Grandson bought vodka

My grandson are 15 years old and bought a bottle of vodka! Is this normal?

Mann, 69 år fra Telemark

RUStelefonen svarer:

That depends on what you mean with «normal». The majority of 15-year-olds don’t buy a bottle of vodka, but there are certainly some who do. Technically he isn’t doing anything illegal – it is the shop that is breaking the law (or the person buying the vodka for him) according to norwegian law. Nevertheless, vodka is a strong alcoholic beverage, and he is advised to be cautious with it. If he is strongly determined on drinking the vodka, he should at least drink as small amounts as possible, and preferrably also dilute it with soda (or something similar), as opposed to drinking it pure. It is perfectly normal to be curious about alcohol at the age of 15, but generally it is considered safer to start out with small amounts of weaker beverages (i.e. beer, cider etc.), rather than hard liquor.

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