New alcohol compliance program starting up

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has launched a new program aimed at reducing alcohol sales to minors at stores.

Funded by a recently awarded five-year grant, the Alcohol Reward and Reminder Program will continue the common use of a “buyer” who looks to be underage to see if clerks are carefully checking IDs. But in this program, the “buyer” will not purchase alcohol if the clerk appears to be willing to make the sale without proof of age.

Under the new program, retailers will be visited at least once a year by a team composed of a trained adult surveyor and a trained 21-year-old who looks younger. The 21-year-old will attempt to purchase alcohol without proof of age while the surveyor observes.

If the clerk refuses a sale because the “buyer” has no proof of age or for any other reason, the 21-year-old will leave the store and the surveyor will step up and congratulate the clerk. The clerk will also be handed a reward card to fill out that gives the clerk a chance to win a $100 gift card that will be drawn four times a year.

If the clerk does not ask for proof of age and appears to be willing to make the sale, the “buyer” will not purchase the alcohol and will leave the store. The surveyor will then hand the clerk a “reminder” card that explains the potential legal consequences of selling alcohol to a minor.

The Alcohol Reward and Reminder Program will cost about $95,000 per year to implement. A similar program is already being used to curb tobacco sales to minors.

DPHHS considers alcohol sales to minors to be a serious problem. Results from a 2012 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey of 14,575 students in Montana found that 18.8 percent of eighth-graders, 36.9 percent of 10th-graders and 49.5 percent of 12th-graders had used alcohol within the past 30 days.