Well I don't think it should be raised but several politicians (mainly the evil ones) are lobbying to get the drinking ge raisedd.

To me it is very dictatorial, the evil government and politicians are trying to take away our rights to have fun, to make our own decisions and are playing mum which they should NOT be doing.

They argue that there are more accidents, when it comes to alcohol I don't think maturity comes with age, I think everyone has diffrent drinking habits. I do think people drink too much but they don't get wasted every night.

Also, if the law were to get changed it would be nearly impossible to enforce. Say you turn 18 and then one month later the drinking age is raised, that is taking something away from you.

People are always going to be able to get access to a fake ID and once you turn 18 you stop growing so even 18 year olds could look 20.

This government sux in my opinion.

Ok Ill try see the Under 18 point of view since this wont affect me at all if the law comes in.

Yes youre right drinking depends on the maturity of the drinker and not their age, some people are VERY immature for their age and in a way are not responsible enough to drink.

If there are some statistics stating that youth death rates have gone up since the age lowering then Id tend towards agreeing with the government just cause I can see what they are tryin to do, by raising the age they are trying to catch out more of those "immature/irresponsible" drinkers that get pissed and do something stupid like drive home, killing someone on the way or start a fight somewhere downtown and get bludgeoned to death.

Yes its a very unfair system, they need someway of measuring ones maturity level rather than ones age, but as such life isnt like that and life will always be unfair.

HOWEVER, I dont think they are going to change the drinking age, there will be too much protest.

Hell Im even old enough to drink in America and I think their laws of being able to die for your country but not being able to drink are quite preposterous.

Personally, I think it's a fantastic idea. But that's looking at it through the eyes of a 20 year old. When I had turned 18 it was a big deal to go out and be able to drink legally, the thing was that I didn't get myself written off every weekend just because I was of an age to do so.

Yes, maturity levels do come into it, but you can't have one law for one party and one law for another. It has to be fair, and to be honest, a LOT of under 20's are pretty stupid. That's not to say that there are no over 20's that are stupid, I just tend to think the number of immature under 20's outnumbers the immature over 20's.

I have to say, it would be rather nice to go into town and have a few drinks without hearing the high pitched squealing and screaming of immature 18 year olds too drunk to stand.

It seems they could just have other measures of controlling the trouble.

The first one being what they do with smoking and drink driving, advertising, rates of crashes has gone down over the years.

One survey participant in the Herald on Sunday survey said it would take away an important aspect of university culture, it very much would.

I think they jsut need to better inform people and realise that we can make our own decisions.

There's the aspect of disagreeing with the law and then there is the aspect of the government taking away our right to make decisions, this is why the smoking law bugs me, i don't care about the law though but i do mind that the government makes our decisions for us.

next they'll be raising the age to have sex, I mean what would a 16 year old know and what about all the pregnancies etc, that is just fucked but I can see the government targeting that next.

What amazes me is how drinking has become pretty much THE most important aspect of university culture. I actually think it's pretty sick. Sure, socialising and such is important, but the way a lot of first year students get completely written off is disgusting. Some self control wouldn't go amiss.

I agree with actually. I mean there IS a bit too much emphasis placed on getting totally hammered.

The emphasis is mainly placed, and I don't mean any sexism here but it is guys who are leading the drinking horns, it is guys who mention drinking at university. I don't think I have ever seen a female be the president of a drinking club.

I think another part of the problem is that people are away from home for the first time and get into some seriously fucked up habits of drinking all the time.

I think ti is only a minority though, I mean none of my university friends are big drinkers, we are mainly too busy studying which is what we are at university for.

It probably is just a big first year initiation thing. Once you get sick of all the hangovers and being broke you tend to slow down a bit.

But its not just university students getting seriously hammered, it is also those in high school who are 18.

Thing is what the politicians don't take into consideration is that alcohol tolerance builds up the more you drink so by raising the age they would be raising the age of those getting hammered because they wouldn't have built up that tolerance.

An example of this is that Asians can only drink very small amounts or they end up very drunk, the same is true of Indians I think.

It's probably coz the way they are brought up. They dont get to drink for x reasons and then once they start, it hits them hard as there is no resistance to it.[1]

Now thats strictly what I think, so shoot me

Its the Booze wars man. Each brand wants students to get hooked to their particular brand. And in the end "they" are the once making money from all the fuss.

