Youngest Alcoholics in the World? How Germany’s Regulatory Scheme May Contribute to a Harmful Alcohol Culture

By: Emily Bengel

Germany is widely known for having one of the lowest drinking ages of any nation in the world. A common misconception is that this low drinking age means Germany’s people do not end up with as much alcoholism later in life since they have been exposed to alcohol from such a young age.[1] In fact, though, Germany reports that about half of its teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 binge drink.[2] Festivals and public drinking that are common in Germany would seem to encourage this behavior, even among teens. It seems that the hands-off approach of Germany’s alcohol regulatory scheme is not as effective as the rest of the world believes in reducing the level of alcohol consumption or of alcohol problems.

Germany’s regulatory scheme surrounding alcohol is fairly hands-off on the government’s part. The government leaves private venues alone when it comes to alcohol consumption in that it does not regulate those younger than the legal drinking age drinking at home.[3] The Youth Protection Act leaves it up to parents whether their children may drink alcohol before they reach the legal drinking age.[4] Once youths reach age fourteen, they are allowed to consume fermented alcohol (beer, wine, champagne, etc.) in public with supervision from a parent or guardian.[5] At sixteen, youths are permitted to purchase and consume fermented alcohol in public without adult supervision and without virtually any limits.[6] It is not until eighteen when youths can finally purchase and consume spirits without limit or supervision.[7] In addition to the lax restrictions based on age, Germany furthers its hands-off approach by requiring no particular health warnings on advertisements for alcohol, or on alcohol containers.[8] In fact the only restriction besides the age of the person buying the alcohol is that merchants may not sell to intoxicated persons.[9]

Though there is a wide perception throughout the world that Germany has succeeded in finding the magic formula for curing alcoholism, this has proven to be untrue.[10] According to a study published in 2019, 74,000 people in Germany die from alcohol related causes per year.[11] Germans have an almost seven percent rate of alcohol use disorders in those over the age of fifteen, as compared to the almost nine percent rate in the European region.[12] Considering only males, Germany surpasses the European region’s average.[13] Another layer of Germany’s problem lies in the fact that 21,700 children between the ages of ten and twenty were hospitalized for alcohol poisoning in 2017.[14] Presumably, a large portion of these children would not have had access to alcohol if it were not for Germany’s permissible alcohol laws.

In Germany, beer is approximately the same price as water.[15] Germany is also the nation in Europe which reports the least number of citizens who abstain from drinking.[16] It is conceivable that this feature of German society would contribute to things like the alcohol related crime rate in the nation. Twenty-seven percent of all solved violent crimes in Germany in 2016 were committed by someone who was under the influence of alcohol.[17] Eleven percent of all crimes in general in 2017 were committed by those under the influence of alcohol.[18] Research suggests that almost three million Germans use alcohol in a harmful way, while almost two million of those are dependent upon alcohol.[19]

Drinking in public is significantly more common in Germany than it is in other parts of the world, with many people openly drinking alcohol at public parks and even on public transportation.[20] According to a worker at Germany’s Center for Addiction Issues, alcohol is used “too thoughtlessly and too carelessly” in the nation.[21] Additionally, an Alcoholics Anonymous coordinator reports that harmful assumptions about alcohol dependence are very prevalent in Germany.[22] Specifically the assumption that if one only drinks beer and wine, one cannot be an alcoholic is common in the nation.[23] This damaging assumption has the potential to undermine any regulatory efforts Germany might make in the future to attempt to address its alcohol problems among it constituency.

Clearly, the assumptions that most people have about the success of Germany’s alcohol laws have been misplaced. The combination of Germany’s alcohol regulations and the culture of drinking that is evidenced by events like Oktoberfest has created the opportunity for numerous alcohol problems. According to studies, teens especially have embraced that opportunity, with about half of Germany’s teenagers admitting to binge drinking.[24] There has been clear research that shows that a higher drinking age reduces deaths related to alcohol.[25] Germany may be well advised to increase the intensity of its alcohol regulatory scheme.

Even so, Germany may need to make educational efforts in order to make any regulatory efforts hold. Germany will also need to take the health of its people into account instead of focusing on the interests of the alcohol industry.[26] The ability of anyone over the age of sixteen to have access to alcohol at any time of the day in almost any place makes it nearly impossible for the nation to control the level of alcoholism.[27] The difficult part of any change in alcohol policy in Germany will be the social change that must come with it. The acceptance of public drinking, youth drinking, and drinking at any hour is a part of the reason that the problem is so pervasive.[28] Any regulatory change in Germany to address problems pertaining to alcohol will have to come with a major education initiative as well as at least a slow shift in the nations social perception of alcohol in general.

#Germany #Alcohol #Beer #Bengel #International #Law #BlogPost

[1] German Lopez, Europe Has Lower Drinking Ages than the US – and Worse Teen Drinking Problems, Vox (Jan. 26, 2016, 12:00 PM), https://www.vox.com/2016/1/26/10833208/europe-lower-drinking-age.

[2] Id.

[3] Jugendschutzgesetz [JuSchG] [Youth Protection Act], July 23, 2008, BGBI at 2730, translation at https://web.archive.org/web/20120907023936/http://www.blja.bayern.de/textoffice/gesetze/juschg/index.html (Ger.).

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] World Health Organization, Germany Alcohol Consumption: Levels and Patterns, (2018) https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/profiles/deu.pdf?ua=1.

[9] Id.

[10] Lopez, supra note 1.

[11] Study: Germany Has an Alcohol Problem, Movendi International (Apr. 18, 2019), https://movendi.ngo/news/2019/04/18/study-germany-has-an-alcohol-problem/ (hereinafter Alcohol Problem).

[12] World Health Organization, supra note 8.

[13] Id.

[14] Alcohol Problem, supra note 11.

[15] Rachel Ryan, The Highs and Lows of Germany’s Drinking Culture, DW (Nov. 18, 2006), https://www.dw.com/en/the-highs-and-lows-of-germanys-drinking-culture/a-2226609.

[16] Id.

[17] Alcohol Problem, supra note 11.

[18] Id.

[19] Ryan, supra note 15.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Lopez, supra note 1.

[25] Id.

[26] Alcohol Problem, supra note 11.

[27] Ryan, supra note 15.

[28] Id.