Drinking age

what is the right age to start drinking? adopt children at 21
All other Indian states permit alcohol consumption but fix a legal drinking age. In some states, the legal drinking age can be different for different types of alcoholic beverages.
The legal drinking age is different in different states in India. It varies widely. India has different laws for different states.
Alcohol is a subject in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the laws governing alcohol vary from state to state.
Gujarat and Mizoram, as we all know, has imposed prohibition and so sale and consumption of alcohol is illegal here. aim of discouraging consumption of alcohol by
For example, some states have 21, others have 25, others have 18, and in yet others, it’s illegal. For example, in Gujarat, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, and Nagaland it’s illegal
It’s pretty stringent in India, in some places, because 25 is a late age to allow people to start drinking. However, in other states, it’s as low as 18.
There is a wide variance, and there are widely differing attitudes in the state.
In Delhi, India, which is a big city, the drinking age is 25, and that’s still pretty steep. No one likes to wait until they’re 25 to drink. There are continual talks about bringing it down though.
Consumption of alcohol has never been treated as a public health issue in our country. that the new law could do little to control the alcohol consumption in a country where the legal age to get married, to vote, to drive, etc is 18 years.
It might lead to more road accidents, especially at night when young party goers return from clubs, drunk. Several cases of drunk and rash driving, at night, were reported in the past. Now, what do you think should be the legal age for drinking, 25, 21 or 18? people become more mature & understanding at this age so i would like to conclude that drinking should be prohibited below the age of 21.

The amended law hiked up the legal age “for grant of permit for purchase, possession, transport, use and consumption” of hard liquor from 21 years to 25 years. To be able to lawfully enjoy a chilled beer, you must now be 21, not 18. Soon enough, a storm was raging on Twitter, blogs were being written, and there were opinions galore.
A major chunk of India comprises of young Indians, who have relocated from small towns to hubs of industry and employment and this breed of young Indians is what defines most of India’s intellectual superiority. Fast lives, big dreams and unwavering determination define most of these youngsters.
Hard work must be complemented with a good amount of kicking back, and this is what has led to a flourishing and healthy drinking culture. Whether it’s grabbing a beer with some friends after a long day at work, or downing shots at a friend’s birthday party, alcohol does it all.
We might fool ourselves and choose to be oblivious to the fact that issuing a legal age can bereft anyone below 18 from drinking as one doesn’t necessarily need to buy it to consume it. Access to alcohol is easy, but what we should look at, in order to control the side-effects is to regulate the limit or quantity of alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is not only a drink that one consumes to get a high; it is a sentiment that bonds people. And who would want to disrupt the culture of bro-bonding?
The alarming rise in underage alcohol consumption can be attributed to easy availability of money, absent parents and increased spending power.
This is very alarming and parents have a greater role to in this."
Compared to other countries, the legal age in India for drinking is higher than most of the places. While you need to be at least 25-year-old in the national capital to be served a drink, the same figure stands at 18 years for Australia, just 16 years for France and Germany, 18 years for the United Kingdom and 21 years for the United States.

The drinking age of 25 is a national joke. Every college campus in the country is filled with students who violate the drinking law every other day when most students are sophomores, one year of college will be in the bag, with the awkward but necessary social adjustments mostly accomplished. Instead of students continuously lusting after the forbidden fruit of alcohol and sneaking around furtively with bottles of vodka and rum and then quickly guzzling them in an effort to get limbered up to be able to "hook up" with one's peers, perhaps a more, shall we say, refined and responsible approach to alcohol can prevail on campus. large majority of studies have found no relation between the drinking age and other alcohol-related harms like suicide, homicide, or vandalism.
Of course, along with a lowering of the drinking age to 19, a zero tolerance policy must be put in place for anything approaching driving while intoxicated. In Brazil, for instance, it is illegal to drive with even a trace amount of alcohol in the bloodstream; in the United States, the 0.08% threshold should be abandoned in favour of zero tolerance. Anyone caught driving with any amount of alcohol in their bloodstream should have his or her driving privileges suspended for at least three years
The experience of many societies and groups demonstrates that drinking problems are reduced when young people learn at home from their parents how to drink in a moderate and responsible manner. As parents we need to be good role models in what we say and do.
Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner, there is societal consensus on what constitutes responsible drinking. Because the the 21 year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages.
We can't continue to anesthetize ourselves. One possible solution is to lower the drinking age to 19 and to enact a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving. There are undoubtedly others. Let's solve this.
Always unsupervised, done in secret and too often excessive, this style of drinking has no doubt been responsible for the alarming rise in rates of so-called 'binge' drinking seen at colleges."
But everyone knows that the 21 age limit hasn't stopped minors from drinking.
And now some experts believe it's actually contributing to an increase in extreme drinking.
Like basements, fraternity houses and locked dorm rooms, where kids go to hide from the law and from adults, including parents, who might teach them some moderation.
Opponents of lowering the MLDA argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking prior to 21.
Being rebel and not following the rules is an important role of a teen’s life. Consequences are the one that change them, but we don’t want them to experience the consequences of being under the influence of alcohol because we know them and they are fatal. Dying in a car accident and killing others is a mess that we don’t want to clean.
Despite the fact that is illegal for young teens to purchase it, they are able to get it through their parent’s own liquor cabinets, unscrupulous store clerks, or older friends who purchase it for them. As we all see, is not hard for teens to obtain alcohol. Why not lower the drinking age then? I mean any way you put it, they are getting it.
Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult. Why can’t we drink then?
Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine.
Drinking age should be lowered, and I know that by lowering it we can drop the percentage of reckless teen alcohol abusers. It is worth trying it , and if everything goes the opposite then change the law once more (which is done lots of times, for dumb reasons) and raise the drinking age back to twenty-one. Changes are always good (most of the times), and I know this one in particular is an excellent one.