Quite an idea really, they are creating the student lifestyle[1] to include booze in every possible occation !!!!!


1) Not that there is anything wrong with it if self tolerance is kept in mind.... oh wait... you dont have a mind whn you are drunk

The smoking law is the best law that has been brought in by this govt, I fucking hate smokers. If they want to kill themselves they fucking can but not anywhere near me. The government is not taking away their right to killing themselves theyre giving others the right to not HAVE to tolerate it in order to have a good time.

Theyre not trying to be our mum and dad

:clap:

Yes!

And btw, welcome aboard! Strongbad Roxors!

I think they should raise it :P

Yes you do, you just have an impaired mind that would do things you wouldn't normally do whilst sober.

i was tryn to make a point, i think you got it.

Yeah I did get your point, I'm just really fussy and particular about spelling, grammar and the accuracy of people's statements.

Being (probably) the only under 18 yo here (i turn 18 next week) I feel that if the drinking age were to be raised I would not consider it the end of the world. It just means that there is something else to look forward too. I know of 14yo's who are binge drinking (yes that is an extreme but it happens) and unfortuantly this is because it is (as Liz says) very easy to get a fake I.d and people being able to make themselves look older than they actually are. Personally I think the drinking culture is a sad thing and even worse when it is imposed on students whom are (mosty) not very well off and are the ones who should not be wasting money on alcohol. Sure im going to the bar for my 18th (why not :P) but there is a certain point where people get sick of it. The main bonus for me being 18 is the fact that I can go see all the awesome live acts (ULCERATE @ PR BAR, 8th APRIL) :D thats what im most excited about. Also as you get older (as Sarey says) you do slow down, that is another good reason to raise the level as people are more mature maybe not to 21 but 20 or even 19, 1 year doesnt seem much but it will still mean 1 more year of maturity. As for men being the greater drinkers, yes that is true but I do know many a girl who have shown guys up when it comes to downing beers :P

^^ LMAO.....

oh you wait and see.... you will find that I'm one of "the" worst offenders when it comes down to English vocab... i'm sure others will agree with me on that one.

That is another damn good reason for keeping the age at what it is, I mean it wouldn't just affect the people who are under the age but it would also affect th bands. Most young bands attract younger audiences and if their target can't get into clubs then they would lose a portion of their audience.

Some politicians or pro raising the age activists would say that the bands can find other locations but there aren't many out there so that wouldn't be a plausible option.

I know that most of my friends have gotten their first drink from their parents, I know I did. My parents would also buy me alcohol when I was under 18. This is the thing that the politicians who want the age raised do not take into account.

In fact if I was a politician I would rather the 18 year olds be drinking in town where there are heaps of people around than at some party where there are no sensible adults to keep things in control.

Isn't that why they made prostitution legal, so that it would be safer for the prostitutes. Well drinking is the same thing.

It is typically guys getting into fights when drunk so does that mean guys shouldn't drink? NO! that is laughable, it just means that bars need to restrict the amount they serve to people and stop serving people when they think they've had too much.

that would solve a lot of the problems.

We have a government in power at this point in time that would rather do the big thing initially rather than taking small steps to fix a problem. Examples of this are NCEA, smoking laws and prostitution.

Yeah, I'm pretty much a Strongbad freak :D

I personally don't think it's fair that bars and managers should be expected to be responsible for the safety of the stupid 18 year olds that go to town to get themselves trolleyed. a) they're not glorified babysitters and B) they're there to make money.

As such, they're not going to NOT serve someone who is drunk because it's less money for them. It's only when some stupid kid gets belligerent that they start throwing them out. And what happens to them then? They either manage to get home or the pass out cold in a gutter. This isn't safe. IMO they're better off at a party with friends around, at a house, where they can be looked after if shit hits the fan. Bouncers don't give a fuck and I don't think you can pretend they do.

Its not a matter of being a glorified babysitter. Its a matter of doing the right thing.

And if money is all the employees care about rather than the people there then they shouldn't be working there because they can affect someone's safety.

Liz, it's a business. Of course all they're worried about is money. And realistically, bouncers/barstaff can't do the 'right thing' for every drunk, obnoxious little fucker that comes through their door. Not if they're a popular spot for people and they're run off their feet.

An adult would know when to stop drinking if they felt they were going to end up in an unsafe situation. All the more reason to raise the drinking age, I say. It's obvious many teenagers just don't know when to say when and when the amount they've drunk could affect their personal safety.

