Booze, The Law and You

The other day, I was driving in Accra and came across a billboard advertising beer. The sign had an illustration stating that the product couldn’t be sold to people under 18 years. I wondered, how are the authorities going to check underage drinking when we in Ghana don’t walk around with our passports or a national ID cards ready to produce them at the nearest bar or police station? Then I started to think. Do other countries have similar laws prescribing the purchase and consumption of alcohol? In the afternoon of that same day, I decided to go online to do some alcohol-related research. Get ready for a trip into the world of booze, age and the law.

I started with Africa. The website I logged onto claimed that Ghana doesn’t have a minimum age for buying booze and drinking it. And I say don’t believe everything on the Internet. Why? Because Ghana’s legal minimum age is 18. However, if I am to believe what I read on that website, our brothers and sisters in ‘Naija’ and ‘Sa Lone’ apparently don’t have a problem with toddlers and kids buying and drinking alcohol. There are no minimum age restrictions in those West African countries. It appears that in Morocco, 18 is the legal drinking age but you would technically be violating the law if you sold alcohol to Muslims. Do Moroccans produce date-bearing ID cards stating their religion anytime they venture into a bar? More facts sprang forth from the website. Egypt has the highest legal drinking age in Africa – 21 years – whilst Zimbabweans permit anyone 15 and above to consume alcohol. Why? I don’t know. I would have also loved to know what the laws on alcohol are in Togo and Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, our closest neighbours. But as usual there wasn’t much information on Africa. So what else is new?

I then turned my attention to the North and South America plus the Caribbean. The general legal drinking age in those parts of the world is 18. However, it appears that in Barbados, all kids from upper primary until secondary school are allowed to quaff liquor, provided that they are accompanied by a parent. Does the parent have to hand over documentary evidence of parenthood if his or her status is queried? And do Barbadian children beg their parents to take them to the bar so they can indulge in a few bottles of beer or stout? Just a few thoughts. I also found out that drinkers in Jamaica and Cuba don’t have a minimum drinking age just like their Nigerian and Sierra Leonean counterparts. But Cuba has a twist – you can only buy booze if you are 16. Which means technically, 17-year old Raul living in Havana can purchase a bottle of rum and share it with his 12 year old cousin and they wouldn’t be breaking the law. The USA is an interesting case. Nationwide, the legal drinking age according to my Internet source is 21. They actually have a National Minimum Drinking Age Act that seeks to withhold revenue from states that violate this law. Some states don’t even allow those under the minimum age to be present in bars or liquors stores. Those Americans who drafted that law should take a ‘fact-finding’ trip to any of the drinking spots and ‘blue kiosks’ in Ghana to see child bartenders and vendors at work. Hah! Back to my findings. Apparently in New York, a person under 21 is permitted to be present in a bar provided that person is accompanied by a parent or guardian who pours the drink and hands it to the person. By the way, that under-21-year-old must not be seated at the bar or else the bar owner would be in violation of the law. Which lawyers drafted this law?

I suspect that bartenders in New York must have a difficult job though. In addition to taking orders and serving drinks, they have to be on the lookout for unaccompanied minors who may be sitting at the bar illegally ordering gin and tonics. Canadians with their minimum age at 19 appear to be more liberal than their southern neighbours. I wonder how many American 20-year-olds living near the US-Canada frontier have slipped over the border to enjoy a quick tot before dashing back to the motherland, scrupulously avoiding the police and their fancy breathalyzer tests. Actually such situations have been known to occur. It’s on record that a Commanding General in one Texas military installation lowered the minimum drinking age to 18 because too many of his men were hopping over to Mexico to enjoy their booze there in peace! Next I decided to check out Asia. Indians appear to be quite flexible with their legal drinking age ranging between 18 and 25. I don’t know if or how their police enforce these laws. When you consider that India has over a billion inhabitants, I doubt whether the police would have the resources to go around checking ID’s of suspected underage drinkers. Pakistanis and Saudis just don’t mess around with booze. Drinking and the sale of alcohol are forbidden to all citizens living in those countries plain and simple. I repeat, all citizens, nationals and non-nationals alike. This is backed by the Islamic Sharia law just in case you are wondering what right the authorities have in separating you from your inalienable human rights to enjoy your alcohol that you bought with your own cash. In Iran, alcohol is only permitted when it’s used in Jewish and Christian ceremonies. So no, you won’t be arrested in Tehran for drinking Communion wine during your own Catholic wedding ceremony.

