We now have people in their early teens getting drunk Here

Gay Bonnar, New Zealand

We have recently lowered the drinking age in New Zealand from 20 down to 18, and we now have people in their early teens getting drunk. You can be asked for ID before being served, but it's sometimes hard to tell what age young people are. It doesn't seem to be working too well here! Even raising the price of alcohol doesn't seem to help!
Gay Bonnar, New Zealand

I applaud the fact that the US insists on a valid ID card to prove your age when trying to buy alcohol. I only wish that it had been this way in the UK when I was a teenager. I think 21 is a good age limit, although as always, people determined to get a drink will work around it. It always makes me feel better when I get asked for my ID to prove I'm over 21 - I'm 35.
Tim Morgan, UK, Living in US

My take on this is that teenagers in both the US and the UK want to start experimenting with alcohol at around the same age - say 15 to 17. In the UK, once you're 18 alcohol loses a lot of its "thrill" - I know that once I turned 18, everything now legal seemed a lot less interesting than it did before. But in the US they have another 3 years of the "thrill" of getting away with buying alcohol underage. The fact of the matter is, teenagers will always abuse anything that's not legally and freely available to them. The US's attitude to alcohol abuse by younger people (and older people, for that matter) is to bury its head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist.
L Porter, UK

Thirty years ago Queensland had a 21 age for drinking, but it was common knowledge that 17 year olds plus were in the pubs. Now and then the police did sweeps but there was a wink and a nod so only a few under age drinkers were caught in the net. With the 18 limit we now have 15 year olds (particularly girls) getting into pubs. If you could do a physical and mental maturity test it wouldn't matter what age you drank. Unfortunately there are too many policemen and grieving families who will testify that death and injury at automobile accidents is caused by immature, physically and mentally, drivers in the 16 to 21 age group.
Peter Haslett, Australia

The raised drinking age was an attempt to prevent drink-driving fatalities

Elisa, USA

I'm old enough to remember that at one time, 18 was the drinking age in many US states. I believe the raised drinking age was an attempt to prevent drink-driving fatalities, which were very high in the 18 to 21 age group. Like many of our national health problems, this one can be traced in part to dependency on the automobile.
Elisa, USA

So a few teens go out drinking and get killed in a car wreck! Does this mean that we punish everybody under 21 by saying they are too young too drink? An eighteen year old in America is old enough to vote, get married, own a gun, and join the army to fight, kill or even be killed for his country! He/ she is an adult and should therefore be treated like one!
Richard, Wales (from USA)

You're all missing the point. It's just hilarious that Bush's daughters were caught!!!! Does he still have any moral authority??
Jack Hutchens, Poland

A few years ago we visited the Napa Valley in California. This is a wine producing area, hence we visited some of the wineries. During the tour we tasted a couple of wines. On two occasions they refused to server me as I was 4 months pregnant and gave my samples to my husband. He mentioned that he was the driver and the reaction was 'there is no problem drinking and driving'. Talk about double standards...
Caron, England

I have just returned from a recent trip to the US. Several times during the trip I was not served alcohol because I could not prove I was 21. I am 31! I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Andrew, UK

Maybe the prohibitionists instilled something that has never left the US

Gareth, UK

Having spent some of my "formative" years in the US and Canada, I am still baffled by the apparent fear of alcohol that exists. Maybe the prohibitionists instilled something that has never left the US, but I was insulted over the number of times I was asked if I was an alcoholic because I'd had 3 or 4 pints of beer. Like many others, my parents allowed me to drink a glass of wine on a Sunday, or a shandy when I was younger. I think being taught how to respect alcohol rather than fear it made me appreciate it rather than abuse it.
Gareth, UK

It's not about the age limit. Let me give you an example: I was never fobidden to drink alcohol in my house when I was a kid. Never have I had the urge to drink it outside in large quantities. People are suckers for images. To have an image of 'rule breaker' seems more appealing than being a 'clean cut' person, which is usually equated with being boring. To resist and not be a member of such a 'clan' is not necessarily a question that should be put only to teenagers but also to the older generation. If you can change the image of alcohol drinkers, you'll be able to solve plenty of problems.
Ljiljana Evans, UK

Having travelled many times to the States. I have come to the conclusion that America is the only country to go from infancy to senility without going through adulthood. They need to review their laws regarding the consumption of alcohol. I do think that 16 is a trifle too young but 18 would be a good balance to fall in line with other laws pertaining to the arrival of adulthood within the States.
Peter, UK

