, yea. Lets just throw out everything that's bad for you. That will totally work.

It's not that easy. Also, banning cigarettes would make us need a soda tax more. Why do you think cigarettes are so expensive? It's making us a lot of money. soo much money. It's all about money.

[CAV of Gang Green]

Candy and other junk food doesn't give you lung cancer, ashtray breath, breathing difficulties, or heart diasese (well it does, but smoking gives it faster).

 

But this isn't about smoking, this topic is about alcohol.

[Anisha]

I'm all about Prohibition. Alcohol is the worst drug ever. I think the minimum drinking age should be raised to 50. :laughingsmiley:

:laughingsmiley: 50?! Wow, that would drive people insane.

But, but, but ... I have to admit. It doesn't matter if it's 50 or 21 or even 18, people will drink at young age. No doubt about it.

[Masaryk]

I don't think that prohibition of any substance is really a good idea. If people still want to consume prohibited substances, they will buy them from underground sources. All this does is fuel organized crime, which seems like a really bad idea to me. Besides, since these prohibited substances are illegal, they are also unregulated, so the safety of the end product is questionable at best.

 

Education, starting at a young age, is definitely the best way to encourage safe behaviour.

[Ro-]

At least with alcohol you are not necessarily harming others, and it actually has a benefit - some health benefits, and it tastes good. Smoking has no health benefits, and it harms people. I don't mind if people are suicidal, so long as they aren't killing me as well.

[Gaia]

Yeaaaah but you rarely hear about someone who ran over a family of four because they were driving under the influence of tobacco. Neither is entirely beneficial or without risks.

[Ro-]

That is why I said 'not necessarily' instead of 'never'. Tobacco is by its nature harmful - every single puff. Alcohol can be used in moderation to no ill effect. Obviously alcohol should not be used in conjunction with vehicles.

[Cornflakes]

I'm all about Prohibition. Alcohol is the worst drug ever. I think the minimum drinking age should be raised to 50. :laughingsmiley:

(My original post)

 

I don't know about 50. It's more likely to hurt you at 50 than at 21.

...my point exactly. 50-year-olds, fearing the worst, would just stay away from it altogether. :)

 

 

I have to admit. It doesn't matter if it's 50 or 21 or even 18, people will drink at young age. No doubt about it.

Yep, young people drink... due in large part to the marketing geniuses at beer companies - think Budweiser Frogs, Spuds Mackenzie, and any other cartoons used to sell alcoholic beverages...Cartoons, I say, like the kind that appeal to children! Kids have been brought up in this country to believe that drinking is the coolest, most grownup thing ever.

 

Not that I'm a prude or anything...I just think alcohol is purely demonic, and I actually have scientific proof to back up my humble opinion.

 

I don't think that prohibition of any substance is really a good idea. If people still want to consume prohibited substances, they will buy them from underground sources. All this does is fuel organized crime, which seems like a really bad idea to me. Besides, since these prohibited substances are illegal, they are also unregulated, so the safety of the end product is questionable at best.Education, starting at a young age, is definitely the best way to encourage safe behaviour.

/nods/ Indeed. I personally think everything should be legalized (but still regulated, of course). Someone wants to go do cocaine and kill themselves? Pfft, let them do it. Our jails would be SO MUCH LESS CROWDED if we removed all of the court-time-wasting, taxpayer-money-squandering drug offenses.

 

I personally don't do drugs or drink...but if people want to do drugs and drink, my official position is live and let live (or die). /shrugs/

 

And I couldn't agree more, we need to EDUCATE our children into making the best-informed decisions that they can. All kids are going to experiment. I'm not naive, and lord knows I was young once too. But my child will go out into the world knowing that there are limits, and that there are heavy prices to pay for his actions. My son is 10, and we watch "Intervention" together all the time. Kids need to know that they aren't invincible, and that they are loved, and that they might experiment and that's okay, as long as they don't take it too far. That's my philosophy, anyway.

 

 

At least with alcohol you are not necessarily harming others, and it actually has a benefit - some health benefits, and it tastes good.

 

Alcohol tastes good?! Bleccch!! :P

 

And - "not necessarily harming others"?! Have you ever heard of kids being killed by drunk drivers? :)

 

But now I'm all off-topic. To answer the original question: Raise the drinking age in New Zealand? Absolutely. Young people are far more at risk to succumb to alcohol poisoning. While it's true that youths are just going to drink anyway, it doesn't hurt to legally discourage them from doing it.

[Ro-]

I like to drink some alcohol just because of the taste in not in excess. Many people drink a glass of wine with dinner because of the taste. And 'not necessarily' means not every single time. Of course people are killed by drunk drivers. I mean that not every single instance of drinking is harmful. As in 'not necessarily every drink causes harm'. Every cigarette does.

[CAV of Gang Green]

it tastes good.

 

I can't stand the smell of alcohol, let alone ever like the taste.

