Falzon skirts around questioning on raising drinking age

Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon did not answer parliamentary questions on whether the drinking age should be raised to 18.

He was replying to questions by Opposition MP Albert Buttigieg on whether he agreed with a proposal by Sedqa to raise the drinking age from 17 to 18. The recommendation was submitted as part of a public consultation on the country’s National Alcohol Policy.

Falzon praised the work by Sedqa, but failed to comment on the proposal.

“This will not be the ministry’s policy, but it will be the government’s policy. The public consultation period on the alcohol policy has ended, and now the next step is for the policy to be officially launched in its entirety to the public,” he said on Wednesday.