Where I grew up, teenagers did have a great demand for alcohol. I shudder to think of the quantities we consumed. There were people in my circles who were hardened drinkers at the age of 16, guys who would drink 10 litres of beer and a bottle of vodka in an evening. Those were exceptional, but even I used to habitually drink 2-3 litres of beer in an evening. There were some who were smart enough not to take part in this madness, but most, me included, weren´t.
All of that is pretty horrifying when I think about it now but at the time I didn´t give much thought to it. In short: The teenage drinking doesn´t seem unrealistic to me.
