France is often referred to as a success story by opponents of the minimum drinking age here in the States that suggest restricting the sale of alcohol to minors produces a counterproductive forbidden fruit effect. It has always been my take though that it was more of a cultural issue rather than the less restrictive environment, much like the quote above one must take into account the intent of the act itself. For generations I think this intent was just so, the leisurely act of drinking, but times are changing and hospitalizations from youth binge drinking are up 50% in the last three years. The French government reacted this week by announcing a ban on under-18 drinking.
We don’t have a very healthy relationship with alcohol in modern America, this is especially true for our young people and that is why I support the minimum drinking age laws. European standards for consumption aren’t relevant here; it seems now though the youth of France may make our standards relevant over there.
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This is such great news and let’s hope the continuation of a new trend! The relatively new brain research showing how the brain develops from ages 12 – 20, and often through age 25, is astounding and explains how alcohol abuse impacts that brain development. The NIAAA reports in its “Statistical Snapshot of Underage drinking, “Early alcohol use, independent of other risk factors, strongly predicts the development of alcohol dependence. Of all people who ever meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence in their lifetime, nearly half do so by age 21 and two-thirds by age 25.”