U.S. alcohol laws regarding the minimum age of purchase have changed over time. In colonial America, there was usually no drinking age, and alcohol consumption among young teenagers was common, even in taverns. [1] In post-revolutionary America, this laxity gradually changed due to religious sentiments (embodied in the temperance movement) and a growing recognition of the dangers of alcohol in the medical community. [1] Recent history is given in the table below. Unless otherwise stated, if there are different minimum ages of purchase for different categories of alcohol, the age listed below will be set at the lowest age indicated (for example, if the age of purchase is 18 for beer and 21 for wine or spirits, as has been the case in several states, the age in the table will be read as “18” rather than “21”). In addition, the age of purchase is not necessarily the same as the minimum age to consume alcoholic beverages, although they are often the same. The minimum drinking age also means that establishments can discriminate against you based on your age and deny you access to an establishment, even if you don`t drink. There are also laws that prevent you from having certain jobs that involve serving or selling alcohol, or that punish people who let young people drink on their property. In addition, in each state, the acceptable blood alcohol limit for seniors is 0.08, but young people are subject to much stricter blood alcohol laws that allow for a very small margin of error.

The police may search minors in public places and confiscate or destroy alcoholic beverages in their possession. Incidents are reported to the legal guardian and child protection services, who may be involved in child protection proceedings. In addition, a fine is imposed on persons aged 15 and over. [167] The method of calculating the legal age for alcohol is slightly different from the calculation of the Korean age, where another year is added to the person`s age, whereas this method only takes into account the month and day of birth, but only the year. [105] *The legal drinking age in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec is 18. In all other provinces and territories, the legal drinking age is 19. It is technically legal for minors to possess and consume alcohol at home and in public (not on authorized premises), as there is no law prohibiting it. It is also technically legal for someone to buy alcohol and give it to minors outside the store or licensed establishments. [104] The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages.

The minimum age at which alcohol can be legally consumed may differ from the age at which it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary from country to country and many laws provide for exceptions or special circumstances. Most laws only apply to alcohol consumption in public places, with alcohol consumption in the home generally unregulated (an exception is the UK, which has a legal age of five for supervised consumption in private places). Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcoholic beverages. [1] Most countries have a legal drinking age of 18 or 19. [2] As can be seen in the table below, there has been great volatility in the age of alcohol consumption in states since the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Shortly after the 21st Amendment was ratified in December, most states set their purchasing age at 21, which was the voting age at the time. Most of these limits remained constant until the early 1970s. From 1969 to 1976, about 30 states lowered their purchasing age, usually to 18. This was largely due to the fact that the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 with the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971. Many states began lowering their minimum drinking age, most in 1972 or 1973. [2] [3] [4] Twelve states have maintained their purchasing age at 21 since the repeal of prohibition and have never changed it.

The most recent legal age in the world is 15, with Mali and the Central African Republic currently allowing alcohol consumption. Seven countries do not have state-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban alcohol consumption altogether. Since then, alcohol consumption by high school students has decreased significantly, from 66% to 42% (see chart). Over the same period, binge drinking among high school graduates, that is, five or more drinks occasionally, decreased from 37% to 24%. Yes. Injuries caused by alcohol use among adolescents are not inevitable, and reducing adolescent access to alcohol is a national priority. Some states do not allow people under the legal drinking age in liquor stores or bars (generally, the difference between a bar and a restaurant is that food is only served in the latter). Contrary to popular belief, only a few states prohibit minors and young adults from consuming alcohol in private places. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 [23 U.S.C. § 158] requires states to prohibit persons under the age of 21 from publicly purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving state highway funds.

A federal ordinance interpreting the law excludes possession “for established religious purposes” from the definition of “public property”; accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian who is at least 21 years of age; for medical purposes, if prescribed or administered by a physician, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, hospital or authorized medical facility; in clubs or private institutions; or for the sale, handling, transportation, or supply of liquor by reason of the lawful employment of a person under twenty-one years of age by a duly licensed manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of liquor” [23 C.F.R. § 1208.3]. The minimum age to buy alcohol in India is 18 years old in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim and Pondicherry. The legal drinking age is 21 in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Meghalaya, Punjab and Delhi. Alcohol is banned in Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep. In Central America, the Caribbean and South America, the legal drinking age and the legal purchasing age range from 0 to 20 years (see table below). In South America in particular, the legal age of purchase is 18, with two exceptions: from 1976 to 1983, several states voluntarily raised their purchasing age to 19 (or, less frequently, 20 or 21), also to combat deaths under the influence of alcohol. [ref. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required states to raise their purchasing and public ownership age to 21 in October 1986 or lose 10 percent of their federal funding for roads.

By mid-1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had raised the age of purchase to 21 (but not Puerto Rico, Guam or the Virgin Islands, see additional notes below). South Dakota and Wyoming were the last two states to serve the 21-year term. The current drinking age of 21 remains a point of contention among many Americans because it is above the age of majority (18 in most states) and above the drinking age in most other countries. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is also considered a circumvention of the Tenth Amendment by Congress.