Alcohol Law Changes - What do you think?
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In New Zealand from 1st December 1999, 18year olds with ID will be able to buy alcohol from licensed premises and from off-licences, including supermarkets on Sundays.
We asked young peopleTanya, Michelle, Ben, Carrie, Alaka, Redhug, John (a Youth Worker) and 3 local health promoters if they thought lowering of the drinking age was a good thing or not, if they forsaw any problems, and what they thought about having to carry ID cards to prove their ages.
Some views may be controversial and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers.
Tanya (17) It depends on the situation. Some people can handle their alcohol, some people can't. There are two sides to it, it could cause problems. More traffic accidents. More drunk drivers. Between 18-25 is the problem age group for road deaths. Lowering the age could cause drink/driving problems. Lots of people probably aren't aware of the legal limits. I think it's in the road code, but we need more availability of that information. Bar staff should have authority to take car keys from drunk people. Another problem is some people get really aggressive when they're drunk. I think 18+ cards are an excellent idea. They should make it compulsory to have one. Either that or get a photo licence. People will adapt to it. I don't have any form of ID except my birth certificate and I don't want to carry that around. People will drink anyway - no matter what the legal age is. If you have the cards it'll stop the younger ones from buying it. It protects the people selling it and the people buying it.
John (Youth Worker) We have a drinking problem with young people. Lowering the age means people will get into it earlier than they might have. Age 18 is not mature. Neurologically, people are affected by alcohol up to age 20. It's going to make alcohol available to younger children, and that is a major concern. There are people out there who are going to have drinking problems but they don't know it yet because they haven't been exposed to much alcohol. For lots of them, drugs will also be easier to get hold of because they'll be in situations with easier access to people with drugs. Drinking and driving is the other problem - alcohol stops you from thinking. For some, I think they'll get into it. At 18 they have disposable income, they'll think "this is fun". And I think for girls it's scary.
Photo IDs should definitely be a requirement to enter licensed premises. Raise it back up to 20. I think it's a mistake. I think we'll regret it.
Carrie (14) It's a good thing - you can ask your brothers or sisters or friends to buy your alcohol. There'll be more people drinking. I think people will drink more cos it'll be easier to find people to buy your alcohol. There'll probably be heaps of parties. If you're drunk on the street, and your wallet's there, then your ID is there.
Party hard, and remember to take a condom everywhere you go, if you're drinking.
Redhug (17) It's bad in a way cos more people are gonna drink, waste all their money on alcohol. It's good cos I'll be able to buy it next year.
[on behaviour change] Everybody'll be an alcoholic. Kids'll go to school drunk.
[on ID cards] That sucks. That's not even onto it. You gotta spend more money on the card. If they drop the drinking age, they should drop the smoking age too.
Alaka (13) If you can pay for it, you should be able to drink.
Michelle (18) There should be more buses at night, or taxi shuttles. Taxis are expensive. A group rate for a certain distance would be good. Lots of teenagers do make sure there is a sober driver - others are really immature though. And lots of people will go hard cos they know it's legal. Girls might end up in situations where they're not aware of what's happening.
Health Promoters We didn't want the age to be lowered because of drink-driving. To help harm reduction we need to reduce access and availability of alcohol. Increased access and availability of alcohol may lead to more alcohol-related harm, such as drink-drive accidents, suicide, unsafe sexual behaviour, and unintentional injuries. The law can change behaviour, although it takes longer to change attitudes. The increase in access to and availability of alcohol will increase the number of people drinking. For law enforcement, the ID card is necessary. The law change has happened. It could work. It's more clear-cut now - only one rule. The age 18 law needs strict enforcement, and intoxication - the level of intoxication is the problem, not the age. The human body can only process one alcoholic drink per hour.
November 1999.