The age limit should be 16

Gilda Costa Mpuya, Tanzania

People should start taking their responsibilities at an early stage, and know about life a lot. So is okay from the age of 16 to start drinking, I am over 30 now but I will not dare drink alcohol in front of my mother. Of course where you come from matters as well. But the age limit should be 16.
Gilda Costa Mpuya, Tanzania, East Africa

What's the big deal with alcohol? I was brought up by Spanish parents in England and we usually had wine with our evening meal. As a direct result of this I have never abused alcohol in the way that so many British people do. The law should change, but more importantly so must society's attitudes.
S F, UK

I think the point is not the age itself but respecting the law. However this comes if you are respecting yourself in the first place. Anyhow, anyone of the age of 19 is not too young to do anything no matter what it is.
Hamah M Hamad , Saudi Arabia

I think 19 is too young to drink - you only have to look at the hordes of young drunken hooligans on the streets every Saturday night to realise that teenagers cannot handle alcohol. I am a teenager myself and I do not feel that I am ready to drink yet.
Lorraine Trewhella, United Kingdom

I was astonished at the paranoia and appalling heavy-handedness over alcohol I found in the Deep South

Neil Halliday, UK

I spent a year studying in Columbia, South Carolina and at the time I was a mere youth of 20. I was astonished at the paranoia and appalling heavy-handedness over alcohol I found in the Deep South. Raids on bars by the State Police were a regularity and one 19 year old English student I knew took a sip from a can of beer and was hauled off for a night in the cells by a bored policeman who saw her and was threatened with either a $1000 dollar fine or deportation (fortunately the judge laughed the case out of court). On the other hand I would have had no trouble buying as many guns as I could afford and carrying them anywhere I liked (and if I'd abided by those alcohol laws for a whole year I wouldn't have needed much encouragement either).
Neil Halliday, UK

The reason that the legal drinking age is not 18 in the US is due to the fact that to get to any bars you usually need to drive to them. The legal driving age here is 16 and it is believed that if the legal drinking age was lowered it would lead to more drink-driving related accidents in the youth age group. I believe in the US the drinking age should be 18, the driving age should be 18 and there should be more bars near my apartment.
Robert Bailey, UK living in the USA

I should point out that if you are 18 and in the military, then you are allowed to purchase alcohol. However, just because you are old enough to purchase a firearm is not a good indication that you should be drinking.
Paul Warren, USA

I am 35. When I was 19 I was stationed in Germany with the Army. It was embarrassing to watch fellow Americans of similar age who, for the very first time, were allowed to legally consume alcohol, especially compared to Germans of similar age who hadn't had all the Puritanical restrictions we had grown up with. The argument that 18 year olds have all the rights, limitations, and responsibilities of an adult is a better one, but watching the differences in behaviour between two cultures with differing attitudes towards alcohol surely makes for a good argument to lower the drinking age.
David A. Melchior, Horseheads, NY

I thought that the age for drinking was set at 21 in the US because the makers of non-alcoholic drinks (Pepsi/ Coke etc) complained that they are not making enough profits from selling fizzy drinks to children. Adding young adults to this market has ensured profits remain high.
Dominic, UK

My 32 year old sister was denied entry to a bar due to the lack of a US ID

Giles Jackson, USA

I am an Englishman in New York and when my sister came over for Christmas we went to Boston for the New Year. The event was only spoiled by one thing; my 32 year old sister was denied entry to a bar due to the lack of a US ID. Regardless though we still found a way to get some drinks in. Laws seldom prevent people from doing what they want and it never ceases to amaze me, how much Americans will drink and then drive. It is against the law, but the UK has done a much better job of making drink driving socially unacceptable. Rather than defining age restrictions perhaps making drunkenness socially unacceptable would reduce alcohol abuse across all ages and encourage more sociable drinking.
Giles Jackson, USA

Perhaps a good test is to see how society treats the law in practice. In the US it's almost understood that teenagers drink on occasion, despite the 21 age limit. When the public accepts it, teens will easily find a way - like coming across the border to Quebec where the limit is 18.
Jeff, Montreal, Canada

I lived and went to school in America when I was 16. Where I lived it was incredibly easy to buy hard and soft drugs yet it seemed virtually impossible to buy a beer.
Aidan Gallagher, Ireland

Basically youths having fun of any kind is frowned upon

Chuck, USA

Of course 21 is too old an age limit. The trouble is that there are too many religious freaks in the US and lowering the age limit to 18 would probably lose their votes at the next election. Basically youths having fun of any kind is frowned upon - but it's okay to own a gun!!
Chuck, USA

