Karnataka Mulls Lowering Alcohol Age Limit to 18: Why is This? Explained in Points

The Karnataka government has proposed lowering the minimum age for purchasing and consuming alcohol in the state from 21 to 18 years.

In this regard, it issued a draft notification titled ‘Karnataka Excise (General Conditions of Licenses) (Amendment) Rules-2023’ last week and requested public feedback within 30 days. Reports say the liquor industry has long sought a reduction in the legal drinking age.

The Demands Surround a Confusion

According to a report by TV9, the minimum drinking age in Karnataka is 18 years old, according to the Karnataka Excise Act 1965, and 21 years old according to the Karnataka Excise Licenses (General Conditions) Rules 1967.

The anomaly has perplexed law enforcement as well as bar and pub owners, the report explains, adding that due to the contradiction between the Act and the Rule, no arrests or punitive action have been taken for minimum age violations in the state for many years.

How Is Legal Drinking Age Determined in India?

• The legal drinking age in India, as well as the laws governing the sale and consumption of alcohol, differ significantly from state to state, due to the subject falling in the state list.
• Alcohol is illegal in the Indian states of Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, and Mizoram, as well as the union territory of Lakshadweep. Alcohol is prohibited in some districts of Manipur.
• All other Indian states allow alcohol consumption but have a legal drinking age that varies by region. In some states, the legal drinking age varies depending on the type of alcoholic beverage.

Where Else is Legal Drinking Age 18?

States such as Sikkim, Goa, and Himachal Pradesh have already reduced the minimum age to 18 years. In Kerala, the drinking age was raised from 21 to 23 years.

What are the Pros and Cons of Reducing the Drinking Age to 18?

• Pros: Many experts argue that since adulthood in India begins at the age of 18, adults should be able to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption.
• Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to consume alcohol in supervised settings would reduce unsafe drinking behaviour, a report by Britannica says many countries with a limit of 18 have fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities.
• The limit has had no effect on the reduction in drunk driving fatalities as a percentage of total traffic fatalities in the United States, it further says, adding that lowering the age limit from 21 to 18 would lessen the thrill of breaking the law in order to get a drink. It also argues that teens consume alcohol regardless.Cons:
• A factsheet provided by the US CDC states that keeping the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) at 21 saves lives and improves health. It says that US States that raised the legal drinking age to 21 saw a 16% decrease in motor vehicle accidents.
• It further says that when states implemented the age 21 MLDA, drinking among people aged 21 to 25 fell significantly, from 70% in 1985 to 56% in 1991.
• There is also evidence that drinking before the age of 21 protects against alcohol and other drug dependence, adverse birth outcomes, and suicide and homicide, the report said.
• Each year, excessive drinking kills over 3,900 people under the age of 21 in the United States. In 2010, underage drinking cost the US economy $24 billion.
• Car accidents, falls, burns, and drowning are examples of unintentional injuries caused due to alcohol consumption. Suicide and other forms of violence are also often propagated by the habit, such as fighting and sexual assault.
• Drinking and driving has also been cited as a major con of lowering the minimum drinking age limit.

Alcohol Age Limits in India

• In Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, and Puducherry, the legal drinking age is 18.
• Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa (Odisha), Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal: 21 years; Haryana, Meghalaya, Punjab, and Delhi: 25 years.
• Alcohol sales are prohibited in states such as Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep.

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