Young people between the ages of 14 and 16 should no longer be allowed to drink alcohol in restaurants, even if the parents or guardians are going out with them. This is what the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek called for on Friday at the opening of the German-speaking country meeting of the self-help organization Alcoholics Anonymous in Munich. “In my opinion, this so-called accompanied drinking must be abolished,” said the minister, according to a statement from his ministry.
Figures from the Federal Center for Health Education from 2021 would show that alcohol consumption in Germany is already widespread among young people. A fifth of 12 and 13 year olds have tried alcohol. Among 16 and 17-year-olds, it is already the vast majority at a good 88 percent. Almost a fifth of 16 and 17-year-olds consume alcohol regularly, i.e. weekly.
The Bavarian state government is committed to ensuring that adults use alcohol responsibly. For children and young people for whom alcohol consumption poses a particularly high health risk, “in particular, raising awareness of the topic and increasing the age at which alcohol consumption starts are the key prevention goals,” said Holetschek. He called for the Youth Protection Act and trade law to be implemented consistently. Addiction self-help groups would supplement the professional care landscape with low-threshold, stated Holetschek. In Bavaria, there are an estimated 1,200 addiction self-help groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous.