@article{ref1,
title="Underage alcohol sales-it only takes a minute: A new approach to underage alcohol availability",
journal="Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs",
year="2013",
author="van Hoof, Joris J. and Gosselt, Jordy F.",
volume="74",
number="3",
pages="423-427",
abstract="Objective: Because minors generally report higher accessibility than one would expect on the basis of the &quot;compliance rates&quot; established by researchers (the percentage of stores that comply with age limits for sales of age-restricted products such as alcoholic beverages), we propose a new method to better depict the availability of age-restricted products for minors as an alternative to the compliance approach, which in our view is too narrow. Method: Underage mystery shoppers were assigned to buy alcohol in a store of their preference, using any (legally allowed) purchase method. The time required to buy alcohol was the main outcome variable. As a benchmark, the time required to buy soft drinks was recorded. Results: All underage mystery shoppers succeeded in buying alcohol, which means 100% availability. On average, buying alcohol took less than 10 minutes (including travel and shopping time), which was 2 minutes more than when purchasing soft drinks. Conclusions: Compliance at an outlet level can misrepresent the actual availability to minors. Both the proposed approach to availability and a new approach to age validation indicate that the general assumption that the traditional methods of age validation can effectively prevent the commercial availability of age-restricted products to minors should be seriously questioned. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 423-427, 2013).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1937-1888",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}