What nonsense it is to talk of 'having no right to break the law', how irrelevant. People break laws for many reasons but I don't think anybody thinks they are actually asserting a right to transgress. The Bush girls just wanted a nice drink. By drinking in a bar, and unfortunately for them getting caught, they show the ridiculous nature of the US laws. Other kids 'shoulder tap' over 21's to buy them booze to drink on the streets or wherever. This creates some very warped and potentially dangerous power relations. Laws are changed because they are consistently broken by reasonable people. Go Bush girls!
Binx, UK

From the perspective of an American citizen, I believe that it is the right of society to put certain limitations on young people. You will never eliminate under-age drinking or drunk driving, but I believe that it is an effective tool in reducing irresponsible actions on the part of teenagers who still believe that they are invincible. As a side note, drunk driving fatalities are down 40% for the general population and 55% for those under 25, in the past five years.
Kevin, USA

I think 21 is a little extreme

John Hawkes, UK

I agree with the 18-year old limit. I think 21 is a little extreme but you must accept the fact that people a couple of years below the age limit will get served. I personally think people should be able to drink from about 15/16 onwards but if we lowered the age to that, people are going to start getting served at 13. It's very naive to expect that this will not happen, but actually bothering to prosecute people(not landlords) is a total waste of time.
John Hawkes, UK

When on holiday in Mexico at a time which coincided with the American school holidays, I saw many(under and over 18) abusing alcohol to the extent that they were doing things they probably shouldn't have been. The reason? Because they were unable to drink in their own country, so went overboard when they got the chance. A more healthy approach to alcohol consumption, such as that in many European countries (excluding UK and Ireland) would be more advantageous in terms of health and social well-being in general.
Ciara, Ireland

I think that people in Britain may regard 21 as too old to be the minimum legal drinking age. However, America has different concerns than the UK. In the USA you can drive at the age of 16 and most kids either own or have use of a car at this age. Furthermore, there are very few cities with competent public transport systems. The pressure for kids to drink and drive in the USA is much greater than in the UK and hence the difference in the law.
Austin Platt, USA

Just because Bush's daughters are recognisable, they get victimised

Michael, UK

The whole issue is stupid. Normal American students drink loads and never get busted, or only get caught a couple of times. Just because Bush's daughters are recognisable, they get victimised. Someone should do something to protect the families of famous people who go out drinking under-age. Just look at the fuss about Ewan Blair, when everyone else is allowed to go out to celebrate their GCSEs finishing. We should be more realistic. Just because their fathers have run for office, doesn't make them public property.
Michael, UK

I am teaching in an American high school at the moment. I have been shocked how under-age drinking is at epidemic proportions among my students and it is all down to the fact that they legally cannot drink until 21. There are several students who have been convicted of drink driving offences - some on one more than one occasion! My students in Britain drank but I don't remember any of them turning up to school drunk, like some here, and never heard of any of them trying to bring alcohol to school in water and soft drink bottles, like some do here. The more you restrict and the less you educate in regard to alcohol, the more likely there are to be problems. The Americans have got it wrong in so many ways!
Anna Karsten, USA (temporarily)

I believe people under 21 should not bother with alcohol because they're not mature enough to handle it. Studies show people under 21 die of alcohol-related car crashes. Many European countries should at least raise the drinking age to 21.
Brian, USA

it's not about prohibiting certain sections of the population from partaking, it's about attitudes!

Malcolm, UK

Take a look at continental Europe where attitudes towards alcohol are completely different - people are brought up with wine at meals, and the thrill of "underage drinking" is all but non-existent - just goes to prove it's not about prohibiting certain sections of the population from partaking, it's about attitudes!
Malcolm, UK

If, as a society, we let people drive cars and let them take on that huge responsibility at the age of 16, why not let them drink at the age of 19?
Michiel Lugt, USA

The actions of the President's daughter, while disappointing, is irrelevant to the whole debate. Whether you agree or not with 21 being the appropriate age to legally drink, that currently is the law. I don't agree with having to pay income taxes, but it's the law so I do it. The whole argument of the legal drinking age in relation to being able to vote or being drafted at 18 is certainly a good argument in favour of lowering the drinking age and needs to be reconciled.
A.Barnes, Memphis, TN-USA

