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NY: Long Island counties moving toward enacting energy drink drinking age

November 30, 2012

 

Long Island is buzzing about energy drinks. A proposed law would ban sales to teenagers because of its caffeine kick.

But as CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported on Friday, not everyone wants to put a lid on the popular products.

 

They've been the subject of much debate, and now energy drinks are in the cross hairs of health officials in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Even as the Food and Drug Administration looks into their safety, energy drinks, which are loaded with sugar, caffeine and other stimulants, are as popular as ever among teens.

 

"When they're having sleep-overs they just want to stay up all night," Islip High School senior Courtney Perera said. "It's not like we are going to OD on an energy drink," senior Erin Cohen added.

 

But Suffolk County could soon be the first to pass an energy drink drinking age. Its Board of Health voted to urge county and federal lawmakers to ban sales to anyone under 19. "It has a bad nutritional message. It has risks for children. It has no therapeutic value," Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. James Tomarken said.

 

William Spender, a Suffolk County legislator and a medical doctor, said he'll sponsor the bill if the industry doesn't label the drinks with better warnings. He said the danger lies in the concentration of caffeine and when it's consumed."If a young person is in a strenuous activity, caffeine intoxication can lead to cardiac arrhythmia," Dr. Spencer said.


To read more, click this link:
 http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/30/long-island-counties-move-toward-enacting-energy-drink-drinking-age/

 

Source: CBS New York

Kentucky: Kentucky lawmakers should look closely at alcohol sales 

December 5, 2012

 

In its recent editorial "Alcohol Task Force Falls Short" The Courier-Journal was highly critical of Gov. Steve Beshear's Alcoholic Beverage Control Task Force for not addressing a recent federal court ruling that struck down a Kentucky law prohibiting sales of high-proof alcohol in businesses that sell a "substantial" amount of groceries and gasoline.

 

The editorial talked about wine and spirits being sold in grocery stores. It did not, however, mention that Judge John G. Heyburn II's decision also allows high-proof alcohol in gas stations, truck stops, dollar stores and even pawn shops. The ruling stated that any alcohol sold by a drug store can be sold by any other business. With 250 vacant liquor licenses in Louisville alone this could result in an explosion of additional alcohol outlets, creating the greatest expansion of alcoholic beverages since Prohibition ended.

 

Alcohol regulation should be about public safety because of the potential devastation caused by selling or using alcohol irresponsibly. Kentucky's alcohol laws may seem archaic to some, but they exist to protect our youth from easy access.

 

The current regulatory system has a 75-year record of success controlling and regulating access to alcohol. As a result, Kentucky has lower rates of binge drinking and teen consumption of alcohol than states with broader access. Tight regulation is the key factor in Kentucky's proud statistics. Allowing these beverages to be sold in businesses that hire teenagers and allow kids to roam unsupervised in their stores will increase availability to Kentucky teenagers. Just look at states like Wisconsin and Iowa which allow liquor sales in grocery stores and gas stations and have the country's highest rates of binge drinking and teen consumption.

 

Judge Heyburn delayed his ruling to give Kentucky's General Assembly time to address the matter. The ruling did not decide that grocery stores and gas stations have the right to sell package liquor, only that the current prohibition is unconstitutional. We agree with The Courier-Journal that the issue needs to be addressed. However, we believe it should be left to the legislature instead of a task force made of many industry groups not involved with this complex issue.

 

We believe these potentially dangerous products should continue to be sold by businesses with adult employees who only allow adults to shop in their stores. They should not be sold in the corner gas station kids visit every day after school. The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention reports thefts from department, grocery, convenience and drug stores cost $35 million per day and 25 percent of persons caught shoplifting are ages 13 to 17. What will happen when liquor is put on those unsupervised shelves?

 

To read more, click this link: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121205/OPINION02/312050065/Letter-Kentuky-lawmakers-should-look-closely-alcohol-sales

 

Source: Courier-Journal 

Washington: teen shoplifting, liquor a bad mix since voters approved 1183

December 9, 2012

 

Since private stores started selling hard liquor in June, at least 20 teenagers have been charged with stealing spirits from Thurston County grocery stores, a number juvenile prosecutor Wayne Graham calls only "the tip of the iceberg" and an indication of a larger problem.

 

After passage of Initiative 1183 - which eliminated state-run liquor stores and allowed private liquor sales across Washington - local chains and big-box retailers have made liquor too accessible to would-be juvenile shoplifters, Graham said.

 

"Alcohol use by students on school property has gone up, and it's not beer," the prosecutor said.

 

"Obviously our focus is on kids not having access to unlawful substances. We don't think stores are taking any steps to minimize the access that juveniles have to alcohol, primarily, through theft."

 

Graham said he cannot recall a single case involving a minor accused of shoplifting beer or wine since the new law authorizing liquor sales at grocery stores went into effect on June 1.

 

Several Capital High School students agreed with Graham's assessment that teens are taking advantage of it being easier to shoplift liquor.

 

"You're not an automatic suspect when you walk in a grocery store," said one student interviewed Tuesday in the school parking lot.

 

Another student admitted he's on probation after he was caught stealing liquor from a downtown grocery store. The teen said he took the liquor to sell to other students - not to drink it himself.

 

"I know kids who are doing it," he said of shoplifting liquor. "It's easy."

 

Retailers asked by The Olympian about the problem of liquor thefts by minors either did not respond or said they were working on ways to minimize shoplifting.

 

As for the size of the problem, the Washington State Organized Retail Crime Alliance indicated about $18,000 to $20,000 in liquor thefts - by adults as well as by minors - took place from mid-September to the end of October, according to the state Liquor Control Board's enforcement and education chief, Justin Nordhorn.

 

To read more, click this link: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/12/09/2347268/teen-shoplifting-liquor-a-bad.html

 

Source: The Olympian

Washington: Keep booze away from kids

December 11, 2012

 

The consumption of hard liquor is on the rise in Washington. By itself, that's a disturbing trend.

 

But, as The Olympian reported Sunday, it isn't just adults older than 21 who have found the easier access to booze enticing. Since liquor privatization took effect June 1, juveniles are shoplifting hard liquor from large grocery stores at an alarming rate, leading to anecdotal reports of increased alcohol use by teens.

 

The situation has gotten so bad at one Safeway store in Lacey that North Thurston Public Schools is deploying its own security staff members to patrol the store's aisles, where booze and energy drinks sit side-by-side.

 

This is unacceptable. All the major grocery stores must work quickly with law enforcement to reverse these trends. They have an unstated responsibility to make hard liquor less accessible to underage kids.

 

Critics of Initiative 1183, which ended the restriction of retail hard liquor sales to government-run stores, warned us this would happen. Private retailers, they said, won't be as diligent about controlling access.

 

Lured by the possibility of lower prices, the public went along, convinced by a multi-million dollar advertising campaign largely funded by Costco. So far, it looks as if most of the I-1183 claims are proving false.

 

The average retail price of a liter of spirits has spiked 11.6 percent since June 1, according to a report from the state Department of Revenue. The statistics also show that consumer purchases have risen 7.9 percent.

 

That's good news, from a strictly financial perspective. It means more revenue for the state.

 

But it's not worth the human tragedies being created.

 
To read more, click this link: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/12/11/2349281/keep-booze-away-from-kids.html
 

Source: The Olympian 

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