Sounding the Alarm on Underage Drinking: Germany's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Advocates for Abolition of Youth Alcohol Permission at 14
Lobbying Group Advocates for Elimination of Permitted Drinking Age Supervision at 14 Years Old - Advocates Push for the Elimination of "Minimum Drinking Age Law at 14"
Let's face it,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is giving a strong push to abolish the controversial "supervised drinking from 14." As it stands, German minors can knock back a few brews, vino, and fizzy booze in public as long as they've got an adult chaperone, like their old man or lady. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Health Minister, Stefanie Drese (SPD), is calling for an update to the Federal Youth Protection Act.
At the Health Ministers' Conference in Weimar, Drese tossed her hat in the ring, presenting her fellow governors from other federal states with a bold proposal. Here's the kicker: Her ministry is anticipating a landslide of support from these other states for her crackdown initiative.
Alcohol is a ticking time bomb: 6.9% of young girls and 12.4% of boys aged 12 to 17 slyly sip the brew at least once a week in Germany. In 2022, a gruesome 11,500 kids and youngsters ended up in emergency rooms due to booze-induced calamities. striking fact? In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, those odds are depressingly twice as high as the national average.
"It's about time," Drese remarks, "we get the word out in society and it's high-time we spark a chat about how we handle alcohol in light of these alarming statistics." She insists it's crucial to hammer home the severe health consequences of early alcohol consumption and bolster the preventive measures to slash booze consumption among the younglings." The endgame? Keep booze out of their hands or at least delay that first sip until they're legally able to partake. "Sayonara to supervised drinking would be a significant step towards smarter booze choices," she declares.
The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of the environment, considering the alarming statistics of underage drinking and its impact on health-and-wellness, mental-health, and general-news. The science behind early alcohol consumption suggests a strong link with various health issues, and it is clear that policies and legislation, including politics, need to address this concern proactively. Therefore, Stefanie Drese's proposal to abolish the "supervised drinking from 14" in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a crucial step towards promoting healthier choices and combating preventable health issues among the youth.
