Alcohol only from 18?
Slight majority of Germans are in favor
The political debate about the abolition of supervised drinking from the age of 14 keeps boiling up. People in Germany have a clear opinion on this. According to a forsa survey commissioned by KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse, 65% of around 1,000 18 to 70-year-olds surveyed are in favor of abolishing the current regulation. According to this, young people aged 14 and over are allowed to drink beer, wine and drinks containing wine in public if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Many go even further. A small majority of those surveyed (52%) are in favor of only allowing the purchase and consumption of these Alcoholic beverages from the age of 18 in future. In Germany, this is currently permitted from the age of 16.
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The issue of alcohol advertising also comes up again and again on the political table. Most recently, the coalition government wanted to tighten the regulations for alcohol marketing. According to a survey, this is not enough for around a third of Germans. For example, 35% of the 18 to 70-year-olds surveyed would prefer to ban advertising for alcoholic beverages altogether. A further 32 percent are at least in favor of greater restrictions. In contrast, 31% consider the current minimum standards for the protection of minors to be sufficient. These state, among other things, that alcohol advertising must not specifically target children and young people.
The fact is: "The earlier young people drink alcohol, the greater the health risks," emphasizes KKH psychologist Franziska Klemm. In addition to the short-term effects such as accidents, injuries and violence, alcohol increases the risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular and liver diseases. Adolescents are particularly at risk because their bodies are still developing and therefore react all the more sensitively to the cell poison.
The big problem: alcohol in Germany is still too cheap, too easily available and still socially accepted as a supposed cultural asset. The earlier alcohol consumption is started, the greater the risk of a later habit.
"It is therefore important to encourage young people as early as possible to make responsible decisions about their own health and behavior and to promote their risk competence - preferably before they start drinking alcohol or consumption is legally permitted," says Franziska Klemm. "At this age, adolescents are particularly easy to reach with such messages."
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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