New Drinking age proposal

[OLLIE 26]

what do you think about the regulation of the sale of liquor? .... with Licensing Trusts. The Waitakere trust works okay in west Auckland

more info here

[Gaz 1061]

What’s new. I was doing that when I was younger, as was my dad and his mates and his dad… only difference is as you get older you stop bragging about it.

I know pople in quite interesting positions in lfe that drink like a fish, if you want an example of this head to a wine festival or a swanky dinner party.

That's my whole point. It's been inbedded in us from previous generations and of course I'm not one to be left out of it, I've done some stupid stuff on the piss.

What needs to happen is to break the cycle so to speak which will stop excessive consumption and the issues that come about because of it.

They need to make uncool to black out and do dumb sh*t but that isn't going to happen so the issue is not going to go away.

[Apex 693]

what do you think about the regulation of the sale of liquor? .... with Licensing Trusts. The Waitakere trust works okay in west Auckland

more info here

Opposed to how it is in Waitakere. Can see merits in it but it’s not a solution, we have friends that live out there and they hate it.

I think they should ban the use of cell phones when drinking just like they have driving, it’s dangerous and can destroy people’s lives

[sascha 17]

i wonder if diesel will come out with a 5% version....

Isnt the red one 5%?

But still, im going to miss the 8% ones! awesome value for money

[bravo 35]

By value for money do you mean - get you drunk for cheap? 'cos they are more expensive than the 5% ones and they all taste like sh*t.

[antil33t 90]

Licencing trusts are good/bad.

Invercargill has banned a few things, like Absinthe, and RTD's over a certan percentage.

But you can't get a nice box of beer for less than 25 bucks.

[1rotty 40]

Heres my 2c.

I was a restaurant/hotel/bar owner for over 20 yrs.

At the time the age was lowered most in the industry,police & licencing authorities believed as I did that reducing the age to 18 simply legalised what was widespread anyway.Right? Not even!!

What no-one anticipated was the liquor manufacturers being smarter than us & very quickly flooding the market with cheap RTDs & spirits.

Nor did we anticipate the unbelievable explosion of off site liquor outlets which are notoriously difficult to control.

Combine these factors with increasingly extended trading hours & you have the perfect recipe for our current dilemma.

Buy a bunch of cheap booze,drink it at home,get well on the way to getting trashed then head to town at 11 or 12,spend sweet fa at the pubs & cause mayhem.

Can we go backwards-simple answer-No.

Can it be fixed-No. But maybe it can be controlled if the powers that be had the balls.

Raise the age to 20

Ban all RTDs

Reduce massively the number of off site outlets

Significantly reduce the trading hours & closing times.

Then shoot the sh*t out of all the politicians who have sat back & watched this happen over the last 15? years.

[kingkarl 136]

Here's my thoughts. Not saying I'm right, but it's my opinion nonetheless.

I acknowledge I have a pretty dam irresponsible attitude to drinking. Having said that, sure I get smashed fairly regularly, but I'm not one of those people who causes sh*t. I don't damage property, I don't break bottles, I don't abuse cops, I don't start fights, I don't get abusive. At the end of the day, I'm only doing damage to myself, and I am fully aware of the negative short and long term effects of alcohol.

First off, RTDs-

My friends and I all drink very heavily on occasions (I could tell you several stories you would have trouble believing). I'd say 90% of them would only drink beer, maybe with a bottle of wine or some spirits occasionally if the beer wasn't doing the trick. Perhaps this is the exception not the rule, but we easily get through 15-20 standards a night on just beers and you definitely get pissed enough. The whole "All teenagers drink strawberry lemon popsicle schnapps" mindset is not true.

Go ahead, ban RTDs I couldn't care less, they all taste like sugary piss to me.

If I want to get realllly smashed (yeah it's bad but I'm young and It's not going to be forever), a wine cask is the way to go. 28 drinks for 16 bucks and it's pretty easy to just slug back. I've never paid for a single RTD in my life.

