The government of Friedrich Merz is doing almost nothing to address the problem of alcoholism.
Germany is proposing controversial alcohol restrictions: Germans drink too much — this is the belief of the Greens in the German parliament. To change this, they have prepared a large legislative proposal.
It includes several specific measures and a proposal to adopt a new law on alcoholism prevention. This document is planned to be submitted to the Bundestag during the week of action against alcohol (from June 13 to 21), when events against drunkenness are held across the country.
Green representative Linda Heitmann explained in an interview how serious the problem is. According to her, Germany still ranks among the countries with the highest alcohol consumption, occupying sad top positions in global and European rankings. This causes enormous harm to health and costs the country's economy colossal amounts every year.
Linda Heitmann stated that the government of Friedrich Merz is doing almost nothing to address the problem.
Although the coalition has already promised to raise taxes on sugar and tobacco, no steps have been taken regarding alcohol. According to Heitmann, "there is no clear desire" to change anything in the near future.
The Greens want to prohibit teenagers from drinking even in the presence of parents.
Currently, there is a rule in Germany: at 14, one can drink beer or wine if mom or dad is nearby. The Greens demand the repeal of this rule — they consider it too lenient.
As Tagesspiegel writes, the Ministry of Family Affairs is already working on amendments to the law. With their legislative proposal, the Greens are pushing the coalition to finally adopt these amendments.
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