Alcohol formula pays off
THE number of retailers selling alcohol to minors has dropped significantly in the four years since an alarming study was released.
Deakin University researcher John Toumbourou said the number of Geelong retailers prepared to sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors dropped from 80 per cent in 2012 to around a third in 2017.
Prof Toumbourou will share Geelong’s success in a campaign to arrest easy access to alcohol with international experts at a Melbourne forum tomorrow.
The 2012 trial, conducted by Deakin University in partnership with Communities That Care Geelong, focused on restricting alcohol supply as a way to reduce adolescent drinking. Data at the time s showed 41 per cent of Geelong youth were consuming alcohol at age 14, with teens obtaining alcohol from parents and bottle shops.
Prof Toumbourou said that most liquor store managers were concerned to find staff did not ask for ID because they had consumed alcohol when they were underage.
He said the significant decline in young people buying alcohol showed staff were being more vigilant in checking IDs and that strategies arising from the report were having a positive impact.
However, it was still concerning that minors were able to access and consumer alcohol and cigarettes relatively easily and more needed to be done, with more support from local government and leaders.
He said many parents still falsely believed introducing their children to alcohol in a home setting was safe.