Bars look to head off trouble with ID scanners

A growing number of bars nationwide are turning to new ID scanner technology to bounce troublemakers before they cause more problems by sharing information about them with other neighborhood taverns.

The trend has privacy advocates concerned about how the information will be stored and about potential uses by private companies.

When entering a venue using one of the systems, a customer, regardless of age, presents his or her ID to a member of the door staff, who runs it through a scanner that checks for validity and whether the person is of legal drinking age, says Nathan Perry, a bar manager at Southside Johnny's in Colorado Springs.

The system also photographs the customer and the ID , and provides information about the customer's history at the venue, Perry says. Then a computer database shares that newly collected information with other area bars.

To view the full story, click on this link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-08-23-bar-ID-scanners-privacy_n.htm 

Source: USA Today

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana State Excise Police have been very busy over the last couple of weeks as students return to college.

Students at Ball State, Indiana University, Indiana State and Notre Dame were ticketed for underage drinking and using fake IDs in a crackdown designed to cut down on alcohol consumption, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

Most bars have signs that warn that IDs will be checked, but minors frequently slip in by using fake IDs or going to bars that aren't as vigilant about keeping minors out.

Students said underage drinking and bar hopping is pervasive on campus.

"I feel like there are a lot of people that do go into bars that are underage," said IU student Hillary Brown.

"I know a lot of people who were getting in trouble during welcome week, especially. It surprises me the amount of people that go out when you have school early in the morning," said IU freshman Colby Snyder.

Excise Officer Travis Thickstun said fake IDs are becoming more difficult to detect.

To view the full story, click on this link: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/29021526/detail.html 

Source: The Indy Channel

The Government will set up an expert forum to look into further restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship, as its refusal to budge on higher alcohol prices comes under fire.

The Alcohol Reform Bill was reported back from the justice and electoral select committee today. Most of the major elements were unchanged, including:

# A split alcohol purchase age of 18 for bars and restaurants and 20 for liquor shops and supermarkets

# Making it illegal to supply under 18s with alcohol without parental consent

# National trading hours of 7am-11pm for liquor outlets and 8am-4am for bars and clubs, though these can be altered by local authorities

# Empowering local authorities to grant licences based on the concentration, location and hours of alcohol outlets

One change to the bill would require supermarkets to keep alcohol in one place as a condition of their licence, preventing them from merchandising alcohol products at the end of aisles, near the entrance or at checkouts.

To view the full story, click on this link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10747393 

Source: NZ Herald

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An annual survey of alcohol and drug use by Indiana youths found a continued decline in those who have consumed alcohol while more admitted using marijuana in the past month.

The 2011 survey by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University reports about 65 percent of high school seniors say they've tried alcohol before. That's down from 68 percent last year and 85 percent in 1993.

Statewide programs aimed at reducing underage drinking have helped with the decline in alcohol use and similar attention should be paid to marijuana and prescription drug use, said Courtney Stewart, a research associate at the center.

Stewart said the increase in marijuana use by teens could be explained by media attention paid to legalizing the drug for medical use.

"It's the perception of harm and risk," Stewart told the Indiana Daily Student. "With medical marijuana, a lot of youth might think, `Hey, it's OK, doctors are prescribing it. It's OK to use it."'

Katy Travis, program director for the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County, said she believed more cooperation between retailers, parents and law enforcement contributed to the decline in alcohol use.

"When you combine all of that together, I think the numbers are going to reflect it," Travis told the Journal & Courier of Lafayette.

About 15 percent of the high school seniors who responded to the survey admitted they had abused prescription drugs.

Lafayette police Officer Mike McIver, who works at Jefferson High School, said he believed abuse of prescription drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse has increased because they're easier to obtain.

"Doctors tend to prescribe those freely, which makes them very accessible by kids," McIver said.

Researchers questioned nearly 169,000 students in grades six through 12 at public and private schools across the state for the survey.

Link: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/29050582/detail.html

Source: TheIndyChannel.com

Study: College drinking liberating, source of excuses

United Kingdom: Alcohol related hospital admissions up by almost 900 a day

NEARLY 1,000 more people are admitted to hospital every day for drinking compared with five years ago, new research shows.

Teen Social Networking Increases Likelihood of Alcohol and Drug Use