Having said that though, out of all of my friends, I probably drink the most socially also. I have a couple of beers a few times a week because I enjoy the taste.

Secondly, Age -

I'm not going to debate whether as 18 year olds we are mature enough to buy alcohol. Because it basically comes down to a person by person case. A lot 18+ years olds are far too irresponsible to drink (probably me), where as some 15-18 year olds have the right attitude towards alcohol (Nick for example). Putting a blanket age on something is never going to be 100% successful, whether it's driving, firearms, smoking, whatever.

But as has been said, this will not stop us 18/19s from getting piss. I could easily get it when I was 15 (had a fake ID at 16) and the same will apply with the age at 20.

Thirdly Other hidden consequences -

What will happen if they make alcohol much harder to get? Drugs. A lot of young people are keen to experiment, and the harder and pricier alcohol is to get, the more often teenagers will just say screw it, I'll take an E or some speed tonight. Doing that sh*t is like smashing your brain to bits with a shovel. I'd much rather see someone drink to the point of unconsciousness than pop a pill, for the sake of their long term mental health.

Dealers don't give a crap how old you are. It'd definitely be easier and less stressful to buy drugs as a teen than it would be to buy alcohol under age.

At the end of the day, changing the age isn't going to change a hell of a lot. The culture is just that, a culture. More regulation isn't going to change that.

[tire 10]

Buy a bunch of cheap booze,drink it at home,get well on the way to getting trashed then head to town at 11 or 12,spend sweet fa at the pubs & cause mayhem.

You say that like its a bad thing?

[1rotty 40]

Karl-agree with a lot of what you say.

The real issue here is not so much the 18+ its the 13-17 group which is the new problem.

Max-Nah-we do it all the time lol.

[cliffdunedin 8]

What needs to happen is to break the cycle so to speak which will stop excessive consumption and the issues that come about because of it.

They need to make uncool to black out and do dumb sh*t but that isn't going to happen so the issue is not going to go away.

On too it, this man!

The whole point is too break the cycle, or the stupid Kiwi mentality that we (as a whole) have towards drinking in NZ. which is exactly what this new bill is aiming to do...of course it is not going to change things instantly and yes there will be certain age groups pissed off...but tell me, when the age went from 20-18 were there any 17 year olds shaking their heads...of course not but 10-11 years down the track everyone suddenly seems to realise that alcohol related everything, has more than trippled!

Just another one of those things that no-one is going to be entirely happy about, i feel!

[cliffdunedin 8]

If I want to get realllly smashed (yeah it's bad but I'm young and It's not going to be forever), a wine cask is the way to go. 28 drinks for 16 bucks and it's pretty easy to just slug back. I've never paid for a single RTD in my life.

This is the big problem we as a society have...i had the same mentality when i was younger and though am now a reasonably responsible drinker...many of my friends still have that same mindset.

The real issue here is not so much the 18+ its the 13-17 group which is the new problem.

This is definitely one of the main issues and reasons why the new bill has passed and we dont even want to get into Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and associated things with drinking and this age range.

[diablo23 1]

You say that like its a bad thing?

exactly who doesn't love pre loading then going to town

[Gotheschu 1]

Where as some 15-18 year olds have the right attitude towards alcohol (Nick for example). Putting a blanket age on something is never going to be 100% successful, whether it's driving, firearms, smoking, whatever.

But as has been said, this will not stop us 18/19s from getting piss. I could easily get it when I was 15 (had a fake ID at 16) and the same will apply with the age at 20.

Yea. I always over hear some dead beats bragging on how much piss they can take but there are some of us that don't abuse the stuff, I've never had more than 2 bottles on the same nights and theres more than a few of us like that ay.

Raising the age isn't going to stop idiots getting on the piss every Saturday. They'll always find ways to get it..

[mark247 39]

Most people grow out of binge drinking, the ones that dont in my opinion are no hopers from the beginning, with or without the alcohol.