Reasons:-
It is usually said that an 18 year old has less tolerance as compared to a 21 year old. Although this might be true, in most cases you don’t really know how much you can handle as long as you try it out. Tolerance doesn’t come with age, tolerance come with realization of responsibility and there are people that are more responsible at 15 than some are at 50.
Anyone under 21 sees alcohol as a “forbidden fruit. The curiosity leads to more people under the age of 21 drinking anyway. If drinking is made legal for the 18 and older, it will serve much better as the curiosity isn’t as high and the fruit isn’t forbidden anymore.
When in college most students under the age of 21 can get hold of drink through their seniors. They are not allowed to drink at events where others might be able to drink. This once again makes them want to be a rebel and try out what it is they are being kept away from. They will give it a shot. The fact that they don’t know when they will be able to drink again is the reason most college students tend to get overly drunk when they get a chance. As a result there are problems as serious as deaths.
Countries such as Italy, China, Greece are some of the countries where the legal drinking age is lower and they seem to have fewer alcohol related problems. Current law in terms of legal drinking age has caused more alcohol related deaths than there has ever been.
When drinking is made legal for anyone under the age of 21 and over 18, drinking takes place in public. It can then be supervised by police, security guards and health workers as well.
Colleges and Universities often argue that the legal drinking age should be 18 because outlawing alcohol consumption in colleges for those under 21 is making the problem worse. These colleges and universities say that allowing alcohol consumption legally might help cut down alcohol related deaths in colleges.
People under the age of 21 tend to drink more when they get hold of alcohol because of the uncertainty as to when they might be able to drink again.
Whether the legal drinking age is 21 or 18, there are going to be problems related to alcohol. And making 21 the legal age to drink doesn’t solve that problem. As a matter of fact, this is one of the reason why we see so many alcohol related deaths among teens. They get their hands on alcohol and get overly intoxicated as they are never sure if they will have access to this forbidden fruit ever again until they are 21.
An 18 year old is considered an adult and can be tried in court if he makes false judgement and commits a crime. So an 18 year old is capable of making every other decision as an adult but is incapable of making a decision whether or not they should drink? The 21 year old age limit for alcohol consumption sounds somewhat hypocritical.
If you are legal to get married at the age of 18 and end up getting married, you are not allowed to drink in your own wedding? That doesn’t sound right
According to a study, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers. Among drinkers only, 32% of underage compared to 24% of legal ager are heavy drinkers.
If the legal drinking age were to be 18, colleges would be able to regulate alcohol use so students don’t get overly intoxicated. They can be monitored whereas when they are hiding and drinking you can’t really go sniffing their cups or making false accusations.
Drinking under the age of 21 is seen by most 18 years and older as a sign of adulthood. They are allowed to do everything else and call themselves an adult and they don’t want to be stopped from being an adult when it comes to drinking.
We have tried prohibition legislation twice for controlling irresponsible drinking problems in the past. Once in 1850s and again in the 1920s. These laws were repealed because they could not be enforced and the backlash caused other societal problems. The law didn’t work then and as we all know isn’t working now. It’s time for a change.
Let’s take a look at 4 scenarios. There are 3 people in a family. Dad, mom and son John Doe. Here is a conversation between them :

