The underage drinking problem in the US

nipe

nipe

Active member
I was reading the wallstreet journal today and read an interesting article about companies who were filing complaints against large alcohol companies about promoting alcohol to minors thru advertising, ect.

This raised a few questions in my mind. How come Europe, with virtually no legal age drinking limit, has much fewer problems with drinking than opposed to the US?

Ive come up with this reason:

In european countries, the drunk driver rate is low and there are fewer drinking problems by younger kids. Basically, if there was a drinking problem over there they would set a legal age limit, but they dont need to because there is no problem. Why is that you ask? Families are brought up drinking wine at the table, and brought up with beer and wine fully intergrated in their lives. Children are taught about alcohol and how to use it responsibly since they are brought up with it.

In the US, underage kids are not brought up with alcohol since they cant have any by law, therefore either if they get their hands on some or as soon as they turn 21 they go nuts and are irresponsible with it, because they are uneducated about alcohol.

I think the problem in the US isnt because of liquor companies, I think the problem lies in kids being irresponsible because they arent property educated and arent brought up on it.

I believe i have identified the problem. Unfortunately, i cannot think of an easy solution. Lifting the drinking ban on the US would cause instant chaos and violence, generating education campaigns and promoting them heavily is costly and honestly they dont work that much on kids who are dead set on drinking...

but anyways.. anyone agree with me on this?

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seth

Fairygirl: Why must you be so damn good looking? Why?? lol

nipe: Thats right Diabhal, because we're skiers
 
Yeah i agree with you, also people tend to want what they can't have and want to do what they can't do, it's a natural instinct. Like when you have something really valuable in your hands like a expensive vase or something and you just want to smash the shit out of it.

But then if there was no drinking limit in the u.s then i think things would get out of hand fast, so yeah i dont know if there is a solution except to keep going along as we are for now.

www.star-board.com
 
You have to remember in european countries the populace depends and makes use of public transportation to a much higher degree. It is expensive to become a licensed driver and to handle the financial responsibilities that go along with being a driver. To compare the drunk driving rates the statistics would have to be calibrated correctly. Statistics would be based on the percentage of drivers in a particular age group that have run into problems. You can just play a straight numbers game, it has to be weighted appropriately.

 
good point graveck

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seth

Fairygirl: Why must you be so damn good looking? Why?? lol

nipe: Thats right Diabhal, because we're skiers
 
the best point i got about all your non-alchoalic lingo was that everyone wants something you cant have, in our case alchohoal,pot,ex, ..... which is part of the rush, well sort of rush but jsut run with me on this, part of the reason underagers drink, BECAUSE its illegal. and when you turn 21 your drinking actually slows down because your among everyeone else doing something legal, which we all knwo isnt any fun.

but then again you 3 (the ones above me) act like its such a big problem that peopple under 21(for the us anyway) drink...but is it really a problem, does it really make you a degenerate of society for doing it?!?! NO!!! everyeones dad has storys about drinkin then they were kids, its part of growing up! so quit flippin shit when other people know how to have fun better than you, ya fuckin nerds, i can see you sittin on your side of the classrooom talking about lastnights homework problems and how it strechted your brain waves.

you can still be in hard challangeing classes and still get fucked up on weekends, still know how party and then still get your shit done. see most people do too much of one and not the other. the nerds, who think drinkin and partying and drugs are soo bad and always have to do the hw as soon as you get home from school, and have boring sober fun. then the partiers who get fuckin hammered on weekdays and dont think 2 shits about doing their homework, who are fun to party with i might add. then youve got my kind of people, who can party their ass off, get fucked up 3 nights out of the week, come to school drunk. but still have the mindset to get yoru shit together and do good in school, its not that hard to have fun and not fuck around in school too. So drinking underage isnt even a problem, its a privelage, as long as your not fuckin stupid about doing it and know when to stop and hit the books.

so this is where it starts, my rant AGAINGST sobriety. so i come back to the frozen wasteland i call home, alaska, after a summer of the lower 48 and i noticed that the partying coolness that i love soo much, to my great chagrin, has dropped considerably. so to combat this sudden turn of events i am taking in upon myself to destroy sobritty in its entierety and freedom against sobriety knows no discrimination!!!! so i ask you all to join me, in my fight against sobriety in america, and turn this place back to how i remember, where teh booze flows and so does the hoes!!!!!!!!!!!!

