Law Enforcement Has Impact on Youth Alcohol Sales, Study Says

Year-round compliance checks on alcohol sellers can help cut sales to minors, according to a new study.

HealthDay News reported March 17 that the study led by University of Florida College of Medicine professor Alexander Wagenaar looked at 942 alcohol-sales outlets in 20 Midwestern cities. The study found that law-enforcement compliance checks at liquor, grocery, and convenience stores led to an immediate 17-percent decline in sales to minors, but that reductions fell to 11 percent within two weeks of the check and to 3 percent after three months. Similar patterns were found at bars and restaurants.

"We found that enforcement has significant effects, but just like enforcement against any offense, you can't just do it once and think it solves everything," said Wagenaar. "We have to create an ongoing perception on the part of the managers and owners of these establishments that they have a decent chance of getting caught if they sell to teenagers."

The five-year study said continuous enforcement was much more effective in preventing underage sales than server training.

The study "underscores the potential for enforcement of underage alcohol sales laws to reduce underage access to alcohol," said Ralph Hingson, director of the division of epidemiology and prevention at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.