Shield teens from underage drinking
It’s only the first few weeks of the new year so some people are still keeping their resolutions to be healthier in 2024. For many that means cutting back on drinking and taking a run at “dry January.” But while it may be a personal challenge for some to stop drinking for a month, parents and guardians of teenagers have an even tougher task these days keeping alcohol away from their children and preventing underage drinking.
According to statistics from the New York City Department of Health, one in four adolescents consumed alcohol in the last month and 16% binged on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. Underage drinking increases the risk of developing alcohol use disorders, and leads to risky behavior like unsafe sexual activity, violence, and drunk driving.
Each year there are tens of thousands of alcohol-related emergency department visits and serious injuries resulting from underage drinking. It’s a serious problem.
Yet while the danger of alcohol consumption among New York’s youth remains a significant threat, there are those who want to make it even easier for teens to purchase alcohol. Over the past few years some misguided policymakers have raised the idea of allowing direct shipping of alcohol to the home.
Licensed and trained liquor store owners use technology and experience to prevent underage retail purchases, identify fraudulent IDs, and stop teens from illegal access to alcohol. Weakening the liquor law to allow teens to get liquor shipped directly from the manufacturers and delivered to the doorstep would be a disaster.
Government investigators in Massachusetts, which made the mistake of loosening laws governing alcohol shipment, are struggling with alcohol shipping. The commonwealth consistently manages 40 investigations open into unlawful interstate smuggling of alcohol. More than 50% of their investigation resources are dedicated to this issue alone.
Chief Ted Mahony of the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission has explained that investigations have shown websites offering alcohol shipment operating out of unlicensed residential or business addresses and often fictitious points of origin. Shipments are transported through common carriers without labeling or age verification requirements.
New research from the national polling firm Morning Consult shows how dangerous this problem has become in areas that have made the mistake to permit direct alcohol shipping. In a survey of 2,200 American consumers, one in four were not asked for identification when alcohol was shipped to the home. A disturbing 87% of consumers who had alcohol shipped to the home reported concerns that the process would enable underage purchase. Many even reported that the alcohol was left on their doorstep without even a signature.
Whoever made the mistake to legalize this is likely regretting the decision in the face of these troubling statistics. We can’t let it happen in New York.
I spent my career in the Department of Justice at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives before being named sheriff of New York City by Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Over the span of my career in law enforcement I’ve seen proposals to change regulations around popular adult products like alcohol and tobacco. One thing for certain is that even the most minor changes can trigger significant negative consequences.
The supply chain for alcohol needs smart regulation that balances convenience and provides for consumer demand while protecting public health and public safety.
States like New York have a threetiered system that provides vigilant oversight to protect consumers while enabling a functioning marketplace. This framework of checks and balances protects consumers by ensuring that manufacturers, wholesalers & distributors, and retailers manage separate parts of the supply chain. This system was put in place almost a century ago and it’s been incredibly successful.
If dramatic changes are made to the functioning three-tier system, it will create the opportunity for abuse in many forms. If manufacturers were able to ship directly to the home, this would reduce oversight in the supply chain opening the door for illegal, counterfeit, tainted product. It could give producers too much pricing power that could hurt consumers.
Beyond hurting consumers, direct shipping would hurt family-owned businesses that have served us responsibly and kept our children safe through age verification. Most importantly looser liquor laws in the name of more convenience would create vulnerabilities that would lead to overconsumption and underage drinking.
This year, let’s make a resolution to keep our children safe from underage drinking and the harmful consequences that can come from teen alcohol use. Let’s keep our liquor laws strong to protect our economy, public health, and public safety.