Minors are less equipped to cope with the effects of alcohol, physically and emotionally. The same amount of alcohol will affect a child's or a young person's body more than an adult's because children and young people are still growing.
For this reason, in most European countries and the US, laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol by minors have been adopted. In Cyprus the "Law on Sale of Intoxicating Liquors (CAP. 144),” as amended, provides [Article 5A (3)]:
“The consumption or drinking of an alcoholic beverage by a person under the age of seventeen shall be prohibited.”