Underage teens are walking into liquor stores… and it has law enforcement’s approval. They are working undercover trying to buy alcohol. Compliance checks are being conducted to tackle a leading public health problem- underage drinking. Tulsa Health Department’s Marianne Long, with the Regional Prevention Coordinator program, says underage drinking is a major problem for Tulsa.
"Underage drinking in Oklahoma costs $831 million dollars a year. So you can see all the cost it costs us in terms of accidents and illnesses, and you know losing work and that type of thing."
Long says, across the U.S., underage drinking costs 62 billion dollars. The program mainly focuses on retailers selling to those underage, but it also works to prevent people from buying alcohol for teens.
Long says these compliance checks are conducted with trained individuals.
"Younger people, who go into a retail store, or like a convenient store, even a restaurant, try to buy alcohol, and hopefully the retailers will refuse to sell to them. Of course, the other thing is people may provide alcohol and we also work on social host enforcement."
Long says it’s against the law to provide even a place for teens to drink. Two hundred and thirty-seven compliance checks have been conducted over the last year.