Health Higher minimum drinking age improves school performance
A higher minimum drinking age can significantly improve the academic performance and mental health of young people. In particular, the reduction in binge drinking has positive aspects, according to a study by the University of Zurich.
16.12.2025, 08:38
SDA
The study examined four Spanish regions that had tightened their alcohol laws over the last twenty years. The reforms generally included a higher minimum age for consumption, stricter sales rules and new advertising guidelines, as the University of Zurich (UZH) writes in a press release on Tuesday.
The results of the study are also relevant for Switzerland. Here, 16-year-olds are legally allowed to consume beer and wine and the drinking rate among young people is above the EU average.
The findings from Spain suggest that stricter age limits could have educational benefits. For example, raising the minimum age for alcohol consumption from 16 to 18 would be a cost-effective instrument to promote the cognitive development of young people.
A third of young people drink "excessively"
Despite a declining trend, alcohol consumption among European teenagers is still strikingly high in international comparison: almost half of 15 to 16-year-olds in the European School Survey stated that they had consumed alcohol in the past month, and around 30 percent reported excessive drinking.
The study by Carmen Villa, assistant professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich, now shows that the probability of binge drinking fell by 14 percent following a tightening of alcohol laws. The decline in binge drinking and alcohol poisoning also leads to considerable educational gains. This is because alcohol impairs cognitive development during adolescence. This is a phase of life in which the brain reacts particularly sensitively to alcohol.
According to the study, mental health also improved in those regions where the legal drinking age was raised. Young people were 10 percent less likely to take medication for anxiety and insomnia.
The UZH analysis was based on data from around 250,000 schoolgirls, 180,000 PISA participants and 600,000 people from the 2021 census.