In Bahrain, non-Muslims may consume alcohol but never during Ramadan. Do the police go about checking to enforce this law? Brunei allows non-Muslims to import hard drinks into the county but only for personal consumption as public sale is forbidden. You know how our Japanese friends are hip with their technology. Well, boozing hasn’t been spared the tech touch. The legal age in Japan is 20 years old and, get this, they even have vending machines that will dispense your ‘hot stuff’ after you slot in the required amount of money. But of course, some smart underage would-be drinkers tried to outwit the law and so many of the machines have been fitted with digital ID readers just to frustrate these kids. The machines simply go on strike when your ID detects your underage status! In Dubai, it is illegal for persons under 16 to be in a place that serves alcohol after 6pm. I wonder what the rationale for that law is. Does the night make people susceptible to reaching for a glass of beer or brandy or whatever drink that takes their fancy? Another thing that I found odd was the case of Azerbaijan. In that country, you can drink if you are 14 but can only buy when you are 18. Then again it probably makes sense. I mean at 18, you’re more likely to be able to afford a drink whilst at 14, you could always take a sip from your father’s glass without risking the full force of the law descending on both of you. So much for Asia. My research then took me to Europe, the continent of Scotch whisky, French wine, English gin and German beer. The minimum drinking age in the UK is 5 years would you believe it?? I should add though that parental consent has to be given. Would that be written consent or verbal would do just fine? I mean, how does that work? Would the father declare to his 5-year-old daughter, “Mary, I give you my consent. Have a shot of whisky, it’s a Friday! In fact, have two shots my dear!”?

And by the way, if your 4 year-old son had to drink alcohol in the UK, it would have to be for medical or religious reasons only. In Germany, underage drinkers are not punished, only the erring adults who supplied them with the drinks in the first place. Compare this with Poland where underage drinkers can be arrested and where it’s a crime to sell alcohol to someone who is already drunk! Admit it, how many times have you not seen bar operators continue to sell booze to customers who had already gone way past their limits? I think it’s time for some Polish-style drink laws in Ghana! In France, it is illegal for persons under 16 to be present at a bar, even if they are drinking fruit juice or soda water. Is it a case of not wanting to create situations where minors would be tempted to take a sip of stronger stuff? The Danes require drinkers to present their passports, national ID cards or moped licenses to prove they are qualified to drink. I found it interesting that some churches in Denmark are campaigning against the introduction of alcohol to the youth during their confirmation ceremonies. In this instance, Ghanaians are way ahead of the Scandinavians. During some traditional naming ceremonies, babies are given drops of aromatic schnapps to teach them the difference between alcohol and water. I hear the deep symbolic reason for plying infants with drop-sized tots of quaff is to make them know the sharp difference between truth and falsehood. However, just like their Danish counterparts, the Christian churches in Ghana would rather wish that the practice of introducing alcohol to minors be eradicated from the face of the earth! My trip around the globe in search of anti-booze laws ended in Oceania. Australians, Fijians and all their neighbours except New Zealanders are required to be 18 before they can legally consume alcohol. Get drunk in Australia and you can be sure no-one will sell you a drink. That’s because both you and the seller could end up in trouble with the law. In New Zealand, you cannot be charged with underage drinking if you proved that you didn’t buy the alcohol you were drinking. However, if the police catch you boozing on public transport, you could be in trouble unless the vehicle has a liquor license. This is another wild law that I think we should ‘domesticate’ immediately. I know for a fact that our struggling transport operators would definitely not purchase such licenses. Therefore you would have the green light to arrest anyone who drinks and misbehaves whilst you are enjoying your taxi ride or trotro trip home after a hard day’s work!

My research into drink and the law as it pertains worldwide has led me to one conclusion. Things are pretty straightforward in Ghana. The breweries simply advertise that their products should not be sold to people below 18. Simple. Now as to the small matter of determining, without the use of ID cards or passports, whether the purchaser is under 18 or not, I leave that to the legendary Ghanaian ingenuity. We’ll find a way. We always do, don’t we?

Kafui Dey, Marketing Professional

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.