If it was overall raised to 21 then there'd be less of an issue, apart from the stupidity of it all.
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I think if it was it would cause an outcry and more of an issue.
But i dont like the propsal, it will do nothing, and underage drinkers will still get thier drink, i mean the id policy is really tight now, you tend to get asked all of the time for id. Basically they are saying you can still drink but only in certain places, where its more expensive.
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
I just heard this on the news and it has annoyed me. I think it is stupid, especially since it will probably come in before I 21 and so I wont be able to buy any drink in shops anymore -/
I drink in my flat, I have several different alcoholic beverages in my flat just now. I like a casual drink with my dinner/when friends come over.
Luckily, Andrew is 23 this year, so we can live with going through supermarket checkouts seperatly
If anything is going to stop binge drinking, it would be selling alcohol less cheaply. Crates of Strongbow are £7 in asda just now -/ and that is/was crates of 15/18 cans I think
I have one of those crates at mine and one at a friends *shrugs* I just stock up and will just do that through other people
this proposed change will change nothing IMO
Last edited by Just a girl, Interrupted. : 16-06-2008 at 07:24 PM.
Reason: missed out a word -/
Nobody knows, nobody cares that I die on the inside
Nobody sees the lie that is me, as I smile on the outside
what i read was its going to make scotland less atractive to students. So really it would piss alot of 18-20 year olds off, because they are sending a mixed message "you can drink in a pub/club, BUT you cannot drink responsibly in you own home"
I hope to god it doesnt go through, the only useful thing the snp has done if scrap the graduation fee for uni.
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
It makes me laugh that if they raised the limit to 21 then you could legally have a 5 year old child and still not be able to buy a bottle of wine to go with dinner! Crazy!
It makes me laugh that if they raised the limit to 21 then you could legally have a 5 year old child and still not be able to buy a bottle of wine to go with dinner! Crazy!
Exactly, yet in Scotland you can quite legally have an alcoholic drink at the age of 16 in a restaurant as long as you're buying a meal!
Also as the law stands in Scotland at the moment parents are legally able to give their children small amounts of alcohol in the house from the age of 5 upwards!
But can we perhaps have less of the specific party political mudslinging
Raising the price in supermarkets would do better than just banning under 21s. Booze is very cheap in supermarkets, which is why people get it from there so much. A bottle of Jack could be a tenner in a supermarket but as much as £18 in an offlicense, almost double.
I just think the whole proposal is pointless and confusing. You can't have a glass of wine with dinner but it's ok to go out in Glasgow and get wasted in clubs and bars, where most of the alcohol related violence happens? Come on. And even then, it's not usually under 21s causing that. Obviously this is to stem underage drinking but restricting others is not the answer, education, education, education. THAT is what ould solve A LOT of the problems we have with young people today.
Although I hate the booze culture we have, it's just a stupid proposal.
Kenny MacAskill (Justice Secretary) and Nicola Sturgeon (Health Secretary) are both really for this after seeing the pilot schemes. Those schemes showed that incidents of violence did go down, although there were nothing mentioned about the people going into Glasgow or the nearest city to them and going to the clubs, and obviously the violence would follow them there.
There are more police on the streets on Saturday nights than during the week combined. These people haven't been buying alcohol out of the Sainsburys and Tesco. They have been in the clubs, getting wasted on the cheap alcohol. If someone wants to cause trouble they will regardless.
The trouble is our culture. Not the age you can buy alcohol. I think there are good and bad points to the proposal. It will make it harder for underage people to buy alcohol which is a good thing. But it won't stop alcoholism or binge drinking because a lot of the people who are alcoholics/binge drinkers are over 21 anyway.
well there was an email getting sent out in my uni
Whilst we at UADSA strongly believe their is an alcohol culture in Scotland, and that radical change is needed, we also believe that this action is not the way to enforce appropriate change, as it unfairly stigmatises those under-21 as irresponsible drinkers. It discriminates against those under 21, who can drink responsibly, and are being seen as the problem because of the small minority that drink irresponsibly. This Governmnet proposal is not the right solution to Scotland's alcohol culture.
With this in mind, a Scottish Parliament e-Petition has been set up to help stop the Government seeing through this ridiculous and inappropriate proposal. If you agree with the views above, then please sign the petition and lend your support.
Last edited by Bleeding Angel : 19-06-2008 at 11:51 PM.
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
Crumple is totally right! Education is the way to go! Also as she said why should someone who doesen't go out at the weekend looking for trouble or to cause trouble be penalised from having a drink in their own house that they have bought cheaper from a supermarket!
Secondly i think the government already makes more than enough mon ey in taxes from the sale of alcohol and cigarettes!
But i won't go any further on that point!
Think in fairness though it should be pointed out that although this is an SNP proposal it is also supported by the Labour opposition!
At the end of the day if i teenager wants to get their hands on alcohol then they will get their hands on alcohol. The only difference is that they will be doing it illegally if the age limit is raised. It's really not going to make any difference to levels of drinking at all in my opinion.
No it won't change the levels of drinking since 18-20 year olds can still go to a pub and/or club to drink, but they can't have a party in their own home since they can't legally buy alcohol even though they are of age to drink it.
If someone wants to cause trouble they'll do it no matter how old they are or where they are. It's not just 18-20 year olds who cause trouble or binge drink. Why not make the age 25? Or 30?
Yes people can look older and they can get their hands on fake IDs, but that would be better solved by clamping down on those who sell to under-age people and educating them on what is acceptable ID.
Perhaps the Scottish Government has been bribed by the publicians? As if they do end up raising the age then it will just mean that most people between 16 (i say 16 as generally I've noticed they can get into the pubs/clubs) and 21 will go straight to the pub. But I do find it difficult to believe that they will be prosecuting people over 18 who attempt to buy alcohol in off-licenses/supermarkets.
Most off-licenses and supermarkets have a policy of id'ing anyone who looks under 21 at the moment anyway.
The idea of raising the price of booze is a good idea "in theory" as it would put it out of reach of the drinkers who use their pocket money for booze, however they need to think of the poor students! (please note, the point I was trying to make the with quotation makrs was to point out that communism was also a good idea "in theory", and that didn't work)
TBH I think it will just be annoying. Even though I am 26 I still get id'd for booze n fag in most places I go to, it's just gonna mean I get asked more. Although... seeing the embaressment on their faces will be amusing.
Last edited by smallfurrythings : 22-06-2008 at 03:49 PM.
Reason: other info
"Never resist a perfect moment" - Wen The Eternally Surprised
It used to be, you'd get the silly deals on booze and ciggies at christmas, but now it's every week
I think we need to shift the culture of buying at the supermarket and not going to the pub. I know what would really anger the public - putting a tax on alcohol sales, like cigarettes & petrol - they could even save some face by lowering the tax rate on petrol in return. But I'm sure there's a big flaw that I've forgotten otherwise some governmental nutter would of thought of it!
It's only a proposal at this stage and I doubt it will get through for all the reasons discussed above.
Anyway, Britain's problem drinkers are significantly over the age of 21 anyway, in my experience. The kids are sensible enough to keep their heads down.
