Enforcement of drinking age backfires

By CHRIS DANIELS and JOSIE CLARKE

The prophets of doom predicted thousands of young teens drunk in bars, and women bashed by their men for not bringing home beer with the groceries.

There is little evidence of any of this, although dropping the drinking age to 18 and allowing beer in supermarkets and Sunday alcohol sales has caused some problems - mainly a result of the hospitality industry doing its job too well.

Ironically, strict enforcement of age limits in bars and clubs has pushed the under-18s out on to the streets, where police are having to pick up the pieces.

Alcohol supplied by those over 18 - in many cases parents - is being drunk in parks, on the street or at the beach by teenagers of 16 and younger who cannot make it past the bouncers.

Research into the effect of the new drinking environment is starting to emerge, some of it more worrying than the alcohol industry would like.

The Alcohol Advisory Council's survey of teenage drinking habits released last month showed that half the 14 to 18-year-olds questioned admitted having five or more drinks in their last session, up from 40 per cent in 1998.

The survey also found that under-18s are still able to buy alcohol. Twenty per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds personally bought alcohol from licensed sellers, and only one-third of teenagers buying alcohol were always asked for identification.

Sally Jackman, executive director of the Drug Foundation, said there were worrying signs that younger and younger people were drinking in public places, and some vendors were not asking for proof of age.

There was not enough research around the country to check on compliance.

"We know from the survey that parents and friends are the main suppliers of alcohol to minors to drink away from home," she said.

"Maybe older suppliers should be legally responsible for the damage minors do to themselves and others."

But police Assistant Commissioner Paul Fitzharris is pleased with how seriously the industry has taken the new laws.

Since December 1, police have charged just seven under-18s with buying alcohol from licensed premises.

Between the December law change and April 12, police found only 67 under-18s in supervised areas on licensed premises, and charged 31 with being in a restricted area on licensed premises.

"What does concern us is young people drinking in public places - young kids with a plastic bag of wine stuck up their jumper. It's one area we're not getting a grip on.

"You have to ask where these kids are getting the alcohol from, and surveys show a large proportion are getting it from their parents."

Since the law change, 657 under-18s have been charged with drinking in public and 752 with possession of alcohol.

Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson agrees that the jump in young people drinking in public is the main area of concern.

He said members had seen little increase in patronage because 18 and 19-year-olds had been drinking in bars under various guises before the law changed. The under-18s now drinking on the street were probably previously drinking illegally, but in supervised environments.

"They are not getting it from our members selling it illegally - they are using other people to buy it legally from our premises, and it's an area of real concern for the authorities."

One bar owner who was not rubbing his hands with glee at the arrival of teenagers on the legal drinking scene was Whangarei's David Sinclair. As manager and part-owner of the Killer Prawn bar and restaurant, he achieved fame by announcing that, although 18 and 19-year-olds could now legally drink at his bar, he did not want them.

"We have had excellent feedback from our clientele for what we've done," he said this week. "They don't want to drink with all these younger guys and girls."

He did not want the Killer Prawn to become a "teenage boozer," and despite a Human Rights Commission warning that he could be breaching anti-discrimination laws, no complaint was ever laid.

Mr Sinclair agrees the problem is not in the bars, but out on the street.

Dropping the drinking age was opposed by the Automobile Association, which argued last year that international evidence pointed to a jump in teenage drink-driving deaths if 18 and 19-year-olds could buy alcohol.

Spokesman Geordie Cassin accepted this week that there had been no immediate surge in the road toll now 18-year olds were legally allowed to drink.

While the number of fatal crashes was down and the number of young people dying on the roads had not increased, it was still only six months since the change.

"But let's be positive - things do look encouraging. We are delighted to see what has happened so far."

Breweries, expected to be the only obvious winners, are circumspect about the effects of the 1999 change. There has been no huge increase in beer sales, just an expansion of where it can be sold.

Graham Seatter, corporate affairs and sponsorship director for Lion Breweries, said total beer sales between September 1 and April 30 were down slightly compared with the year before.

The new laws had been a catalyst for traditional outlets to improve their service.

"They are under pressure, but we haven't seen huge numbers of closures."

Wine sales at traditional outlets were down, with people choosing to buy their wine and beer together at the supermarket.

Ted van Arkel, managing director of supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises, said 40 per cent of wine and around 20 per cent of all beer sold was from supermarkets.

He was confident that within two or three years the percentage of beer sold in supermarkets would also be about 40 per cent.

There had not been any real price drop once beer could be sold from supermarket shelves as the move had been signalled well before December 1, enabling others to start competing early.

The winners from the law change are the consumers, who can now buy their supplies on a Sunday, and the 18 and 19-year olds, who no longer need to doctor ID cards to drink in a bar.

But police and social services must find new solutions to the unexpected downside of this new freedom - the young teenagers who find themselves out of the bar and out on the street.