that was great, im gonna start my own post about that^^^ (the last paragraph)

$$ ICED OUT RACING $$

'this goes to kevin quinn for bein the man! yip yip! pornstar 2002! yip yip!' - hanner tall
 
^wtf dude... we were referring to drinking and driving which IS irresponsible and a problem. Where do you get off calling us anti-social/drinking. I've been drinking since I was in 6th grade, I'm 20 now, I drink 3-4 nights a week at college and I'm still pulling a 3.75 in engineering school w/ a double major in computer science and mathematics at the 19th ranked university in America (Vanderbilt University). I'm not bragging, but I'm providing a counterpoint to your nonsense. Just because people decide to be analytical about statistics concerning problems such as drunk driving (which is a huge problem) doesn't make them disdainful nerds towards the social element of drinking. Everyone likes to have their fun, but that doesn't mean you can't attempt to reason out why the fun is enjoyed.

 
kids in the US are allowed to drink alcohol by law. in the household behind closed doors parents are allowed to give their children alcohol. this would be a way for people to be brought up on alcohol. although it is legal for a parent to give their children alcohol, too much will be grounds for a parent to be charged with child abuse. i was brought up drinking a beer here and there since i was 12 years old. the age in canada is 19 but when i hit 19 i was already able to understand my limit and know when to draw the line. ok i'll admit that on my 19th bday i was a beligerent mess only because i was able to buy booze. the reason kids can have alcohol behind closed doors is because many religions still use wine in the religious ceremonies where young people are made to sip wine.

My mom: 'would you jump a cliff if someone told you to?'

Me: 'i guess not. i'd have jumped off before they told me to!'

NS Old-Timer

**Viva La Resistance**
 
gravtechs point makes the best sense outta this entire post. I just left europe for south east asia a mounth ago and like he said public transportation is really big like everyone uses it. In the little cities or country areas which dont have great public transportation there are drinking and driving accidents all the time. so really a good point is raised that you cant look at drinking and driving statistics in europe compared to the usa to argue about underage drinking. on the other hand though. its is frowned upon to get trashed in italy. Since alcohol is avaliable for everyone there is no reason to go all nutty over it and get half cut, I worked on a vineyard for a week in perugia and the people were not impressed when you were drunk. Also drinking in Europe is part of the life. At lunch theres wine at dinner theres shots, wine, beer, and a lemon ice desert shot along with a glass of desert wine. you drink your ass off. While I was there I was hanging out with some german girl in greece and she found it hilarious that on our 18th birthdays (im from canada) we all get shit faced. Its not like they dont do that there, but theres no massive celebration just cuz you can drink. last point

I visited amsterdam did you know 90% of the population in amsterdam does NOT smoke pot or only indugles once a year. Thats fucked. Its completely legal and they still dont do it. Same goes for shrooms and drinking. Not to many people do it. The only fucked up people walking around the streets in amsterdam are tourists. The point of this being. When something is readily avaliable and legal the drive for kids/humanbeings to actually indulge is way less then if its illegal. I dunno about you but im 19 now and drinking over the last 2 years has been a blast but no where cose to as fun as sneakin around drinking and hiding it from your parents/principle/police officer. I found that so much fun. I know that if underage drinking wasnt frowned upon as much as it is in the US and Canada then I wouldnt have been a drunk between the ages or 13 and 17, probably only when i was 13 to 15.

sacrifice, to some its just a word, to others it is a code, what matters is the colony, he is willing to live for the colony, fight for the colony, die for the colony.

 
in fact european countries do have age restrictions on drinking. here in germany for example you're allowed to buy beer and wine when you're 16, and all the hard stuff when you turn 18. the thing is just that you can buy alcohol in every normal super market and most wont even ask for proof that you're old enough to drink.

the bad side of it is that there are way too many 12 year olds running drunk through the streets and act all cool coz they can drink and stuff.

 
12 year olds is better than 16 year olds with a license

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seth

Fairygirl: Why must you be so damn good looking? Why?? lol

nipe: Thats right Diabhal, because we're skiers
 
the us has a lot of problems that other countries don't have, like giant murder rates and stuff, and its hard to tell why. but i think you have a point.

________

I always thought Bush steeze was when you go huge, then drop bombs on everyone watching you.

--west
 
shit gets borring is part of the reason, u need something fun. thats why rec centers are built and schools have sports, becasue every schools policy is if u drink ur off the team so their there to keep u alcohol free. but if u dont do any of that shit tahn ur left with nothing and more likly to fall in to drugs or alochol.

