(This resource corresponds to Module 2.)

It is important for communities to have penalties that deter individuals from breaking underage purchasing laws. For outlets, strategies like compliance checks are successful because owners who sell to underage patrons receive a penalty; likewise, the laws that regulate the use of these products must also have a penalty in place for the underage buyers.

• Impose administrative penalties on outlets that sell alcohol and tobacco to youth. Local communities can penalize alcohol license holders when they fail to comply with the State laws or ordinances that govern the sale of alcohol products.¹ This penalty can be a fine and/or a suspension or complete revocation of the vendor’s alcohol license. These penalties are generally enforced by a local governing body, such as a city council or county board, rather than by the court system. Such policies can deter outlets from selling to minors, while at the same time encourage them to create internal policies and practices that prevent the sales of these products to underage customers.²
  
  
• Enact zero-tolerance laws. Many States have lowered the blood alcohol content (BAC) limits for drivers who are not of legal age to drink. In States with zero-tolerance laws, any amount of alcohol in the body of a driver who is under 21 is an offense, and the young person’s driver’s license can be suspended.³ These laws have been effective in reducing the number of alcohol-related traffic crashes and fatalities among young people. In particular, zero-tolerance laws that set BAC levels at .00 to .02 percent have been shown to reduce nighttime single-vehicle crashes among young drivers.⁴ These laws can be further strengthened when States enact administrative license revocation laws, allowing an arresting officer to confiscate the license of any driver who tests over the legal BAC or who refuses to take the blood test.⁵
  
  
• Enact "use and lose" laws. Another effective way to deter youth from breaking minimum purchase age laws is through "use and lose" laws.⁶ A young person’s driver’s license can be suspended if he or she is under 21 and convicted of using, possessing, or attempting to purchase alcohol, with or without a false ID.

References

1. The Alcohol Epidemiology Program of the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (1997). Policies to reduce youth access.
   
   
2. The Alcohol Epidemiology Program of the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (1997). Policies to reduce youth access.
   
   
3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (1996). Zero tolerance laws to reduce alcohol impaired driving by youth: State legislative fact sheet. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation; Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (2000). A guide to zero tolerance and graduated licensing: Two strategies that work. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program.
   
   
4. Hingson, R., Heeren, T. and Winter, M. (1991). Reduced BAC limits for young people (impact of night fatal crashes). Alcohol, Drugs and Driving, 7, 117–127; Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (2000). A guide to zero tolerance and graduated licensing: Two strategies that work.
   
   
5. Hingson, R. (1993). Prevention of alcohol-impaired driving. Alcohol Health and Research World, 17(1), 28–34; Klein, T. M. (1989). Changes in alcohol-involving fatal crashes associated with tougher state alcohol legislation. Brookeville, MD: Sigmastat, Inc.; Ross, H. L. and Gilliland, E. M. (1991). Administrative license revocation for drunk drivers: Options and choices in three states. Washington, DC: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety; Zador, P. L.; Lund, A. K.; Fields, M. and Weinberg, K. (1989). Fatal crash involvement and laws against alcohol-impaired driving. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; Gardner, S. E., and Brounstein, P. J. (2001). Science-Based Prevention Practices. Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention. Available online at modelprograms.samhsa.gov/pdfs/pubs_Principles.pdf.
   
   
6. Preusser, D. F., Ulmer, R. G., and Preusser, C. W. (1992). Obstacles to enforcement of youthful (under 21) impaired driving; Gardner, S. E., and Brounstein, P. J. (2001). Science-Based Prevention Practices. Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention. Available online at modelprograms.samhsa.gov/pdfs/pubs_Principles.pdf.