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Attorney General's News Release
September 12, 2007
Nixon, FTC and The Century Council team up for national “We Don’t Serve Teens” Week
St. Louis, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, two wholesale beverage distributors and The Century Council to launch a public awareness campaign in Missouri to prevent underage drinking. The “We Don’t Serve Teens” initiative was developed by the FTC and is designed to inform adults that providing underage drinkers with alcohol is unsafe, illegal and irresponsible. Part of the campaign in Missouri will include public service announcements featuring Attorney General Nixon to air statewide.
Today’s launch at Randall’s Wine and Spirits in St. Louis was held in conjunction with “We Don’t Serve Teens Week,” a national effort aimed at educating adults on how youth obtain the alcohol they drink and how to discourage underage drinking not only during the back to school season, but also throughout the year. Attorney General Nixon will be working with local and national partners to distribute materials to make adults aware of the legal consequences associated with providing alcohol to people under 21. The Missouri event is one of 17 taking place nationwide from Sept. 10 to Sept. 21.
“Study after study suggests that youth who illegally drink alcohol obtain it from individuals they know,” said Attorney General Nixon. “Those same studies reveal that kids cite their parents as the leading influence over their decision to drink - or not to drink - alcohol. When you talk, they really do listen. It is my hope this campaign will encourage parents to start and continue a dialogue with their teens abouts the dangers of underage drinking.”
“We are unveiling the ‘We Don’t Serve Teens’ campaign today to help prevent underage purchases and consumption of alcohol throughout the year,” said Erik Strickland of The Century Council. “The Century Council has found that 65 percent of the youth say that they get the alcohol they drink from family and friends, meaning they get it from their parents, their friends’ parents, older siblings or family members or older friends, with or without permission. Turning a blind eye is as irresponsible as putting a drink in their hands.” The Century Council is a non-profit organization funded by Bacardi U.S.A. Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands Inc.; DIAGEO; Future Brands LLC; Hood River Distillers Inc; and Sidney Frank Importing Co. Inc.
To determine parents’ perspective on the issue of adults providing alcohol to underage youth, The Century Council commissioned a survey of 1,000 adults. The results show that, overwhelmingly, parents do not believe it is acceptable for other adults to provide beverage alcohol to underage youth. Ninety-six percent of adults said it is unacceptable for another parent or other adult to provide alcohol to their teenager without their permission. Further, all survey respondents said if they learned another parent or adult provided alcohol to their teenager without their permission, they would consider taking recourse against the other parent, or their child.
“Alcohol is accessible to our youth far too often, particularly now that we are in the back to school season. Clearly, we have a lot of work to do. Fighting drunk driving and underage drinking is absolutely a community effort - everyone participating in today’s event is key to this campaign’s success, from parents to law enforcement to retailers,” said Peter Lobdell, of the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. “We are committed to doing our part in this fight against underage drinking.”
The two wholesale distributors, Glazer’s Midwest and Major Brands, will distribute point of purchase materials to package stores in St. Louis. Additionally, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Inc. will distribute at least 60,000 packages of We Don’t Serve materials to retailers nationwide. The Century Council also partnered with the Missouri Broadcasters Association to distribute Nixon’s PSA to radio stations statewide as a reminder to parents and other adults that providing alcohol to teens can mean serious consequences and to encourage them to speak up about underage drinking.
“Among 12- to 20-year-olds, more than 32 percent reported past month alcohol consumption in Missouri,” said Todd Epsten, of Major Brands. “Protecting the safety, particularly the safety of our state’s most precious resource - our young people - is a top priority for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. Restaurants, wholesalers, retailers - all of us - need to play a role in the fight against underage drinking, to lower, and hopefully eliminate, underage drinking in Missouri.”
“We are working hard to ensure that teens do not have access to alcohol,” added Scott Westerman, of Glazer’s Midwest. “But we can’t do it alone. It is our hope that these point of sale materials will remind adults that serving alcohol to underage youth is unsafe, illegal and irresponsible.”
“I am on the front lines of the battle against underage drinking every day as the owner of Randall’s Wine and Spirits,” said George Randall, owner of Randall’s Wine and Spirits. “The Century Council’s ‘We Don’t Serve Teens’ campaign is just one of the many examples of how we can work together to prevent underage drinking and purchasing of alcohol here in Missouri. I am proud to wear my lapel pin, and we have posted the ‘We Don’t Serve Teens’ materials throughout the store to display how committed we are to fighting underage drinking and keeping our teens safe. Our motto is: We Card Hard.”
For more information on the campaign or to order materials, go to www.dontserveteens.gov.
Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).
All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.
E-mail Phone: 573-751-8844 Fax: 573-751-5818