Of course a rational alternative might be to get rid of the age purchase laws for alcohol and leave its control to parents and social norms.  

Yes, you probably WOULD end up with somewhat more drinking by teens, but you'd probably also end up with a significant reduction in drinking potentially poisonous substances such as cough syrup or hand sanitizer, addiction to prescription drugs that teens use to "get high" when they don't have alcohol access, and the dangers caused by teen drinking in secluded and unsupervised environments.

Of course "rational alternatives" are rarely considered in situations such as these ... better to just let the kids guzzle antifreeze and die, eh?

- MJM