 

Smoking has no health benefits, and it harms people. I don't mind if people are suicidal, so long as they aren't killing me as well.

Tobacco is by its nature harmful - every single puff.

 

This is exactly what I'm saying. It has no benifit, so they should ban it.

[Ro-]

Well, CAV, I also think potatoes taste absolutely awful. Especially in French fry form. People have different tastes which please them.

[Spritzie]

Well, CAV, I also think potatoes taste absolutely awful. Especially in French fry form. People have different tastes which please them.

 

I agree with you. Personally, I like certain drinks. Granted, the fruity, girly ones that don't really taste strongly of alcohol. But my husband enjoys the stronger stuff. Each person is different.

[Masaryk]

Well, CAV, I also think potatoes taste absolutely awful. Especially in French fry form. People have different tastes which please them.

Seriously? I always feel like I'm the only person in the world that hates potatoes! (:

 

People do have different tastes. And not all alcoholic beverages taste the same. When most people start experimenting with alcohol, I find that they inevitably start with drinks that I would think taste disgusting, like cheap domestic beer or vodka. At least, that's how it was when I was in high school. Choices of drinks were always made based on price, commercial popularity, or availability. People will make choices based on what their parents or friends like to drink. I made some of those mistakes, myself, so I used to think there weren't any beverages that I like. But now that I've tried different things, I find that there are some beverages that I do like to drink in moderation.

 

While I do like to drink some things for how they taste, I don't always like how alcohol makes me feel. I'm a pretty small person, so I start to feel the effects of alcohol even from one drink. That's where I usually stop, because if I drink more than a couple of drinks, I'm prone to having anxiety attacks. I guess I really don't like not being in control of myself.

[Ro-]

Quite. And, of course, how else would you explain all those people who have one drink with dinner? There's no drunkenness there, so it must be because they enjoy the taste. Apart from physically, I find drunk people easier to deal with because they are more open. Since I am extremely open at all times, I don't lose control of my mind when I am drunk - I just more intensely myself. Which way were you referring to, Masaryk?

[Masaryk]

I was mostly referring to the loss of fine motor control. And I hate it when I start to feel a bit of vertigo. It doesn't bother me that I become more talkative when drinking. In fact, that's probably a good thing.

[Unstream]

I think an interesting thing to bring up is the possibility that drinking ages are risen not to deter people who want to drink from drinking, but to try to prevent it from becoming habitual?

 

I feel like when people are older, they tend to have more self control, and probably won't go out getting drunk as much, nor let it grow into something like alcoholism. I think that might be a better reason to keep the drinking age where it is instead of moving it down (for the U.S.)

 

I must admit though, raising the drinking age in New Zealand is probably going to annoy quite a few people, and while it may help society in the long run, it may end up costing the country more initially since so many people would simply rebel and drink anyway.

[Girl at the Rock Show]

Oh and another thing - RTDs and percentages? When my parents were young there was only 5% beer and spirits. Now there are HEAPS of different types of RTDs and they can be up to ~15%. So people down them like beers, but they are three times as strong!

[Blurrz]

Personally, I prefer the darker coloured beers, Ambers or Reds :)

 

The legal age in my province of Alberta is 18. I moved away to another province, BC, that's legal age is 19 for my first year of University, so I was stuck one term not being able to 'buy' any beer. But that one year of experience and mature attitude, I didn't get carded for the time I was in B.C. because I guess it looked like I was used to ordering beer. It's funny though, in Alberta, alcohol is about 1.5x more expensive than it is in B.C... It all averages out.

[Gaia]

The only alcoholic beverage I've ever found enjoyable was kaluha mixed with milk or cream. But...I'd probably like coffee just as much.

 

I think that if people taught teenagers how to handle alcohol responsibly, there would be a lot less drunken stupidity. It's honestly a lot like sex ed. When people refused to teach anything but abstinence, it just lead to people having unprotected sex anyway. When people teach nothing but "Never touch alcohol ever" it just leads to people drinking past their limit and making themselves sick or worse. Shoving your head in the ground and pretending that you can just wish teenage alcohol use away doesn't work at all, and neither does just making it illegal- at best that puts the problem off for a few years.

 

Now I'm not saying liqur up the 6 year old...but I think if you allow a teenager to try a small amount of alcohol in a safe environment (and see that it's not all that amazing) they are a lot less likely to go get wasted and crash in to the side of a barn.

[Ro-]

I completely agree, Gaia. It is almost always knowledge that removes problems, not inefficient abstinence.

[CAV of Gang Green]

We all have different tastes. I like Blackberry Jello when my brother dispises it.

 

ON TOPIC: Change the age to 20.

[Ro-]

I think we should lower it, as explained by Gaia. It will allow younger people to experiment in safe, legal environments, and it will remove the taboo which can lead to people drinking to excess to appear cool.