Children's Commissioner wants drinking threshold raised to 18

The legal drinking age should be raised to 18, according to Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato, who believes this is widely considered to be the “threshold of maturity”. Ms D’Amato made her appeal in a memorandum sent to the Justice Reform Commission and is one of a series of proposals to change various laws that fall under her remit. The last time the minimum age for consuming alcohol in bars was raised was in October 2009 when it was increased by one year to 17. Her appeal is being supported by Sedqa, the national agency on drug and alcohol abuse, which also “strongly recommends” that the minimum drinking age be raised by one year from the present 17. Full story in The Sunday Times and timesofmalta.com Premium.