In the 1970s, provincial and state policymakers in Canada and the United States switched to lower MLDAs (set at 21 in most provinces, territories and states) to coincide with the age of judicial majority – usually 18. As a result, MLDAs have been reduced in all Canadian provinces [and] in more than half of U.S. states. In Canada, however, two provinces, Ontario (1979) and Saskatchewan (1976), rapidly increased their subsequent AOMLs from ages 18 to 19 in response to some studies showing a link between lowering the drinking age and increasing alcohol-related harms among adolescents and young adults, including increases in motor vehicle crashes and alcohol poisoning among high school students. Following the reduction of AMRs in the United States, research conducted in several states provided convincing evidence of a sharp increase in fatal and non-fatal traffic accident rates that occurred immediately after the introduction of a lower age for drinking. These scientific discoveries increased public pressure on legislators to increase MLDAs, and in response, the federal government introduced the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which required a reduction in highway funding for states if they did not increase their MLDA to 21. All states complied and introduced a 21-year MLDA in 1988. [39] Macau is technically part of the People`s Republic of China and is called Macao Special Administrative Region. However, it has its own currency, issues its own passports, and adheres to a different legal system than the rest of China. And you don`t need an age certificate to buy drinks here. Jamaica, the Caribbean island nation that produced some of the greatest athletes of all time, requires you to be 18 to buy alcohol, but does not set a minimum drinking age.
The legal drinking age is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a Ministry of Tourism regulation allows hotels to serve alcohol only to people over 21) and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where alcohol consumption is prohibited). [113] The most well-known reason for the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in adolescents. As the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on memory and long-term thinking. In addition, it can cause liver failure and cause hormonal imbalance in adolescents due to the constant changes and maturation of hormones during puberty. [3] Youth are also particularly at risk of injury when drinking alcohol,[4] as they may not have the necessary knowledge about low-risk drinking. In fact, public health researchers found that people`s age to drink the first full serving of alcohol was significantly related to knowledge of low-risk alcohol consumption and beverage counting. Knowledge about low-risk alcohol consumption and frequency of beverage counting increased more sharply with age at first drinking in adolescence than at the end of the period. [5] The decision to maintain alcohol sales on a leash remains a political decision. The Norwegian wine monopoly was originally introduced in 1922 to combat alcoholism, a significant problem at the time. Helping people recover from alcohol became a key issue for the country`s left-wing governments, which saw it as the key to social mobility. Alcohol monopolies are more common in cold countries – Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and parts of Canada also have them – because growing potatoes and grain meant making hard alcohol. This created a completely different consumer culture in the north than in warmer countries, where they grew grapes and made wine – a much sweeter and more social drink.
One of the disadvantages of the restriction is that people can take matters into their own hands and bypass the system. Where Astrid grew up in rural Norway, one thing was drunk at village festivals: moonlight mixed with coffee. When asked if this was a restricted access feature, Ingeborg Rossow, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said no, citing a study that found that people`s willingness to buy moonshine was not determined by the distance to a legal outlet. This suggests that people`s affinity for home brewing could be cultural, although Rossow adds that the prevalence of moonshine is decreasing. Thea`s experience confirms this: she says people now usually drink beer and alcopops at village festivals. In chemical terms, alcohol is an organic compound formed during the fermentation of grains, vegetables or fruits. Medically, alcohol is classified as a sedative (as opposed to a stimulant like caffeine or a hallucinogen like psilocybin) with a variety of physiological effects. Most of these effects involve slowing down or obstructing bodily functions. For example, alcohol inhibits bodily motor functions and slows reaction times. The more you drink, the slower and clumsier they become. Similarly, alcohol also hinders the brain`s communication pathways.
While one or two drinks can make a person looser and more relaxed, continued consumption leads to symptoms such as slurred speech, cloudy thinking, and poor decision-making. Excessive alcohol consumption can also lead to additional complications such as vomiting, memory loss, drowsiness up to fainting, and in extreme cases, alcohol poisoning. Finally, long-term excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to serious physiological conditions, including (but not limited to) pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, liver disease, hyperglycemia, cancer, and various neurological disorders.