Raise the age limit for purchasing alcohol to 18

Politicians hold the key, but they refuse to use it.

COMMENTARY:
I am puzzled.
In Denmark, we have an issue where a significant majority of the population, along with a wide range of councils, organizations, and associations, share the same desire, yet politicians refuse to act on it: Raise the age limit for purchasing alcohol to 18.

Even the trade association for wine and spirits importers wants a total ban on the sale of alcohol to young people – and most recently, the Danish Health Authority has also weighed in, with Director Søren Brostrøm stating in an interview with the online media outlet Altinget, almost laconically, that there are enough tools available to limit young people's alcohol consumption – and a higher age limit is one of them: "But it is a political question whether one wants to use these tools."
And then Brostrøm moved on to talk about what the Danish Health Authority, parents, and everyone else around the young people can do.

I am puzzled by the politicians' lack of will to address a major societal problem that many others are actually eager to tackle. With such massive public and organizational support, this is a 100 percent winning case – politically, in terms of health, for society, for education, and so on.

No one can be in any doubt that alcohol is harmful to the body – especially to the brains of young people, which continue to develop well into their twenties. Heavy alcohol consumption during youth can have serious cognitive side effects and increases the risk of accidents, violence, and unsafe sex. Every year, about 1,400 Danes aged 15-19 are in contact with hospitals due to alcohol.

Furthermore, young people are demonstrably more susceptible to the addictive nature of alcohol, and a Swedish study has documented that even a small consumption of alcohol during the teenage years can lead to liver disease later in life. In other words, there are no good arguments for maintaining the current age limit for purchasing alcohol, now that we know a higher age limit is one of the most effective tools for lowering alcohol consumption among young people.

What would young people lose if they had to wait until they were 18 to buy alcohol? Wouldn't it actually strengthen the sense of community in youth education and create space to focus on other things – academic immersion, deeper friendships, existential conversations, constructive communities, voluntary social work, and much more?

We have a unique opportunity here to do our young people a great service with simple means. The public and the experts are on board – but it is the politicians who hold the key. And unfortunately, they will not use it.

Tonny Jacobsen
Chairman of FrikirkeNet