Friday, April 27, 2007

attack of the blimp...

I just saw this. While I think that lots of teenagers are indulging in a little under-age binge drinking (and who among us hasn't, just once?) I don't think banning parents from allowing their fourteen-year-olds a half a glass of wine at a dinner party, or a can of beer at a bbq is going to solve the problem. In fact, under their parent's eyes is probably the best place for the little buggers to discover what alcohol does to them. It takes the edge off it, takes a great deal of the illicit thrill of that first swig of vodka before the school disco away, and above all, ensures that the kid isn't going to poison her/himself and pass out.

The rest of it, ok. I mean, let's ban alcohol adverts - although I'd like to see that carling advert banned just because it's fucking annoying - and make it tougher to buy drink when you're a pimply fifteen-year-old. Let's decrease the legal drink-driving limit. Kids are going to drink. Banning them from doing it in the safest of places is just going to make it more dangerous. Raising the drinking age to 21 is going to mean more alcohol is sold illegally. And it's going to put a bit of a damper on the convivial evening meal with the mothership.