18-year-olds from Maharashtra, who would want to swig beer, vodka, whisky or rum better rush to neighbouring Goa, or Karnataka, or to distant Kerala or Uttar Pradesh. For the Maharashtra government has just made consumption and purchase of alcohol illegal for those below 25 years. Until now, it was perfectly legal to do that if you were 21 and above.
The saving grace: Wine is exempted because it assumably contains a "very small" quantity of alcohol, and under the new policy you can buy and consume beer in the state if you are 21, up from 18 years before.
For the record, while states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal allow their denizens to consume and buy alcohol after they turn 21 Maharashtra will be joining Haryana and Meghalaya in increasing the minimum age limit to 25.
Gujarat and Mizoram, as we all know, has imposed prohibition and so sale and consumption of alcohol is illegal here.
Interestingly, Maharashtra is acting more prudish than Pakistan where non-Muslims can purchase and consume alcohol once they turn 21. With the latest ruling Maharashtra would have surpassed the age limit restrictions list not only in India but throughout the world.
The avowed intention behind this ruling approved by the state cabinet is to strike a balance between revenue collection from sale of alcohol and social justice department's aim of discouraging consumption of alcohol by Maharashtra natives.
While the cabinet itself is divided over the issue, civil society too is strongly debating if the decision is right or wrong. If you want to join in the debate the message board below is all yours.
For those who want to check out for themselves before jumping in the fray, click NEXT to find out how countries all over the world are trying to discourage their citizens, by imposing age restrictions, from purchase and consumption of alcohol.

The drinking age is different in different states in India. It varies widely. It used to vary widely in the United States too, but the federal government put a moratorium on people drinking under the age of 21 through a circuitous route by threatening to withhold 10% of highway construction funds to states that didn’t raise the drinking age to 21. India has different laws for different states.
For example, some states have 21, others have 25, others have 18, and in yet others, it’s illegal. For example, in Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, and Nagaland it’s illegal. If you look at Maharashtra, the drinking age is 30 in the Wardha district. In that same state, there is no limit on wine, 21 on beer, and 25 for other.
In Mizoram, the consumption, sale, and manufacture of wine from grapes is permitted. Wine that’s manufactured there can’t be transported out.
It’s pretty stringent in India, in some places, because 25 is a late age to allow people to start drinking. However, in other states, it’s as low as 18. There can’t be a negative attitude toward the people of India just because some of their states have a drinking age of 25. Other states they have, have a drinking age of 18. There is a wide variance, and there are widely differing attitudes in the state. India is a big place. It sounds like just one place, but there are a billion people there, and there are several different states.
There are some pretty strange laws in India. There’s the Punjab Excise Act, for example. It extends to the state of Haryana. It stops establishments from having women employed on any premises where they serve liquor or intoxicating drugs that are consumed by the public.
In Delhi, India, which is a big city, the drinking age is 25, and that’s still pretty steep. No one likes to wait until they’re 25 to drink. There are continual talks about bringing it down though. Goa is a party state in India, and it has the lowest drinking age at 18, and Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh also share it. It’s about 21 years old generally in other states. However, most places aren’t that rigid about carrying out the laws though. Gujurat is considered a “dry state”, and alcohol is outlawed unless you have a permit.
Most cities in India have kind of limited nightlife because there are curfews in place for when it ends. Teenagers traveling there should not feel too bad that they can’t drink until the older ages because it’s not really the best party destination. However, Goa is a good place to go and visit if you’re 18 and want to have a great time. It’s a true party destination. However, even in Goa, most places have to close by 10 PM. It’s a tough thing to have such a limited nightlife, but perhaps people should go to more exciting states, as far as nightlife, if they want to really get plastered and have a great time.

