Propensity for and correlates of alcohol sales to underage youth

The current study assessed the propensity for alcohol sales to youth in the late 1990s, following increased efforts to reduce youth access to alcohol. Male and female pseudo-underage buyers (i.e., age ≥ 21 but judged to appear < 21) attempted to purchase alcohol without age identification at 741 alcohol establishments. One to five purchase attempts were made at each establishment, with 1,065 and 658 attempts at on-premise and off-premise establishments, respectively. The overall sales rate was 26%. Among establishments where more than one purchase attempt was made, 74% sold alcohol to pseudo-underage buyers at least once. The results of this study are encouraging, however, further work is needed to decrease the propensity of illegal alcohol sales to youth.