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Legal drinking age to 21 dismissed

16th August 2007, 3:15pm

The Portman Group has called for members of the public and the authorities to trust 18-year olds more, a day after a chief police officer called for the legal drinking age to be raised to 21.

Cheshire Chief Constable Peter Fahy expressed his concerns at the accessibility of alcohol for teenagers saying: "Alcohol is too cheap, too readily available and too strong. Young people cannot handle it."

The senior police officer blamed shops and supermarkets for the growing problem adding that pubs, bars and restaurants were not the root of the issue.

David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group believes raising the legal drinking age is not the answer: "If 18 year-olds are allowed to smoke, vote and go to war, they should also be trusted to drink. Raising the drinking age could force more young people to drink unsupervised, increasing the risk of accidents and anti-social behaviour. We can curb alcohol-related problems through more effective education, greater parental responsibility and tougher enforcement of the law on underage sales."

Chief Constable Fahy's comments were also dismissed by the Home Office.

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Words Clare Riley 0 comments

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