Yeah and htis is a problem with a lot of businesses, money is their main concern rather than people.

Its a shame we live in such a consumer driven society.

I am not saying they should be responsible for every single drunk, what I am saying is that a little community spirit of helping someone wouldn't go astray.

Believe it or not there used to be underage bars when the age was 20.
Places for the Under 20s to go (not that was thought of as "cool" or anything) and drink energy drinks and bop along to bands or DJs. My friend used to work as a bartender at one by The Immigrant, I forget what it was called though. When the drinking age was lowered, places like that died very quickly. Im sure they could open again if the age was raised.

Yes but would people go to them? I mean for 15 year olds it isn't a big deal because they dont' know what they are missing out on.

For the 18 year olds it is taking away something from them, so should it be the case that for those who are 18 when the law is changed they can still go into pubs. What the suggestion here is phasing out of 18 year olds.

Or do we just disallow them from entering the locations.

You see I personally think if they are going to raise the age then they should at least allow 18 year olds entry to the pubs and you get both id'd at the door and at the bar.

Well I don't think you open a business just to make friends, Liz. A business is usually there to make money, correct me if I'm mistaken.

I would agree with that in half but wouldn't agree with that in half.

I think both elements should be important.

I plan to set up my own business and the prime reason is not to make money, it isn't to make friends either, it is to get myviews out there.

Naturally, both elements are important. If you want to make money you have to retain your clientel. However, when you get somewhere like a huge club that pulls through insane amounts of people each night, you can't expect them to be looking out for each and every drunken dimwit in the building.

People have to take responsibility for their drinking. It's as simple as that. And taking a look at the 18 year olds I see in town, they're obviously far from being able to do so.

Exactly, and 18 + 19 year olds are a big portion of that clientel for pubs, clubs etc.

Dont raise the drinking age....... I turned 18 late last year...... I enjoy going out and having a good time ( i do not even get drunk ) I just enjoy going out and listening to good music and having bit of a dance.... Having worked in the CBD for a while before coming to uni i have spoken 2 many bar owners... a few bars are starting to put in place a R21 limit (lenin in the viaduct, and i think Ink bar is r 25) I do not enjoy going to places like Float or Loaded Hog as they tend to be filled with 18 year olds pissed off their nuts being very aggressive and trying 2 bed any female they see........ But dont let these dick heads ruin it for all other young-uns like myself....... If you dont want to be around these Morons simply go somewhere else (generally places with cover charges)........ Its what ive started doing....

Waterfront is a really good pub and i guess globe is okay too but waterfront is the best.

The thing is, those pubs lose a chunk of their customers by not allowing 18 or 19 year olds in.

I am 19 and man I'm glad I am with this talk of a new law.

Speaking about drinking, that ad on tv about the woman who doesn't remember what happened the night before is so incredibly sexist in my opinion and I would be very happy if it was removed from the air.

I dont recall that ad........ i havent been to the viaduct for a while..... have been going to code and met a lot.......... always a fun night

I agree

I cant speak for other females but I know I always remember everything from when I've been drinking.

Also if anything it is guys who don't actually remember things, not the girls.

I remember more if i drink than if im not?? is this normal? I think i may be just a little messed up....... 1 to many hits to the head possibly....

I dunno, some say you are more yourself when drunk but I've never heard anything about being able to remember MORE.

I guess it makes you extra cool.

ha ha ha extra cool....... (thats me summed up) ha ha ha nah i tend to remember a lot of random crap when drunk....... but its been a while since ive been intoxicated (i cant stand hang overs)

How long has it been? I haven't been drunk since st patricks day. I wasn't that drunk though but that was one good night.

I tend to run in the middle of the road when drunk and swear and other stuff. :P

since being intoxicated......... maybe 7 months......... (god i didnt realise it was that long ago) i drink regularly but ony 1-2.... I feel very old after realising its been that long......

How often would you say you go out drinking? I do either once a fortnight or once a month, that makes me sound tragic...

but when I do go out I make sure I go out. :P :P :P

when i was working full time (up untill start of semester) i would go out wednesday nights, thursday nights, fridays and saturdays..... but now i have put a social life on the back burner....... maybe once or twice a month..... depends whats on..... at one stage i was going to work hungover for ages....(not good when in customer services)