Young mystery shoppers visited 300 supermarkets and liquor shops in the Netherlands over and 86% of the teenagers managed to buy alcohol.
Under the ’Alcohol and Catering Law’, it is forbidden to sell alcoholic products to children below the age of 16; the age-limit for selling distilled spirits is 18 years. Alcohol sellers are required to check the age of the youngsters. In that case, only 1 out of 7 teenagers were asked to prove their age and this didn’t prevent alcohol retailers from selling alcohol.
The Director of STAP, Mr Van Dalen concludes that `“educational campaigns of the alcohol industry to their personnel have failed.”
STAP therefore urges the Dutch government to enforce the ’Alcohol and Catering Law’ in order to better protect children and young people. They suggest that mystery shoppers could be used to detect alcohol sellers that fail to comply with the law.
EPHA Briefing Note on Alcohol and Young People
