Question about the drinking laws of Poland.

Ok I'm 16 years old and going to Poland, when I get there I will be 17. Now I am pretty sure Poland has no set "drinking age" but you have to be 18 to purchase and I was just wondering how strict Poland enforces that law. Now I'm not just going to Poland to drink, I was just curious so keep that in mind.

Wrong, drinking age is 18, but you can get booze easy, piece of cake !

hm, very "welcoming" statement. It sounds like a "great" advertising slogan "young kids, come on over to Poland, no one cares here if you get wasted, no matter how old you are".

na zdrowie

You can certainly drink.

But if you're caught drunk and underage, expect your parents/guardians to be fined.

should be easy enough to get booze, avoid pubs with monkeys on the door and sure if people ask you for ID in shops, I reckon you dont speak Polish so just nod and smile until they give up and let you pay for the booze.....actually what am I saying, nobody bats an eye about underage drinking here, you'll have no bother getting booze


Why not? There's fúck all else to do :P

I go out for beers with a 17-year old a few times every month and she has never ever been asked for ID (even in the places which display signs saying that they only serve booze to people who have ID to prove their age).

At 17 she is well old enough to decide for herself if she wants to drink alcohol , and who she wants to drink it with...

I don,t see a problem , unless she is being forced to drink it against her wishes....

In Poland she is not and I'm not sure if giving/proposing an alcohol to unadult is not a law offend.
There is a right in Poland that person under 18 is not allowed to drink alcohol and everyone should stick to it. It's not GB where the drinking age is 16... It's just about abiding the law.

I think it's better for her to drink 1-2 beers with responsible adult that in secret. On the other hand an adult who is drinking with teenager can be accused of demoralisation.

I'm not sure if giving/proposing an alcohol to unadult is not a law offend.
Yes,it is but it's not strictly respected.

exactly.

Imagine that in the USA they would be shocked that 17 year old can drink and it's acceptable...

That's the idea. Although she's most of the time more responsible than me.


It might be technically possible but would require far too much work for the police to prove the case in court for them to bother with (unless she got hammered and something bad happened; even then, if she and I both stick to the line that she kept stealing my drinks and I kept telling her not to, we'd be pretty much bulletproof).


Of course she is: what she really wants to do is stay at home and eat beans!

Seems like this is the only reason why you go places? .. party? get drunk? ... be the most un healthy guest for any nation?

You are nothing but spoilt. Whichever country you belong to ... your parents (in together) should've done a better job with you.

My words might seem harsh ... but if a man like me finds you drinking or drunk at 16, I'll not shy from making this nonsense be realized by you in the perfect legal way that it should be.


Everyone has got their own ways ... I've said my way.

I dislike alcohol and alcoholics ... or those who consume if saying "doh! I do it occasionally" because these things are like waves ... sometimes they take a little, but then they'll get drunk ... and then the evil starts.

Although its not my job to clear all the garbage ... but till the time he can be held to the law, it should be done ... even if its a day before the legal age.

Nor is it your job to decide whats garbage and whats not...

Just because you cannot use alcohol responsibly does not give you the right to condem others who can....

Its fine if you want to take your morals from the bible , but forcing your views down somebodies throat is just as repulsive as forcing alcohol down their throats....

Those of us who are going to hell , sincerly hope you will not be coming along to spoil the party..

I remember when my friend was turning 18. She came to a pub with friends yo celebrate in the day of her birthsday and guess what! They (the pub staff) did not let her to drink untill midnight! That's true! ;DDD

God bless those staff ... but she did drink after midnight - ofcourse her life. And ofcourse the life of her parents who let her own that late ... drinking ... at 18! ...

Anyways, perhaps different value sets...

You must be very old generation...

against her will :-)

This is example how law can be ridiculed. She wasn't more responsible or adult at 12 than she was at 8.

No :D ... not really :) ... and the old generation were not saints ... neither am I. Just a different value set, however practiced by more than me ... maybe not a predominant way of life these days around here ... but it is yet another way in which people like to live :). Simple, plain, yet purposeful and content.

Fair play!!

Oh please. "young kids"?This dude is 16 y/o, not everywhere law is as ridicolous as in the US.
In the US my first girlfriend would get in troubles because I was 15 and she was 19 when I got laid for the first time.Not to mention that 18 y/o Americans can fight a war yet they can't get drunk.

I wouldn't expect any other comment from a Pole as I know your drinking habits.
You know what's ridiculous, to allow a 16 yr old to get wasted, this is what I call a ridiculous law.


drinking alcohol seems to be really important to you. Well, it's not to me.
Actually, I'm very much for more discipline in general, not just drinking.

Yea stereotypes, you saying you know my drinking habits?For true?You don't little girl.I don't drink AT ALL since it makes me SUPER SICK.As for habits Americans drink way more than Poles.


Neither to me,I rather get high.

When I said "you" I meant Poles, fat boy.


yeah, where you live (Polish, Chicago like neighborhood?). At least I don't see any Americans getting wasted, standing whole day long in front of some messed up "Kiosk".


either way an addict (lol)

Who waits til they're the legal age anyway pray tell???

It's too hot to keep this beer cool...

well, you're right, where I live there's nothing like that, not even close. I feel sorry for you having to live in such a bad neighborhood.


who knows, you might be even "better" in it than them.


America is not all about "slums" Ash. He stays there because he chooses to live in a Polish community, that's all. Whoever can afford it, doesn't live in the "jungle" like this in the states.

In smaller towns or in a countryside you don't see the kind of scenes he described.

I know Princess and I was only responding to his story... (I'm rational... just)

We all know you American's hold some very firm ideas about human etiquette... :)

Get a life Lodz ... do you know that the zakazane (prohibited staff) is more dangerous then the stuff which is available and within our reach?

It is parent duty to talk to a child about the dangers in everyday life, especially about addictions etc. but it doesn't mean your child would be abstinent because you told him some facts about it.

It is in human nature to try new things and you cannot do a thing to prevent it, so stop judging others and try some different things before your mission on Earth ends; you sounds like you really need something for a change.

Back to the topic: Question about the drinking laws of poland.

In Poland the rules are like in Australia we do not have age limit for drinking or smoking but to purchase these you need to be over 18.

In Poland there is no age limit for drinking but you need to be 18 to buy alcohol in pubs or in shops.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

§15.1 Clearly states that buyers must be at least 18 and prove it with ID if they look like they may not be at least that age. However, drinking alcohol under 18 is not forbidden.

Similar with smoking, no age limit to smoke:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age#Poland

Ok thanks guys and gals but to Lodz that is not the reason I am going to Poland, I'm going there for education I was just curious about it, and since the law is 18 I won't drink while I'm over there, but anyway I had another question, I play basketball over here and I love it, and I was wondering how popular the sport is over there and if there is a lot of kids that play it.