With all those guns about, I think 90 is too young!
Joe Twyman, UK

I agree with the stance the US takes on under-age drinking

Vivien George, England

Having seen the effects on people under 21 in the UK then I agree with the stance the US takes on under-age drinking. And the daughters of the President should not be let away with any recourse should it proved that they did in fact try to buy alcohol by producing phoney ID. They should then have to face the courts and take their punishment just like any other students or citizens of Texas.
Vivien George, England

In the UK you can marry at 16 and die for your country at 16. So it seems silly to say people of this age are too young to have a drink. There is however no age where you can say that people can handle their drink.
Tharg Thargson, UK

The average age of the US Vietnam soldier was 19 and the majority of our troops involved in past wars were under 21. Unfortunately American society has created such a bizarre stigma with alcohol that people under 21 tend to be completely out of hand when they drink. In other nations it is not seen as such a 'big deal' and thus it is handled in a more mature manner. I think the age should be dropped to 18 but the transition will probably take a while. It's sad that our society has 16 year-olds handling shotguns and rifles responsibly (usually) but they can't handle a sip of beer.
Lev, USA

I have been drinking regularly since I was 15, with the knowledge and consent of my parents. They believed it was far better for me this way, as they could keep an eye on what I was up to; they would even buy alcohol for me. My sister, not 18 until June 27th, has similar privileges, and neither of us has had any problems with alcohol, nor is in any danger of developing them, thanks to the responsible attitude of our parents. When I went to the US aged 18, I found it unbelievable that I could do, legally, many things which would pose a risk to my life and the lives of others, yet I was not allowed to walk into a bar and buy a drink.
Jack Hatfield, Oxford, UK

As a child my parents would often give us watered down red wine with Sunday lunch. We grew up knowing about alcohol and the responsibility that goes with drinking it. That's not to say that we didn't get drunk occasionally. Moderation at any age is called for. The problem with the US is that "young adults" mix it with drugs, guns and sex. Anything that is taboo will be binge taken. Educate the young. Teach them their responsibilities and let them live their lives just as we did. If they don't drink they will take ecstasy etc as the replacement. After all it's easier to get than beer!
Andy, Switzerland

What was more surprising was the bar that refused to serve us because our ID wasn't an American driver's licence

Paul Hodgson, UK

I've travelled fairly extensively in the States and it amazed me that we had to take our passports with us to bars in order to have a beer - something I've been doing with regularity for years over here. What was more surprising was the bar that refused to serve us because our ID wasn't an American driver's licence. Pure madness - if you are mature enough to take part in the democratic process, get married without parental consent and serve in the armed forces then surely you are mature enough to enjoy alcohol.
Paul Hodgson, UK

The drinking age in the UK seems to be correct. However, no matter what you do, underage drinking will persist as children these days find it a thrill to get away with breaking the law.
Graham Taylor, UK

It's the same old prohibition argument. The more you restrict a part of the population from doing what the rest do, the more they will abuse it. Just look at the difference in attitude toward alcohol between the UK and Continental Europe. Over there they have a much more mature, healthy attitude where there are few limitations. Over here we have a binge drinking, alcohol fuelled yob culture. Treating the population like immature idiots only encourages them to act that way.
Graeme, England

If someone of 18 is going to be irresponsible and act like a fool, they probably will continue to do so when they are 21

SEB, England

I am 15; I drink alcohol but not much. Most of my friends do as well and most drink more than me in fact. No one I know has an 'alcohol related problem'. I know that perhaps there are 16 year olds who are not as responsible as my friends, but having a drinking age of 21 is a little extreme. In my opinion having the limit at 18 is perfect. Why? Because if someone of 18 is going to be irresponsible and act like a fool, they probably will continue to do so when they are 21.
SEB, England

This is the second time they have been caught drinking underage. However, the drinking age should be lowered just to match sex and driving laws. Alternatively, perhaps their father should talk to them rather than destroying 30 years of global peace negotiations.
Colin, Netherlands

People can have drinking problems at any age, and preventing them drinking before the age of 21 when they can do so many other things at the age of 18 is plain ludicrous. It's time America stopped being so puritan.
Antony, UK

Is 19 too young to drink? Is 16 too young to drive a car in the UK? Is 17 too young to vote? The legal drinking age is immaterial. Just because a law may appear out-dated or harsh we do not have the right to break it. We have to accept it as it is. And there are more important issues than drinking alcohol. Personally, I think it is unfair that people under 18 who work and pay tax are not allowed to vote and have a say in how their tax revenue is spent.
Jennifer, UK