[shaneg 0]

I was lucky enough to turn 18 about a month or so after the age went down..

We started drinking around 13/14 so were pretty seasoned by the time 18 came around.

Either my older brother got us some or my mates dad used to get it for us if we drunk half of it at his place then would drop us off at a party, knowing where we were.

But looking back i think i had more fun when the legal age was 20, being young dunedinites there were always a lot of house parties!!

And they are waay better than going to a bar at 18, usually youve got a bag of beer or a hip flask, you can take girls into peoples bedrooms and get busy..

Raise it both to 20 i say, bars will just be full of 18yr olds getting hammered, atleast now the hammered ones are left passed out on someones couch and cant make it to town.

And more 18yr olds out plus the propsed 4am bar closing.. recipe for disaster??

[sascha 17]

By value for money do you mean - get you drunk for cheap? 'cos they are more expensive than the 5% ones and they all taste like sh*t.

Yeah I suppose that's what I mean

And only the first few taste bad !

[pjay 8]

Well..

$7 for a beer in the city. $20 for 18 beers from the liquor store. It is really a no brainer for us consumers mate. I would happily pay $4 a beer to get liquored up in a bar, but that is illegal isn't it..

It's a vicious cycle.

[pjay 8]

http://www.police.govt.nz/blog/2010/08/26/...g-culture/25220

[ED1RTY 2]

Don't really care about any of it really? I enjoy my booze as much as the next person.. Know my limits and don't push them, (Unless of course it is a designated crunking time)

I either drink Heineken or buy spirits. Not really into the RTD's..

ALTHOUGH, losing 8% Woody's would be the worst part about this whole situation. lol

I don't drink drive so they can do what they like with the limits there.

Im over 20 and have no pre teens using fake id's and getting wasted instead of going to school so it doesn't affect me, although am very lucky not to be growing up in the 90's kids generation..

Its just perception of the rich and famous by kids at a young age... they are exposed to it alot more through media now whereas before it was not as obvious.

Nz has a drinking culture.. Its just like boy racer culture..

Just its becoming more common place in younger people.

Blame Fast and the Furious, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan!

Edited August 26, 2010 by KSMYRS

[kingkarl 136]

Yea. I always over hear some dead beats bragging on how much piss they can take but there are some of us that don't abuse the stuff, I've never had more than 2 bottles on the same nights and theres more than a few of us like that ay.

Raising the age isn't going to stop idiots getting on the piss every Saturday. They'll always find ways to get it..

Easy tiger.

I'm one of these "idiots" that get on the piss every Saturday.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. (Wait for your 18th though... or 20th by the time the law changes).

[sascha 17]

Easy tiger.

I'm one of these "idiots" that get on the piss every Saturday.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. (Wait for your 18th though... or 20th by the time the law changes).

+1!! And fridays. And most thursdays..

but hey, im a student !

E: Spelling

Edited August 26, 2010 by sascha

[ED1RTY 2]

We started drinking around 13/14 so were pretty seasoned by the time 18 came around.

And they are waay better than going to a bar at 18, usually youve got a bag of beer or a hip flask, you can take girls into peoples bedrooms and get busy..

hahaha fucck yeea

[cliffdunedin 8]

Its just perception of the rich and famous by kids at a young age... they are exposed to it alot more through media now whereas before it was not as obvious.

Nz has a drinking culture.. Its just like boy racer culture..

Just its becoming more common place in younger people.

Blame Fast and the Furious, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan!

You're right dude, pop culture has and does dictate a lot of what kids and teens do perceive as cool!

Easy tiger.

I'm one of these "idiots" that get on the piss every Saturday.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. (Wait for your 18th though... or 20th by the time the law changes).

When he turns 18 he will be able to drink in bars and licensed venues just fine, he is just a young dude who appears to have his head screwed on right and prefers, maybe racing his car legally as opposed to getting smashed every saturday...like most idiots do!

[diablo23 1]

off to binge drink/ preload and hit a 21st how you feeling chris you doing anything tonight