The majority of 15 year-olds in Copenhagen have purchased alcohol at least once in the last month, despite laws against selling it to anyone under 16. According to a study conducted by Copenhagen City Council, 84 percent of 15 year-olds have been able to get their hands on alcohol, even though police have not brought a single charge against a vendor.
The report, which was released in the Berlingske Tidende newspaper, comes after an EU study earlier this month concluded that Danish teens are the heaviest binge drinkers in Europe.
From the beginning of next year, a new law will see the legal age for buying alcohol raised to 18, but Copenhagen Police admitted to Berlingske that the issue is not high on their list of priorities. Political spokespeople of both government parties have also agreed that police should focus on violent crime rather than underage drinking.
Birgitte Josefsen for the Conservatives and Tom Behnke for the Liberals said that the responsibility for the enforcement of alcohol laws should rest with shop owners. Ninna Thomsen, councillor for the Socialist People’s Party, however, said a programme with police, schools and health officials will be launched at the start of next year in the hope of deterring binge drinking.