Like a drink, sonny?

Buying alcohol is no great problem for underage drinkers and the threat of legal action does not seem to deter rogue vendors. Research published in the respected journal Addiction⁽¹⁾ further indicates that "Prove-It" identification cards are rarely asked for, most requests from underage purchasers being met unchallenged.

The study, carried out by psychologists from the universities of Wales Swansea, Leeds, and Reading, and with the assistance of the Thames Valley Police, had three aims: to find out how easily adolescents could buy alcohol; gather information of how vendors regarded sales to those who are legally underage; and to evaluate police intervention intended to reduce those sales. Thirteen and sixteen year-old boys and girls were recruited to try to buy different types of alcohol - alcopops, beer, cider, wine, and spirits - in a variety of retail outlets, such as off-licences, pubs, supermarkets, and corner shops. The children, who operated in pairs, were under the supervision of a researcher and usually a parent. The assessment took place in two phases, separated by a telephone survey of a sample of those vendors who had unwittingly been part of the experiment.

In the first phase, the vast majority of sixteen year-olds (88.1 per cent of girls and 77 per cent of boys) were successful in purchasing alcohol. The difference between the sexes was much more marked at thirteen years old. Here 41.6 per cent of girls managed to buy alcohol whilst only 4.1 per cent of the boys were successful. An interesting feature of the survey was that the figures were much the same irrespective of the nature of the outlet, location, and type of alcohol. A refusal to sell more often happened when another vendor was present.

Significantly, 80 per cent of purchases by sixteen year-olds and 65 per cent of sales to thirteen year-olds were made without any form of challenge. In addition, identity cards were demanded during fewer than 12 per cent of the purchase attempts by both age groups. In the telephone survey vendors claimed that they rarely encountered underage customers and that when they did they refused to sell. Ninety per cent of vendors said that if they became suspicious they asked for ID. Only two of the vendors surveyed envisaged any adverse consequences for themselves from selling alcohol to underage customers.

At one point in the survey there was a police intervention resulting in warning letters, visits to vendors, and the issuing of a small number of police cautions. In the words of the researchers: "The fact that the police intervention failed to decrease sales suggests that vendors do not change their behaviour in response to the threat of legal action."

Clearly what most people have strongly suspected is in fact the case: sales of alcohol to children presents few problems. If you are sixteen, then the strong probability is that you will be served without any questions being asked. Even a substantial proportion of thirteen year-old girls are easily able to buy alcohol whether this is in a corner shop, an off-licence, or in a supermarket. It is important that the police take note that a low-key approach to vendors is virtually useless. If there is a serious intention to prevent underage children purchasing alcohol then more severe measures appear to be necessary.

(1) Alcohol Sales to underage adolescents: an unobtrusive field study and evaluation of police intervention, Paul Willner et al., Addiction, Volume 95, Number 9, September, 2000.