Legal age for drinking

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33932, 27 August 1975, Page 14

Legal age for drinking

Sir, — 1 am afraid that the minimum drinking age is to be reduced to 18 not because of the “desires of today’s society,” but as a result of the powerful lobby of those wittt interests in the brewing industry. This is a disgraceful state of affairs. Even now, there are large numbers of 18 and 19-year-olds drinking in crowded hotel bars, and when the minimum age is lowered to 13 years, 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to drink undetected. How nice that the kids will now be able to pop in after school and enjoy a couple of jugs with Dad. Mum will know where to find them now too. Perhaps we could further improve our youngsters’ lot by lowering the age of consent to say 13. But there would not be any profit in that, would there? — Yours, etc.,

P ,H. SCOTTER. August 25, 1975.

Sir, — The lowering of the drinking age to 18 would appear to be rather a hazardous way of buying electoral popularity; and the lowering of the barmaid’s age to 18 simply pinpoints the situation. Young women of 25 can often be trusted to have some sort of sense of social responsibility which it would be unwise to expect from 18-year-olds with ambitions to serve in a bar. The resulting congregation of adolescents in the bar-room will not I think make for healthy social relationships. — Yours, etc., CARACTACUS. August 25, 1975.