The Macau SAR government has started the public consultation for a bill implementing an 18 minimum age for alcohol consumption.
The main focus of the new draft law is to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages among teenagers, namely, by setting the minimum age to buy or obtain drinks alcoholic beverages, while reducing incentives for the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors through restrictions on advertising and promoting the sale of alcoholic beverages.
The law proposal – which will be under public consultation until December 4 of this year – also includes measures prohibiting the sale or offering of alcoholic beverages to minors in public and publicly accessible places and other measures to prevent alcohol consumption by minors.
Currently, there is no legal minimum drinking age in Macau, and although entry is restricted for minors into karaoke bars, pubs and similar venues, minors are not restricted from buying alcoholic beverages from supermarkets and convenience stores.
The new law would per example sanction establishments that have sold alcohol beverages to minors with a fine or even with the prohibition up to a period of two years of the exercise of activity, depending on this severity of the infraction.
Local authorities first announced their intention to move forward with legislation on this matter in 2018 citing concerns over alcohol consumption within local teenagers.
The public consultation document cites health behaviour surveys conducted among school secondary school students – the most recent being for the 2017/2018 academic year – which indicated that 82 per cent of local students had consumed alcoholic beverages.
Some 27.2 per cent of secondary education students in 2018 said to had consumed at least one alcoholic drink the month before being interviewed and to be habitual consumers, with the purchase of alcoholic beverages occurs mainly taking place in catering establishments, restaurants, bars or karaokes (35.8 per cent), in stores (34.2 per cent) or with family relatives (22.1 per cent).
Health authorities also claim that the proportion of Macau teenagers who tried alcoholic beverages was higher than in Mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan and was increasing, with authorities attributing this to the possible lack of local policies that prohibit the sale or provision of alcoholic beverages to teenagers.
‘The consumption of alcohol by minors not only has serious impacts on the health of minors themselves, but it is also a significant factor for harmful alcohol consumption after reaching adulthood, therefore, the limitation of alcohol consumption among minors is enormous importance for the control of harmful alcohol consumption in the whole society,’ read the document.
