Greece Drinking Age Information
The minimum drinking age in Greece is 18 years old, according to a law that passed in 2008. Having said that, you will find out that most of the bars and the clubs serve alcohol to customers who are below 18 years old. And it is also very easy to buy alcohol from supermarkets or kiosk selling points around Greece. E.g., it’s easy for a 16 years old child to enter a supermarket, buy 5 beers or even a bottle of whiskey, pay at the cashier without being asked to provide an ID and take the alcohol with him.
The main reason for that is a cultural one. Greece is in the first positions in the European Union on alcohol usage by underage children, but it is amongst the last ones when it comes to drunk underage citizens. The teenagers in Greece are consuming around 3 CL of alcohol, almost the same with Bulgaria (3.5CL), Russia (2.8CL) and Ukraine (2.8CL) when the Danish teenagers consume 7.5CL (first in consumption in EU) and the British ones are consuming 6.2 CL. 26% of Greek teenagers has been drunk one time in the past year, while the Denish teenagers are in the first position with 73% of teenagers reporting having beeing drunk at least once in the past year.
In Greece, teenagers have peer pressure to consume alcohol when they go out in bars and clubs but being drunk is a sign of weakness and is frowned upon. It’s not “cool” in Greece to lose control of yourself when you drink, so most teenagers stop at 1 beer or 1 drink when going out. The high prices of beers and drinks is another factor that contributes to this, as a beer in a bar in Greece will easily cost you 5 to 7 euros.
