I have lived in several countries and I would have to say that the US is the most uptight about cigarrettes and alcohol that I have come accross. I grew up in Australia and by the time I was 16 I was having a beer in the local pubs with everyone else. By the time I was 15 I had finnished school and had a job, on a cattle station. And so was most of the kids who I went to school with. Over here if you are 15 or 16 and not in school they call you a drop-out and think you are a "runnaway". And heaven forbid if you have a drink and you are under 21, Oh.. call the SWAT team....get the womenfolk off the streets and close the curtains.