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A-men, wait for a honey to get on a chair alone slip in behind her, and let the good times role!!!

Big_Foot_Skiers first post ever
 
drunk driving in the us is more of a problem with adults than with kids. 30-34 i think was the age group with the highest risk of dying from a drunk driving accident. mabey public service announcements are getting thru or mabey adults feel that they can handle driving drunk, i dk

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A-men, wait for a honey to get on a chair alone slip in behind her, and let the good times role!!!

Big_Foot_Skiers first post ever
 
underage drinking is high down here in northern ontario, come to think of it.....alcoholism is high just because its so fucken boring and nothing else to do but get fucked up every single weekend

'I think I see Blue.......He looks glorius!' Will Ferrel
 
^isn't that the case almost everywhere. i know it is here.

that's my two cents

School=no money=no skiing=insanity
 
yeah he's right. everyday up in kapuskasing after planting we'd either get boozed or really fuckin high!

My mom: 'would you jump a cliff if someone told you to?'

Me: 'i guess not. i'd have jumped off before they told me to!'

NS Old-Timer

**Viva La Resistance**
 
there should be no limit on the drinking age considering one of the thigns that makes it that much more exciting is that its illegal. not really. whatever beer for all

If your attack is going well, then it's an ambush..

 
i try not to care, but it rubs me the wrong way when kids do shit just cause its 'cool' or illegal, you do shit to get fucked up theres no other reason, unless its for pussy, that is just(ifiable)

die.
 
'was already able to understand my limit and know when to draw the line'

hahahh good one rob!

-Nick Iwanyshyn

_____________________________________________________________

Focus at Theory-3.com

'Ski for yourself, do what you want and fuck everyone else'

Proud Member of Canada's Drinking Team
 
It's my understanding that in europe, or at least france, the driving age is 18.... however, in the united states if we were to copy that and raise the driving age and lower the drinking age kids would probably throw fit (not to mention their parents wouldn't like the idea of legal drinking). However, the rate of drinking might drop as kids wouldn't be able to go so many places like themselves, at least in places where public transportation is minimumal.

 
hmm thats an interesting view

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seth

Fairygirl: Why must you be so damn good looking? Why?? lol

nipe: Thats right Diabhal, because we're skiers
 
the people who say that drinking age should be lowered are ignorant fools. You would get soooo bored of it after a SHORT while. The reason why high schoolers drink is because they want to rebel, if the drinking age was lowered....they wouldn't be rebelling anymore, and they would look for something else to rebel against. Stupid fools, destroy your liver....be like Mickey Mantle and die from a diseased liver due to excessive drinking.

www.wolfcreekski.com

'he should go jump off a clif onto onto train tracks so he'll die twice' -Darksider17

'ur icon should die' -MARIAH
 
if you feel thats thats the way it should be. maybe every yuear or every other year you could lower the deinking age a year. that way, there wouldnt be instant chaos, and it eventually wouold reach the point where there would be no age limit

if people dont like what ive created, fuck em, because somebody else does-TANNER

can you see what's down there? me either.-seth peering down a cliff before he drops it

ns army, whatever is right below the general

 
the real problem is kids who are 16 having cars in the first place. noone likes being a designated driver, cause u dont get to have fun. in europe they can take a bus, subway, train, streetcar, and anything anywhere. In north america, were we have tons and tons of suburbs, public trasit isnt an option, so kids get cars. if there were some type of 'chill cab' program, were u could like call a cab that is cool with poeple drinkin the the car, smokin up and shit, and was a good price, it would stop alot of accidents, but that aint ever gonna happen..



Moe

-

Pimps Dont Pay Taxes

-

613
 
We have some taxi that drives drunk people around here and waits around bars, but I think its only for people over 21. I don't know what would happen if you were 16 and called them. Drunk driving is an accquired skill, if you don't have it, don't do it.

-Pat

 
Another thing.. i smoked cigars and cloves before i was 18 and could buy them.. i thought it was pretty cool then because it was illegal, ect. Now that im 18 I dont think its as cool anymore.. like ill still buy a cigar or a clove occasionally but not like before... Its not a strong example but you get the idea that once its legal for me to use, im not all into it as i was when it was illegal

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seth

Fairygirl: Why must you be so damn good looking? Why?? lol

nipe: Thats right Diabhal, because we're skiers
 
live.drink.ski.smoke weed. have sex. run out of money. become a loser. stop skiing. grow old. become miserable. die

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