NICOLA AVITABILE

DRINKING POLICY IN HONG

KONG

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HISTORY OF POLICY
The law came about in 1997 after England handed Hong
Kong over to China. The law was created by the Liquor
Licensing Bureau also known as the LLB.
These law replaced the Dutiable Commodities Regulations,
which previously prevented from under 18s to drink at all
Then in 2011 a total of 1544 licenses were modified. These
modifications included things such as times at which it can
be sold and requiring to close the doors after a certain
time.

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IMPACT ON SOCIETY
When it comes to impact on the society there is both positive and negatives on
alcohol being legal in some places for minors.
Starting off with the negatives obviously Hong Kong has seen a lot of teens
drinking on weekends or festivals with no legal consequences. This could give a
very mad international impression to other countries as well obviously
increasing the amount of minors being passed out or drunk on the streets
dramatically. This can give a very bad impression to both the locals but
especially the tourists visiting
Another negative impact is that the noise nuisance will be increased significantly
and more people are at risk of being violated, both verbally and physically.
The final impact is that adults could be discouraged to going out to clubs to
avoid getting involved with under 18s to the point that pedofilia charges can be

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IMPACT ON SOCIETY CONTINUED

In terms of the positives for Hong Kong this could bring in a lot of
mainlanders who are also under the age of 18 and are looking to drink
For some teens this will look like a great destination to go on trips with
friends and therefore will boost the economy
Convenience stores such as 7/11 but also clubs in Wan Chai and Lan
Kwai Fong will make a lot more business with underage drinkers
The final positive impact is that some may argue that by starting to
drink and party at a younger age you will now your limits and how to
drink responsibly earlier than other countries with tractor drinking
laws

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IMPACT ON THE POLICE

Hong Kong police cannot intervene with the sale of alcohol to underage drinkers
in convenience stores or in public as its legal. As the police says there is no
specific law or a regulation that governs underage drinking. However they can
control clubs and most 7-11s around Hong Kong. From time to time they prevent
sales from 7-11 as the company promise is they do not sell to under 18. Police also
intervene by raiding clubs such as experience to stop under 18s for purchasing
from licensed locations and may sometimes follow up on the club and fine them.
Instead policy makers want the police to focus on catching drug dealing and drug
abuse. Policymakers say they see the drug issue as more serious than the drinking
issue but we see it is just as serious in many ways, which I agree with as the
consequences with drugs are more life threatening and life damaging, however
alcohol also has its negative. In fact the police say that there has been an increase
in booze fuelled nightclub fights and that alcohol is a factor in 40-50% of all
violent crimes.

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IMPACT ON MEDICAL SERVICES

With underage drinking being legal it is very logical for there to be more fights and
scuffles as well as teens just going overboard on the drinking, then requiring medical
assistance.
In fact a survey done on secondary students proved that 65% students have drank
alcohol before with 25% having admitted that it happened within the last month.
Since these teens then have nowhere to go they spend a lot of time out in public and it
is very common for them to pass out on the side of the streets and the public service,
such as the medical services have to intervene and take action.
Instead of the policy makers taking action on this matter take action. For example since
7/11 are a convenience store and are legally allowed to sell alcohol the police will
sometimes check the ID themselves on big festivals and ambulance services will be on
standby, which very commonly take away past out teens to get their stomachs
pumped.

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HOW COULD SOCIETY INFLUENCE THIS GOVERNMENT POLICY?

There have obviously been a large amount of people appealing to
the government to make a chance especially club owners who can
get in serious trouble for serving to underage drinkers, as they are
license and cannot sell alcohol unlike convenience stores,
however the biggest movement was probably back in 2013 when
Ho James Tien brought the issue up to the Legislative council
In his arguments he went on about how no one is stoping these
underage drinkers and its causing a lot of illegal acts to be
committed by young teens and this should be changed to not
only keep the society safe but for a better upbringing of the teens

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LIKELY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGULATIONS

After the appeal for Mr. Tien the legislative council didn't
take much action on the case. They simply said that the
5000 plus convenience stores who are legally allowed to
sell, most are instructed not to sell to minors for a better
company reputation, especially 7/11
But apart from this there has been no further discussion on
the topic and unless the government and policy makers
decide it is getting out of hand and the negatives out
balance the positives, it will remain this way

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CONCLUSION
In my conclusion I believe that alcohol for under 18 should be banned. It is causing unnecessary
violence and pubic nuisance. The use of alcohol can damage your organs and starting at a young
age will distract teens from their studies and from setting themselves future plans and goals.
Alcohol is proven to cause crimes, which for under 18s could mess up their whole life just from
being silly on a night out. In 2010 there were 2593 crimes in licensed bars and 40% of them
were violent. This also puts under 18s at risk as they would much more easily get injured but also
since many will not have matured yet, they would also most likely get involved and have to then
face disciplinary action, which again could damage future plans.
However at the same time when it comes to teens being allowed to drink it does help with a lot of
bars, even though they wouldnt legally be allowed to sell as they have licenses. As a member of
the public said I know its bad for businesses but the clubs can be so unaffordable!. Teens are
more likely to spend more money as many of the kids who go out are from international school,
therefore having quite a wealthy background. By clubs selling to teens they open up to much
more business and even though its not legal police are much more focused on catching drug
dealing.