Are the French becoming Drunks?
According to a recent AP story, there is a rapid increase of binge drinking amoung France’s youth. Since 2004, the rate of hospitalization of minors due to alcohol poisoning has shot up by over fifty percent.
To combat the problem, the French are using a less-than-novel approach: they are instituting a nationwide legal drinking age. According to the Associate Press:
French lawmakers passed an amendment Monday to ban the sale of alcohol to minors, part of an effort to tackle the rise of binge drinking in a country known for a relaxed attitude toward a little libation.
The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, moved to ban the sale of alcohol to teens under age 18 and subject violators to fines of up to euro7,500 ($9,400).
France has always been a great example of a nation that could embrace the joys of alchohol without negative cultural effects. It was often pointed out that the cultural acceptance of wine was one of the major reasons that there was so little alchohol abuse in France, especially among youths. What has changed?
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