Shutting Off the Tap to Teens: Reducing Youth Access to Alcohol in Minnesota Young people who drink alcohol are dying, getting pregnant, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, being attacked, and failing school.1 Telling kids to "just say no" does not work.2 We try to educate kids in school about the dangers of alcohol use and expect that they will not use alcohol. But kids who participate in these education programs are as likely to drink and experience problems as those young people who do not receive this education. Why? Youth live in a society that encourages them to drink alcohol. Teens can easily get alcohol from adults -- from both social and commercial providers.3 Teens are allowed to drink in places and situations throughout their community.4 Advertisements entice teens to drink by promising coolness, sexual conquests, and relaxation.5 Many adults think alcohol use is a rite of passage. We tell kids in school one message, and then send them back into the same environment that has always encouraged them to drink alcohol. One step towards creating communities that do not encourage young people to drink is to reduce the flow of alcohol to youth. Teens say they can easily get alcohol from:3  Commercial Establishments Bars Restaurants Liquor stores Grocery stores Convenience stores Home-delivered alcohol  Social Providers Friends under age 21 Friends over age 21 Parents Siblings Co-workers Strangers outside stores
		Where teens get alcohol varies by community and age group. The most popular sources of alcohol for all age groups are social providers over age 21. However, the older youth are, the more likely they are to buy alcohol themselves from commercial establishments. Among 18-20-year-olds, 20% reported buying alcohol themselves the last time they drank alcohol.6 Young people can easily purchase alcohol throughout Minnesota without showing any age identification. Young people can buy alcohol in nearly one out of every two tries.7,8 Many underage people obtain alcohol at drinking parties where one or two youth obtain large quantities of alcohol, often in kegs. In the past year, 54% of high school seniors and 36% of young adults drank alcohol from beer kegs.9   How do we reduce the flow of alcohol to young people? Make adults accountable for their behavior. Change and enforce community policies.   Even though it is against the law, why do adults sell and give alcohol to underage people? Few communities ask where young people are getting the alcohol. Few communities enforce the law and hold adults responsible for illegally selling or giving alcohol to underage people.10 Many adults do not realize that in Minnesota, it is a gross misdemeanor (punishable by jail or fine) to sell or give alcohol to someone under age 21 who is not your own child.11   What are some examples of community policies that can reduce commercial and social access?  Commercial Sources Social Sources  Alcohol sales compliance checks Periodic checks to ID establishments that sell to underage youth  Keg registration Tagging kegs to identify purchaser  Administrative penalties Graduated, civil penalties for illegal alcohol sales  Social host liability Liability for giving alcohol to youth  Restricting home deliveries Establishing system to monitor alcohol deliveries  Community event restrictions Restrictions to limit social and commercial availability at events  Server/manager training Training on responsible alcohol service     What about underage youth who provide alcohol to other young people?6 Nearly one out of two surveyed high school students in Minnesota and Wisconsin reported getting alcohol from someone under age 21 in the last 30 days. More than one out of four 18-20-year-olds reported buying for or giving alcohol to another 18-20-year old. Another 15% had given alcohol to someone under age 18. The ripple effect of one adult selling or giving alcohol to one underage person is greatly increased as that youth gives some of that alcohol to friends or acquaintances. One keg illegally sold to an underage person provides a large amount of alcohol to many teens.
			References: 1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Alcohol and Health. (1997) Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2Kelder, S.H., Perry, C.L. 91992). Substance abuse prevention. In H.M. Wallace, K. Patrick, G.S. Parcel, & J.B. Igoe. Principles and practices for student health. VII. Oakland, CA: Third Party Publishing, pp. 410-422. 3Wagenaar, A.C., Toomey, T.L., Murray, D.M., Short, B.J. Wolfson, M. & Jones-Webb, R. Sources of alcohol for underage youth. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57(3):325-333, 1996. 4Jones-Webb, R., Toomey, T.L., Miner, K., Wagenaar, A.C., Wolfson, M., Poon, R. (1997). Why and what context adolescents obtain alcohol from adults: A pilot study. Substance Use & Misuse, 32(2), 219-228. 5Dietz, W.H., Strasburger, V.C. (1991). Children, adolescents, and television. Current Problems in Pediatrics, 21, 8-31. 6University of Minnesota. Unpublished data from Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol. 7Forster, J.L., McGovern, P., Wagenaar, A. C., Wolfson, M., Perry C.L. & Anstine P.S. The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification. Addiction, 89:699-705, 1994 8Forster, J.L., Murray, D.M., Wolfson, M. & Wagenaar, A.C. Commercial availability of alcohol to young people: Results of alcohol purchase attempts. Preventive Medicine, 24:342-347, 1995. 9Toomey, T.L., Wagenar, A.C., Short, B., Wolfson, M., Jones-Webb, R. Beer keg use among Midwestern adolescents and young adults. In preparation. 10Wagenaar, A.C., Wolfson, M. (1994). Enforcement of the legal minimum drinking age in the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy, 15(1), 37-53. 11Minnesota State Statute §340A.702. 1/13/98
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