Today in my little country our government reviewed and adjusted some of our alcohol laws, most notably, they raised the age you could buy alcohol from off-license premises (alcohol stores, supermarkets etc) to 20 (it was 18). Now you probably think this is what annoyed me today.. It isn't.. what annoyed me was the reaction by people in New Zealand.
Within hours of the law changes being released there were status updates all over Facebook that all went along the lines of "Fuck you John key, take away my drinking!! What a dick/cunt/wanker/choose your own insult". As you can probably guess, most of the people saying these things are 18-19, and the fact that they are saying them, I think, prove that it is a good decision to raise the age. If they are getting that upset that they can no longer go to the bottle store and pick up a 'doz', are they really mature enough to be doing just that?
Now, it is worth mentioning that the law change does not affect clubs/bars etc, you can still buy from there at 18, so what is it that is annoying these people so much? The fact that they can no longer buy large quantities of alcohol for cheap like they could from alcohol stores, essentially meaning that they can no longer get wasted for whatever they have in their wallet, which, funnily enough, is exactly what the government wanted!
We have heard all sorts of media and 'experts' saying that focusing on the youth drinking is not what the government needs to be doing as it is not 'tackling the problem'. But I would argue, what is better than teaching youth responsible drinking habits so they can carry those habits into older age? And I believe that having them go to a bar to get alcohol, where they can only afford buy a few and (hopefully) have a bartender who will cut you off if you get too drunk, is a good way to teach responsible drinking habits, or at least a better way than allowing them to buy huge amounts and getting smashed in the privacy of their own home. So I say, good on John Key and the rest of the Government, it isn't a quick fix like everyone wanted, but it is a damn good start, and I can appreciate that.
I love you Sam.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Thank you, Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteto be honest mate its not only the young ones all the older generation in there 20s are also just as bad as 18-19 year olds. so to be fair john key is a complete waste of space i bet he did sum binge drinking in his younger days
ReplyDeleteThe thing most youths(the decently smart ones) are concerned about is the amount of money they would waste if every time they wanted a cold beer they had to go to a bar/pub/club and buy a grossly over priced beverage. The amount of money they would be wasting would surely go to a better cause such as rent or study books for uni etc.
ReplyDeleteSo now i have to get a fake ID to get my piss this weekend.. great. Thats like 50 bucks extra down the drain!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Jordan, I am aware of that. But as I said, beginning to target youth drinking is a good place to start, you can't just expect to immediately change the habits of people who have been binge drinking for a good 10 years or so. It is a much better idea to focus on stopping a problem before it starts.
ReplyDeleteSo to be fair, you are a complete waste of space, you lack the foresight to see any benefit to the law changes all because you have to wait a couple more years to get pissed cheaply. Our parent's generation, and even our generation to a point, should be complete write offs when it comes to binge drinking, because we already have the habits instilled, but hopefully following generations can learn better habits from these laws and the many more that are sure to follow.
@anon - Don't buy the alcohol then? Simple solution, buddy. I have pointed out already why having youth drink overpriced alcohol could be beneficial.