Consumption of alcohol has never been treated as a public health issue in our country. And now with the Delhi state cabinet proposing to lower the legal drinking age to 21 from the existing 25, some have welcomed this move especially the bar owners, who seem happy with it because it would mean increased sales for them. While, there are others who feel that the new law could do little to control the alcohol consumption in a country where the legal age to get married, to vote, to drive, etc is 18 years. Moreover, several states are reaping the benefits of alcohol sale, as substantial part of its revenue comes from alcohol taxes (more than a third in Punjab) and lowering the age limit would lead to mushrooming of liquors shops across the country with more and more young people drinking alcohol. It might lead to more road accidents, especially at night when young party goers return from clubs, drunk. Several cases of drunk and rash driving, at night, were reported in the past. Now, what do you think should be the legal age for drinking, 25, 21 or 18?

not only in India but all over the world drinking has become a major problem . people are getting addicted to alcohol. getting started to it is very easy but to drink in control has become very difficult; people drink & drive which leads to accidents. you should just look at the statistics of the people who drink & drive at the age of 21 & those who drink & drive at the age of 25!!!! there is a huge difference at the age of 21 & 25 . people become more mature & understanding at this age so i would like to conclude that drinking should be prohibited below the age of 21.

The legal age for drinking in India has been a debatable issue for a while now. In 2011, when the Maharashtra government amended Rule 70-D of the Bombay Foreign Liquor Rules, it kicked up a storm. The amended law hiked up the legal age “for grant of permit for purchase, possession, transport, use and consumption” of hard liquor from 21 years to 25 years. To be able to lawfully enjoy a chilled beer, you must now be 21, not 18. Soon enough, a storm was raging on Twitter, blogs were being written, and there were opinions galore.
One of the questions that made its way to the top was this – when you can get married, enlist in the armed forces, and drive around town if you’re 18, why the harsh treatment for alcohol? Considering the fact that there exists a flourishing drinking culture in young India, this hike was deemed by several as regressive and illogical. The matter drew even more attention when Bollywood actor Imran Khan filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the amended law.
A major chunk of India comprises of young Indians, who have relocated from small towns to hubs of industry and employment and this breed of young Indians is what defines most of India’s intellectual superiority. Fast lives, big dreams and unwavering determination define most of these youngsters. Hard work must be complemented with a good amount of kicking back, and this is what has led to a flourishing and healthy drinking culture. Whether it’s grabbing a beer with some friends after a long day at work, or downing shots at a friend’s birthday party, alcohol does it all.
We might fool ourselves and choose to be oblivious to the fact that issuing a legal age can bereft anyone below 18 from drinking as one doesn’t necessarily need to buy it to consume it. Access to alcohol is easy, but what we should look at, in order to control the side-effects is to regulate the limit or quantity of alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is not only a drink that one consumes to get a high; it is a sentiment that bonds people. And who would want to disrupt the culture of bro-bonding?

Three girls were expelled for consuming alcohol in an Indore school premises. The shocking incident has not only increased the worries of teachers and parents, but has also ignited a fresh debate: what is the right age to start drinking? A girl sneaked in a bottle of vodka into school premises. She then teamed up with a friend and managed to get a third girl drunk. The act of these three girls came to light when one of the tipsy girls started vomiting in class. Director of Gujarati School Pankaj Singhvi said, "A girl got alcohol from her home. She and another girl got their friend drunk. We have suspended all three of them." Incidents like these are, however, not so uncommon. An ASSOCHAM survey shows that 45% of Class XII students in metropolitan cities consume alcohol excessively, at least five to six times a month. The results indicate that there is an almost 100% increase in teenage drinking in the last 10 years.
The alarming rise in underage alcohol consumption can be attributed to easy availability of money, absent parents and increased spending power. Of the teenagers surveyed, 32% said that they drink when they are upset, while a shocking 46% said that they do it just to 'get a high'. Headlines Today did a sting operation to uncover the ground realities behind underage drinking and the findings were shocking. The rules related to underage drinking are openly flouted in public places. All India Parents Association president Ashok Agarwal says, "There is an increasing trend of teenagers turning towards alcohol. This is very alarming and parents have a greater role to in this." Compared to other countries, the legal age in India for drinking is higher than most of the places. While you need to be at least 25-year-old in the national capital to be served a drink, the same figure stands at 18 years for Australia, just 16 years for France and Germany, 18 years for the United Kingdom and 21 years for the United States. The good news is that despite high age set for drinking in India, some teenagers have their thoughts clear - they will not touch it till they become 25. Aiman (16), a student of Baldwin Boys High School, Bangalore, says, "It's harmful. Once you get addicted, it's very difficult to lose it without going to a rehab centre or something like that." Principals and teachers are still vary of the dangers posed by underage drinking. Principal of Baldwin Boys High School, Bangalore Dinakar Wilson says, "It's quite shocking to me when you asked me about drinking. So far, we have not had any such incidents in our school. I feel this is something very serious." While the debate rages on about lowering the legal drinking age in India, the society struggles to cope up with the rigours of living in a liberalised world.