Legal Drinking Age in Spain
 

Going to Spain with a group for the first time in March - what is the legal drinking age???

16 years of age.<BR><BR>No judgment offered with this information.<BR><BR>Just the facts.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Thanks Rex,<BR><BR>You can always offer your judgement when I put up a post. Thanks again

It was 16. Nowadays, in some places, it has been changed to 18 (i.e. entrance to clubs) but I had not problem in drinking beers in bars when I was 15.<BR><BR>Judgement: education is a hundred times better than legislation. The way alcohol is seen in Spain difers a lot from the way it's seen in the US. Moderation is the magical word.

Carmen, while I agree that education is the key to unlock most doors, I don't buy the notion that the American way of legislating alcohol consumption is less "adequate" than the way it is in Europe. There are many young people in Europe who are alcoholics and addicts. It has nothing to do with legislation, and everything to do with addiction. A drinking problem is a drinking problem no matter where you live.

I would agree that addiction is addiction and alcoholism is alcoholism. I would suggest though, that binge drinking in Europe is far less common than it is in the US. People are taught (for the most part) that drinking is part of life and are eased into the culture. In the US, we forbid people (read: kids) to learn to drink. Instead, we prohibit drinking until they are 21. If kids can get the alcohol - they drink it all at once. Wouldn't it be better to allow a drink or two now and then so that they learn what they can handle? One drink feels like this, two like this, and so on. <BR>Moderation has to be taught, it is not an inherent quality. <BR>

Sam, you obviously never been to Malaga, Ibiza, or Faro, because binge drinking goes on there. And all those passed-out bodies that I have walked over where English, Dutch, and Italian kids. It is a lie that things like "Spring Break" only go on in America. The difference in Europe it is ignored and accepted. &lt;Shrug of shoulders.&gt;<BR><BR>And if what you say is true, Sam, then why doesn't it apply to cigarettes. We have very stringent controls on cigarette use for teens in the US, but not in Europe, but yet the smoking rate IS LOWER in the US percentage-wise than Europe. Looks like controls do work.

to the top<BR>

John G, cigarette consumption in US is not lower. In fact it is higher than in most western European countries. This is from =ECD:<BR><BR>Cigarette consumption per adult, annual average 1992-2000:<BR><BR>Norway 763 <BR>Sweden 1060 <BR>Finland 1222<BR>Austria 1709<BR>France 1772<BR>UK 1790<BR>Germany 1803<BR>Belgium 1910<BR>Italy 1960<BR>Denmark 1963<BR>Iceland 2035<BR>Portugal 2071 <BR>USA 2193 <BR>Ireland 2246<BR>Netherlands 2377<BR>Spain 2572<BR>Switzerland 2871<BR>Greece 3571<BR>