Why is alcohol a bigger problem for American teens than for teens in Europe?

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snake51389

The drinking age is younger in European countries. It's no big deal over there. Also, the driving age is older than ours so there is less drunk driving; they've already got all that rebellious behavior out of them.

systemofacard

because they dont make a big deal about it in europe like they do here in emerica

pirategypsysarah

I think that it is because alcohol is more easily accessible in Europe, it is not such a "rebellious" things for European teens as it is for American teens

milanslavnic

we can drink and american can't

simonp

Wine is softer? Wine's 12% and beer's 6%! And try to tell me that the Germans don't drink beer... ;-)

It's a cultural thing. We Brits wonder exactly the same thing. It is usually thought that Continental Europe handles its drink better than we do because they have a cafĂ© culture, and they learn to drink earlier. My French friends drank watered-down wine with meals when they were 5 years old. This is combined with the fact that a Frenchman will go out for an evening to a cafĂ©, have maybe a drink there, then go for a meal which will last at least 2 hours - with one or two glasses of wine - and only then go on to a club, where he will probably have 1 more drink.

Brits go our to get wasted. We'll go and drink alcopops like Smirnoff Ice when we're 14 because it's easier to drink something when it doesn't taste like alcohol so we can get drunk quicker. We weren't allowed to drink when we were young so alcohol became the forbidden fruit, the thing you do to be really clever and adult. Then, when they are a bit older and drink in pubs, they get to the pub by 9 but get chucked out again at 11, so they have to drink fast, increasing the effect. This, plus it's just accepted that you can be drunk - being drunk is funny for your mates here, whereas you'd be frowned upon for getting trashed in France.

gio

Because we in Europe are down-to-earth!

chiselhead

cuz we think teen drinking is a problem, and they don't

knej.29642

cuz it's legal to drink at 17 over there...15 in some countries

mmrr

Wherever you get this idea from is totally wrong. Firstly wine is stronger than beer and even though personally I would drink less of it it will get me more drunk.
Secondly, we have a TV programme here called Booze Britain which showcases the problems we have with drunk teenagers and twenty somethings, if you were to see this programme you would understand why I feel embarrassed to be English when travelling to European hot spots because we behave the same way there.
We also have a joke about American (or Australian) beer which is:
What does American beer and sex in a canoe have in common?
They are both f-ing close to water.
So maybe your adolescents are extreme lightweights who cannot hold their beer.
No, seriously we have been brewing and drinking alcoholic drinks since the middle ages, so have a massive selection of drinks to choose from, some of them are particularly strong like 18% ciders and beers like Stella Artois which is affectionately known as "Wife-beater" because it has the tendency to make you very aggressive.
The government is trying to curb the alcohol related crime and violence by bringing in 24hr drinking to stop the "Binge drinking". Which is about time too because the law was changed during the war so pubs had to close at 11pm for the Blackout but was never changed back so everybody tries to get as much down as they can before closing time.
We do have a problem with underage drinking as well but because we can drink legally from the age of 18 its probably not as big as yours
So this is not just an American phenomena we Brits have it too. As for the rest of Europe I cannot answer for them.

rdevaney784

Europeans grow up drinking wine with meals. So it becomes a commonplace for them. In the U.S. alcohol is seen as a passage into adulthood, and is celebrated as such.

Bridget

Because in Europe teens can drink all the beer they want because it is legal, but they have better things to worry about

isieasy7

cu,s education is better in EU then USA

eiais

The drinking age is the source. You withhold it from them for 21 years, tell them it's bad, and they're going to steal from their parents liquor cabinets until their 18 and meet 21 year-olds in college. Then they'll binge drink until they're 21 and not want to do it anymore.

In other countries they restrict it for a shorter amount of time, and they don't glorify it the same way we do.

Different cultures. Ours has none.

usdeeper

You can ask the same question about drugs, sex, guns, crime etc.. better education and less of a controlling government. I also believe that the heavy religious slant in the US has a lot to do with it too.

Worriedkid83

because our country was founded by puritans, those prude goody-goodies who dont believe in living life without a stick firmly planted up your butt

two bit

Simple. United States was made a country because people wanted freedom. So people came from Europe to America to get it. Now everybody has no king in America slaping them in the back of their head telling them to stop drinking.

Puertorican_indian_brazillian_me

because theres no drinking age in europe

Ham

I believe it affects ethnicity. More ethnics are prone to drink while others are not. Europeans probably don't have a particular liking to the taste of beer, and drink wine instead, which is softer.

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