Bill to stop people under 18 from drinking alcohol

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would ban any sale, dispensing or supply of alcoholic drinks to people under 18, in any form, including vending machines and online sales.
2. It would also ban alcohol consumption by minors, except small amounts of low-alcohol fermented drinks in religious worship, and ban it for everyone in schools, child protection centers and sessions aimed at minors.
3. Sellers would have to check an official ID when they reasonably doubt a buyer's age, including phone and online sales, and shops would have to display a clearly visible sign stating that selling and drinking alcohol is banned for minors.
4. The bill would tightly restrict alcohol advertising: it would ban targeting minors, using their image or that of figures popular with them, and ban ads on public streets, public transport, schools and health centers, and in digital spaces mostly aimed at young people.
5. It would also restrict alcohol sponsorship of activities, spaces and products mainly aimed at minors or families, and ban fairs and tastings aimed at minors, who could not be given promotional material.
6. Security forces could give breathalyzer tests to minors when there are signs of drinking, and the person tested could ask for the test to be repeated once, within two hours.
7. The penalty regime would set fines from €100 to €600 for minor offenses, €601 to €30,000 for serious ones and €30,001 to €600,000 for very serious ones, with possible temporary closure of the business. A minor's fine for drinking could be replaced by re-education measures.
8. The law would take effect six months after publication, but the prevention articles (5 to 14) would take 18 months and the advertising title one year. This is a bill still being debated, not yet approved.

Who it affects

• People under 18: They would be banned from buying and drinking alcohol and could be breathalyzed; the fine for drinking could be replaced by educational measures.
• Shops, bars and hospitality businesses: They would have to check age, display prohibition signs, limit alcohol displays and avoid selling to minors, with fines if they fail.
• Advertisers, media and platforms: They could not target alcohol ads at minors or advertise in many public and youth-oriented digital spaces.
• Parents and guardians: Buying alcohol for a minor or encouraging them to drink would be a serious offense, and they would subsidiarily pay their children's fines.
• Public administrations: They would have to run prevention programs in family, school, health, leisure and training settings.

Words worth knowing

Dispensación

Handing out or serving a drink, for example in a bar, even if it is not strictly a sale.

Etilómetro

Breathalyzer, a device that measures alcohol in exhaled air.

Corregulación

A system where an industry self-regulates through codes of conduct agreed with authorities, who oversee compliance.

Infracción muy grave

The most serious category of violation in a penalty regime, carrying the highest fines.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries