No other countries had more than half of teens in that age group report heavy episodic drinking in the past 30 days. In 2016, the country with the highest percentage of 15- to 19-year-olds reporting heavy episodic drinking in the past 30 days was Luxembourg, with 54%, according to WHO. Equatorial Guinea followed with 53.7% and then Lithuania with 53.2%. Students chat after school at Langholtsskoli, Langholt School, on Dec. 7, 2017, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Otherwise attempting to buy alcohol or buying alcohol as a minor is an offence. Comoros18It is prohibited for any person to sell or supply alcohol beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Cape VerdeNone18It is prohibited for any person to sell or supply alcohol beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. BurundiNone18 It is prohibited for any person with a liquor license to sell or supply alcohol beverages to unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 years. However, the legal minimum ages are often the same for both on-premise and off-premise purchases. Even though Japan does have laws that prohibit minors from consuming alcohol, it’s difficult to enforce.
This pertains to public consumption on “licensed premises.” Prince Edward Island, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan allow serving to minors at home. Traditionally, drinking has been a late-night activity, with Icelanders generally not hitting the bars until well after midnight. This was mainly for business reasons, as Spain refused to import fish from Iceland unless Iceland imported Spanish wines.
The legal drinking age in Iceland is 20 and according to a new survey, very few parents have bought alcohol for their under-age kids. A poll in 2013 revealed that 56% of Icelanders opposed reducing the drinking age. “The drinking age in Iceland has, historically, been largely linked to the voting age. When prohibition—except for beer—ended in 1935, the drinking age was set at 21, in line with the new voting age, which had been reduced from 25 to 21 the previous year.
Try shopping in small towns and markets, and at festivals and fairs, for authentic examples. Less ignored and strictly enforced are the Polish DUI laws, allowing a maximum BAC of 0.02%, which is almost as low as Albania. Considering how strong Polish drinks are, this means for all intents and purposes you cannot drink even one beer and still get behind the wheel. The Poles take drunk driving very seriously, and you ignore it at your peril. Poland brews more beer than any other EU country except Germany.
The law provides an exception for anyone who is 16 or 17 years of age, and consumes a fermented alcohol drink with a meal, in a part of a licensed premises that serves meals and is do you tip in puerto rico not a bar. That’s for the purchase of any and all alcohol, including beer, wine and spirits. The national spirit of Greece is Ouzo, an anise-flavored aperitif similar to raki.
In the United States, the minimum legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21 years of age; the two exceptions are Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands where the age is 18. The majority of countries have a minimum legal drinking age of 18. The most commonly known reason for the law behind the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in adolescents. Since the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on the memory and long-term thinking. Alongside that, it can cause liver failure, and create a hormone imbalance in teens due to the constant changes and maturing of hormones during puberty. The most common drinking age around the world may be a bit surprising as it is “none.” Almost half, or 83 out of the 178 countries (47%) on our list do not have any sort of minimum drinking age requirement.