Health Minister, Dr Lackram Bodoe has defended Government’s proposal to raise the legal age for purchasing alcohol and tobacco to 21, arguing that scientific evidence, alarming youth drinking statistics and road safety concerns justify the move.
Contributing to debate on the Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, 2026 in the Senate on Tuesday evening, the minister cited data showing that young adults between 18 and 24 have the highest concentration of binge drinking in Trinidad and Tobago, while 31 per cent of tertiary students report heavy episodic drinking.
He further pointed to road safety concerns, stating that alcohol consumption within six hours of driving increases crash risk by four to five times.
“Well, here is the data. Road safety parameter, youth collision contribution is a parameter that this table speaks about. Data and impact metric is what is measured. And it says, Madam Deputy President, that ages 15 to 24 account for approximately 16% of total national road traffic accidents.”
Dr. Bodoe said extensive medical evidence supports delaying access to addictive substances, since critical areas of the brain responsible for judgement and impulse control continue developing into early adulthood.
“And it’s said here, adolescent binge drinking interferes with development of the hippocampus, which impairs learning capacity and memory retention, whilst escalating the probability of alcohol use disorder later on in life. So what we are trying to do here, Madam Deputy President, is really to break the informal social pipelines.”