Germany: The end of "accompanied" alcohol consumption from age 14 is announced

On August 12, 2026, the German federal government adopted a bill abolishing the exemption that, since 1952, had allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to buy and consume beer, wine, or fermented beverages in the presence of a parent or legal guardian.[1]. Justified by addiction prevention objectives, this reform puts an end to one of the most permissive regimes in the European Union regarding minors' access to alcohol. This decision incorporates the principles that underpin the protection of minors with regard to tobacco: delaying the age of initiation as much as possible by limiting access to the product and rejecting any early normalization of an addictive substance.

A derogation that is more than seventy years old

In Germany, the minimum legal age for purchasing and consuming beer, wine, sparkling wine, and mixed drinks made from them in public is 16. Paragraph 9 of the Youth Protection Act (Jugendschutzgesetz) however, provided for an exception, inherited from a 1952 text: young people aged 14 and 15 could consume these drinks provided they were accompanied by a person exercising parental authority[2]. Spirits, however, are reserved for adults, and will remain so.

The bill, introduced by Federal Minister for Family Affairs Karin Prien (CDU) as part of a broader reform of child and youth welfare, repeals this exemption. The explanatory memorandum cites two arguments: the exception weakens the protection of minors against the health and social consequences of alcohol consumption, and it contradicts the federal government's stated objectives regarding addiction prevention. The bill must now be examined by the Bundestag.

The measure is based on a gradual institutional convergence. Last year, the health ministers of the German states called for the abolition of this exemption, given the risks of addiction and the long-term effects of early alcohol consumption. The Bundesrat (Federal Council) subsequently launched an initiative to this effect, and the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs, Hendrik Streeck, lent his support to the proposal. The German Federation of Health Insurance Funds (GKV) welcomed this as an important contribution to health protection, while emphasizing that the widespread social acceptance of alcohol should not obscure its harmful effects.

One of the most permissive regimes in the European Union

With this threshold of 14 years old under parental supervision, Germany stood out from all its neighbors. No other EU member state provided such early access to the purchase and public consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Several European countries, however, maintain different regulations depending on the type of beverage, generally based around a minimum age of 16. This is the case in Austria, where regulations are set at the state level (Länder), and in Belgium, where beer and wine are accessible from the age of 16 and spirits from the age of 18.[3]. Denmark applies a minimum age of 16 for drinks with an alcohol content of less than 16.5%. Conversely, France, Italy, Spain, and the Baltic states set a single minimum age of 18, while the Nordic countries combine a high minimum age with a public distribution monopoly.

This heterogeneity illustrates a structural difficulty: in the absence of a binding European framework on minors' access to alcohol, unlike tobacco, which is regulated by the Tobacco Products Directive and even more so by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the levels of protection vary greatly from one Member State to another for young people who move freely within the European area.

Delaying initiation: a public health objective shared with tobacco control

The elimination of supervised consumption is based on a now well-documented observation: the earlier one is introduced to a psychoactive substance, the higher the risk of developing regular use and then addiction. Since brain maturation continues until the mid-twenties, exposure to alcohol during adolescence induces specific risks, both neurological and behavioral. This reasoning is precisely what underpins policies protecting minors from tobacco. The vast majority of smokers started before reaching the age of majority, and each year gained before the age of initiation increases the chances of quitting later or even never using the product. This is the logic behind the ban on sales to minors, a measure itself reinforced by other protective measures: the prohibition of advertising and promotion, plain packaging, and measures to denormalize smoking in public spaces through the development of smoke-free areas.

The German exemption was based on the opposite assumption: that of "supervised learning" about alcohol within the family, supposedly preventing later excesses. This approach, widely held in social perceptions, is not supported by prevention research: providing alcohol to adolescents does not appear to be protective and tends to encourage early consumption rather than moderate it. An Australian cohort study published in The Lancet Public Health, The study, which followed nearly 1,930 adolescents recruited at age 12 and their parents for six years, concluded that young people whose parents provide alcohol have a significantly increased risk—approximately two and a half times higher—of binge drinking, alcohol-related harm, and symptoms of alcohol use disorder compared to those who do not receive alcohol from anyone. The authors further observed that parental provision is accompanied by increased use of other sources of alcohol.[4].^. It also contributes to establishing alcohol as an ordinary consumer product and to trivializing it.

Alcohol consumption remains high in Germany

The epidemiological context informs the federal government's decision. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, average consumption is around 10.6 liters of pure alcohol per capita per year, placing Germany in the top third of comparable countries, despite a slight downward trend. The Epidemiological Survey on Addictions (ESA 2024) identifies 8.6 million people aged 18 to 64 consuming risky amounts, 2.2 million meeting the medical criteria for addiction, and 1.7 million meeting those for harmful use.[5].

