Millions of Underage Teens Illegally Buy Alcohol from The Internet

According to an online survey conducted by Teen Research Unlimited for the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc. members, millions of teens have bought or know other minors who purchased alcohol via Internet. More specifically, more than half a million teenagers admitted to have purchased alcohol from online alcohol shops and more than 3 million minors said they have a friend who has obtained alcohol in the same way.

Stan Hastings, Chairman of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America stated in this respect: "This is a dangerous situation. For the first time, we have hard evidence that millions of kids are buying alcohol online and that the Internet is fast becoming a high-tech, low-risk way for kids to get beer, wine and liquor delivered to their home with no ID check."

Survey results showed that:

- 2% of the interviewed teenagers admitted having bought alcohol from the Internet;

- 12% of them said they have a friend who had bought alcohol from the Internet;

-about 1 in 10 teenagers said they had visited a web site/ online winery which sells alcoholic drinks;

- about 4 in 10 teenagers thought alcohol is available online;

- 2/3 of the participants in the online survey said they will not consider buying alcoholic drinks via Internet, while the other 1/3 said this may be an idea and it might be possible they order alcohol online before they turn 21.

Besides these worrying findings, the team which conducted the study also noted that most of the teenagers participating in the survey said that they have free access of the Internet. Minors with ages ranging between 14-20 stated that their parents would trust their decisions when using the Internet, concerning how they surf the www's. Therefore, their activities on the Internet cannot be controlled by their parents and they have the freedom of doing what they like when in the "virtual world".

In conclusion, Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy warned: "While online sales of alcohol have not yet been a big part of the addiction problem, parents need to learn what teens already know: that the drug dealer who used to lurk in the seedy side of town is now just an e-mail or a URL away from your home."