Our Youth in Action team is taking part in the second in a series of "Sticker Shock" campaigns designed to educate merchants and raise community awareness about underage drinking laws. Many clerks do not understand that they are held responsible for their actions if they choose to sell to minors. We Are The Future youth group, Wheeling PD, Ohio County Sheriff''s and OCSAPC adult volunteers join forces with an aim to lower youth access to alcohol and thereby reduce underage consumption.
It is found that teens have access to alcohol through "social access" that is from friends or family and through "retail access" usually having adults purchase the product for them or by purchasing it themselves using fake ID cards or by not being "carded" properly. This action addresses retail access by having youth placing stickers on alcohol products in Convenient and Neely's in East Wheeling. They will educate clerks using performance techniques and they hope to raise community awareness of this issue. The merchants benefit by allowing the public to see that they do make thoughtful business decisions and they do support proper sales procedures to minors.
We recently surveyed 37 recovering addicts/ alcoholics and 30 said alcohol was the first drug they tried. It is indeed a gateway drug. The group hopes their efforts will begin to reduce substance use and abuse in their community.
The action is scheduled for December 10, 2008 at 4:30PM. They participants will meet at Lincoln and proceed to East Wheeling. All media is welcome to join them!
The Youth in Action team's "Sticker Shock" event was a success! The team hit Neely's and Convenient in East Wheeling. The business locations were extremely helpful, friendly and cooperative. Patrons of the stores were also very polite and supportive. The youth provided merchant education regarding the laws about selling alcohol to minors. They also placed stickers on alcohol products with the same reminder to purchasers of alcohol for minors.