According to the addiction yearbook published by the German Higher Education Authority (DHS) in 2025, alcohol is associated with approximately 47,500 deaths per year in Germany and an annual economic cost of around 57 billion euros.[6]. Specialists quoted by the DHS also point out that the price of alcoholic beverages has increased much less than that of food over the past twenty years, making Germany one of the European countries where alcohol is most affordable.

Among minors, data from the study on drug affinity (Drogenaffinity studyStudies conducted by the federal health education agency show a structural decline in consumption since the early 2000s, but a recent stagnation. In 2023, 63% of 12-17 year olds reported having already consumed alcohol.[7] ; Regular consumption, at least weekly, concerned 12.4% of boys and 6.9% of girls. Above all, the practice of massive, one-off consumption (Rauschtrinken), which had declined during the pandemic, has returned to its previous level. Thus, during the thirty days preceding the survey, it affected 17.1% of boys and 13.1% of girls interviewed.[8].

A country also lagging behind in tobacco regulation

The parallel between alcohol and tobacco generally concerns the country's regulatory lag, given that these two risk factors are the main causes of preventable premature death in the country. Germany ranked 34th out of 37 countries assessed in the 2022 edition of the European Tobacco Control Ladder (Tobacco Control ScaleDespite ratifying the FCTC in 2004, it was the last EU member state to allow tobacco advertising. The ban was only adopted in 2020, with lengthy transitional periods extending until 2024 for e-cigarettes. Tobacco vending machines remain authorized, even though the FCTC's implementing guidelines recommend their prohibition, and their existence effectively contravenes advertising and promotion bans. Furthermore, prices remain significantly lower than in France, and measures to expand smoke-free areas remain limited.

The consequences are measurable. Tobacco is associated with approximately 99,000 deaths annually in Germany and an estimated economic cost of €97 billion per year. And, contrary to the trend observed in several European countries, the prevalence of smoking among 12-17 year olds has started to rise again, increasing from 6.1 per 100,000 in 2021 to 9.6 per 100,000 in 2025, according to the Drogenaffinity study[9].

A coherent reform, which calls for a comprehensive approach

The elimination of supervised consumption represents progress in protecting minors and highlights a shift in the perception of alcohol consumption. It acknowledges that there is no safe level of exposure to an addictive substance, particularly during adolescence, and that the presence of an adult during an initial introduction to a substance does not prevent misuse. For alcohol, this aligns with the principle that has guided tobacco control efforts since the Convention on Taba (CCTA): protecting public health policies from the normalization of addictive substances and preventing any initiation of substance use, or even, where appropriate, delaying the age of first consumption as long as possible.

This reform would nevertheless remain of limited scope if it were not accompanied by action on the commercial determinants of consumption: price, availability, advertising and sponsorship for alcohol as for tobacco.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Germany to scrap "accompanied drinking" for 14- and 15-year-olds, Le Monde, published on August 12, 2026, accessed the same day

[2] Cabinet beschließt Alkoholverbot für unter 16-Jährige, Der Spiegel, published on August 12, 2026, accessed on August 13, 2026

[3] Protection of Minors in Europe, Supply and consumption of alcohol, Accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.protection-of-minors.eu/fr/rquest/5

[4] Mattick RP, Clare PJ, Aiken A. et al., Association of parental supply of alcohol with adolescent drinking, alcohol-related harms, and alcohol use disorder symptoms: a prospective cohort study, The Lancet Public Health, vol. 3, no. 2, February 2018, pp. e64-e71, accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(17)30240-2/fulltext

[5] Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, Alkoholkonsum in Deutschland: Zahlen und Fakten, Accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/service/begriffe-von-a-z/a/alkohol

[6] Der Tagesspiegel / dpa, Name: Deutschland hat a Alkohol- und Tabakproblem, published on April 24, 2025, accessed on August 13, 2026, restitution of the DHS Jahrbuch Sucht 2025, Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/trinken-und-rauchen-suchtbericht-deutschland-hat-ein-alkohol-und-tabakproblem-13584385.html

[7] Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA), Die Drogenaffinität Jugendlicher in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2023, Ergebnisse zum Alkoholkonsum, Infoblatt, November 4, 2024, accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.bioeg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/pressemitteilungen/daten_und_fakten/Infoblatt_DAS_Alkoholkonsum_final.pdf

[8] Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Sucht- und Drogenfragen / BZgA, New BZgA-Daten of Alkoholkonsum 12- to 25-Jähriger: Rauschtrinken bei Jugendlichen steigt auf Vor-Corona-Level, Press release dated November 4, 2024, accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.bundesdrogenbeauftragter.de/presse/detail/rauschtrinken-bei-jugendlichen-steigt-auf-vor-corona-niveau/

[9] Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG), Die drogenaffinität Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener in Deutschland 2025, Rauchen von Tabak- und Nikotinprodukten, Accessed August 13, 2026 https://www.bioeg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Studien/PDF/DAS_2025_Bericht_Tabak-Nikotinprodukte.pdf