Will Milan teenage drinking ban work?

[RSS News]

Milan has banned the sale of alcohol to young teenagers in an effort to curb binge-drinking. Is this a good idea?

(Feed provided by BBC News | Have your Say (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm))

[Stranger Than Paradise]

Essentially this is an attack on the young proletarians of Milan. It is a fact that the bourgeoisie has greater access to alcohol and drugs. Therefore I feel the situation for the bourgeois youth will not change.

Also, (and I am thinking about in the UK but I am sure the situation is similar in Milan) on the news when we are told stories of binge drinking it is never the bourgeoisie who is victimised, proletarians are always shown on the news. This ban only serves to victimise the poor.

[Killfacer]

newsbot should be restricted.

[Raúl Duke]

It won't work, in my opinion.

[politics student]

It won't work, in my opinion.

It wont work. People find ways round the ban.

The best way to stop binge drinking is to deal with the issues that cause people to drink to such an excess.

[NecroCommie]

Who's Will Milan?

[jake williams]

A) I don't drink alcohol and I don't like it.

B) It won't work, obviously.

C) If what you want is for people to learn to drink reasonably and responsibly, making them hide it is not the logical way to do it.

D) On principle I refuse any legal rights or restrictions based on age, including this. However, if alcohol is something that has very different physiological effects depending on level of physical development, as I've heard suggested, then that would be a very legitimate reason to strongly discourage young people from drinking. If, in fact, it's the case.

[piet11111]

Who's Will Milan?

milan is a city so it should read: will the milan city teenage drinking ban work ?

obviously this is yet another attempt to criminalise the young just for being young and doing the things you do at that age.

they will probably fail but i assume that they just want to get the right to harass teenagers on the streets and use the drinking ban as an excuse for forcing tests.

[Misanthrope]

Prohibition doesn't work.

[Pogue]

If they tried doing this over here we'd probably see a revolution. It wouldn't work, me and my chums would just go make moonshine in the park

[Yehuda Stern]

Is this really news? In most countries there's a ban on selling alcohol to people at least under 18 - the USA sets the bar at 21 and Canada at 25, and some countries at... never. (On the other hand, I recall reading about a country where the minimum is 7 - seems kinda pointless, no?) Was there no minimum drinking age in Milan before?

Here it's 18, and still, I don't recall it ever being a problem except for very rare occasions. So no, I doubt it'll work, but not just on the level of getting teenagers to not drink but also on the level of reducing alcoholism, teenagers drink worse things and do so covertly, so that they never have anyone to teach them proper drinking habits.

[Raúl Duke]

Was there no minimum drinking age in Milan before?

There's I think a national min drinking age (of 18 I think) but most establishments don't enforce this much. This is why I say it won't work, they already have a law and most businesses don't care. Although I think perhaps the case with this law, from the little I read, is that it would fine businesses if caught selling alcohol (not sure if this was already the case or if this is already in the national law regarding this, if it's already in place on the books then I doubt that just because it's also written in the local law it would be enforced anyway.)

[Dr Mindbender]

newsbot should be restricted.

he should be de-modded at the least.

[jake williams]

Canada at 25
It's 19 in Ontario and 18 in Quebec. I don't know what it is in other provinces but it's mostly one of those, I think.

[NecroCommie]

milan is a city so it should read: will the milan city teenage drinking ban work ?
... I know this... :D

[Hoggy_RS]

There's I think a national min drinking age (of 18 I think) but most establishments don't enforce this much. This is why I say it won't work, they already have a law and most businesses don't care. Although I think perhaps the case with this law, from the little I read, is that it would fine businesses if caught selling alcohol (not sure if this was already the case or if this is already in the national law regarding this, if it's already in place on the books then I doubt that just because it's also written in the local law it would be enforced anyway.)

I remember going on school tour to Rome when I was 14 and all the lads were able to buy drink without any hassle. So I can only assume that they must be very relaxed on the drinking age in Italy.

[Outinleftfield]

It will just move it underground. If statistics show a decline in binge drinking its because binge drinkers are doing it in secret.

[Saorsa]

D) On principle I refuse any legal rights or restrictions based on age, including this.

I'm sure you'll find plenty of support for that position in the paedophile community.

[AlMack]

surprised to hear they have a 'binge drinking' problem, thought it was just UK/eire & finland
laws/price hikes never work if getting mashed is part of the local culture

[LOLseph Stalin]

Personally I don't think there should really be a limit. I feel that if children are taught responsible drinking habits at a younger age they'll be more responsible as they get older. I'm pretty sure the rate for binge drinkers is higher in countries where the drinking age is higher. Why? They don't get the neccessary experience they need to drink alcohol responsibly. In fact, I think this ban will just encourage it more since those affected by the ban will just get a "I don't care" sort of attitude and will just go against authority. Of course this will just get them in trouble thus rendering the law useless for anything except making teens look bad. Laws never stopped anybody from drinking.

[jake williams]

I'm sure you'll find plenty of support for that position in the paedophile community.
So? There's plenty of psychos who support a deranged version of a good idea. I don't think we should have sexual prohibitions based on age. I think we should have sexual prohibitions on the basis of children not being ready for all sorts of physical and mental reasons for sex, especially with adults, and I think we should have prohibitions about alcohol based on the same criteria (ie. rational ones honestly accounting for individuals' abilities, insofar as is practical).

[Saorsa]

I think we should have sexual prohibitions on the basis of children not being ready for all sorts of physical and mental reasons for sex, especially with adults

Erm, and exactly why are children not ready physically and mentally for sex, espescially with adults? Because they're children, i.e. because of their age. Alcohol is a somewhat different matter but the simple fact of the matter is that adults should not be allowed to have sexual intercourse with children, and the only way you can sensibly justify and formulate legislation against that is on the basis of age. To deny this is either ridiculous (like your statement above) or dangerous and disgusting, if someone genuinely believes adults should be able to fuck children.

[jake williams]

Erm, and exactly why are children not ready physically and mentally for sex, espescially with adults? Because they're children, i.e. because of their age. Alcohol is a somewhat different matter but the simple fact of the matter is that adults should not be allowed to have sexual intercourse with children, and the only way you can sensibly justify and formulate legislation against that is on the basis of age. To deny this is either ridiculous (like your statement above) or dangerous and disgusting, if someone genuinely believes adults should be able to fuck children.
Thread hijacking, but I disagree with you. Can someone split this out?