Surfing for Booze

For decades kids have tried to get a drink by showing fake id’s and stealing from their parents liquor cabinet. But, now the web is a cool, anonymous place to buy. A place where kids can surf for booze like they shop for clothes.

A 12 year old transposes her age to 21 with one click of the mouse. As far as the merchant on the other side of cyberspace is concerned, she is legal and free to buy all the beer, wine and booze she wants. One 17 year old who asked to remain anonymous says she ordered cases of vodka and kahlua on the internet. “I threw a party and had a case of vodka and a case of kahlua and it was just like all you could drink.” The problem of kids ordering drinks from their desktop is such a concern that a number of states have either limited the direct mail purchase of alcohol or banned it altogether. Thirty seven states are tightening direct ship laws but experts warn many merchants find a way to get around the new rules.

Experts say parents should monitor their credit cards, monitor kids’ activities on line and make sure kids don’t piggy back on parents Internet purchases. Parents should make sure their own deliveries are accurate and don’t include more alcohol than ordered.

What Parents Should Know

State legislatures are cracking down on direct shipment of alcohol. States like Florida are passing laws that make it a felony to illegally ship alcoholic beverages. The issue involves suppliers selling directly to consumers bypassing retailers and wholesalers. Wineries and trade representatives like the Wine Institute are fierce proponents of direct sales while wholesalers obviously oppose any sales that bypass them.

Retailers are also getting in on the direct shipping market extending their reach across state borders and offering mail order alcohol and cyberspace packages promoted by popular beer and wine of the month clubs. Congress is also debating the issue. Senator Orin Hatch, a republican from Utah, recently introduced a measure that would allow state’s chief law enforcement officers to go to federal court to block alcohol sales, including transactions over the Internet

Hatch says indiscriminate direct sales of alcohol have opened a sophisticated generation of minors to the dangers of alcohol. Opponents say the measure is driven by wholesalers and will do little to stop underage drinking.

“I threw a party and had a case of vodka and a case of kahlua and it was just like all you could drink.”

--Anonymous, Age 17

Desktop Drinking

Internet alcohol sales is big business with wine sales alone totaling an estimated half billion dollars a year. With the desktop drinking industry soaring, Americans are concerned about their kids. A recent survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows a majority of Americans support tough policies to prevent teen drinking. The survey indicates many Americans would support a ban on home delivery alcohol sales.

Underage Drinking

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

*Kids who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than those who begin drinking at age 21. Kids who start drinking before age fifteen are also more likely to abuse alcohol.

*The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that over 2000 kids died in alcohol related crashes in 1996.

*A University of Michigan study reports that in 1997 over 24% of eighth graders, over 40% of tenth graders and more than 52 percent of twelfth graders used alcohol in the past 30 days.

Resources
For more information on parenting issues contact us: Connecting with Kids