Alcohol awareness groups work to keep children from alcohol

Hoosiers for the Responsible Distribution of Alcohol and the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking remind Hoosiers to safely celebrate the holiday season and help reduce underage drinking.

Currently, furnishing alcohol to a minor is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Both HRAD and ICRUD are supportive of legislative measures to increase those penalties.

In a 2005 national survey from the American Medical Association, two out of three minors said alcohol is easy to get from their own homes without their parents’ knowledge. One out of three said their parents willingly give them alcohol and 40 percent said a friend’s parent willingly provides them with alcohol.

“We want to remind adults during this busy season—and always—to be responsible when dealing with alcohol,” said HRAD spokesman Phil Terry, Monarch Beverage Company CEO. “We all need to recognize the importance of preventing minors’ access to alcohol.”

According to a recent survey conducted by Indianapolisbased Stone Research Services, 88 percent of Hoosiers say that preventing sales to minors should have the greatest priority in setting state policy on alcohol sales.

To help curb underage drinking, HRAD, a newly formed coalition of alcohol wholesalers in Indiana, has announced that it will offer grants of up to $10,000 to programs aimed at preventing minors’ access to alcohol. Grant applicants can apply at www.hoosier-rad.org.

“We’re looking for innovative ideas and programs that will really make a difference in preventing minors’ access to alcohol,” Terry said. “Our survey validated for us what we have always thought to be true: Hoosiers care greatly about minors’ ability to acquire alcohol. “

HRAD and ICRUD also announced their support for several legal and policy changes aimed at curbing alcohol sales to minors and preventing drunk driving. They include: • Granting the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) the authority to conduct compliance checks at all facilities that sell alcohol • Increasing the ATC’s budget to conduct online sting operations and other compliance checks to enforce laws against minors’ buying alcohol over the Internet • Increasing penalties against adults convicted of providing beverage alcohol to minors

“Parents and other adults need to remember that providing alcohol to minors, even if they are your own children, is against the law and sends a mixed message that it is acceptable to break the law and to consume alcohol illegally,” said ICRUD Director Lisa Hutcheson. “Tragically, some well-meaning adults have provided alcohol to minors in situations that have ended in the serious injury or death of a minor or someone else. A social host law would ensure that parents and other adults get the message that providing alcohol to minors is a serious offense with serious consequences.”

A growing concern is the ability of minors to purchase alcohol over the Internet. While Indiana law currently prohibits the sale of alcohol over the Internet, except in a few circumstances, alcohol is still shipped to Indiana homes on a regular basis. Anyone with access to a credit card can order alcohol online and have it delivered to their doorstep, often with no questions asked.

Ninety-one percent of Hoosiers surveyed by Stone Research said it was more important for the state to strictly regulate and prevent sales to underage persons than for Hoosiers to have home delivery of Internet, mail and telephone orders of alcohol.

The Indiana Alcohol Distribution survey has a margin of error of 4.7 percent with a 95 percent confidence level.