INLAND'S RESPONSIBLE VENDOR PROGRAM

The Alcohol Policies Project provides us with some sobering facts about minors and the use of alcohol.

• More than 10 million current drinkers in the US are between the ages of 12 and 20.  Of these underage drinkers, 20% engage in binge drinking and 6% are heavy drinkers.
   
• On average, young people begin drinking at 13.1 years of age.
   
• By the time young people are high school seniors, more than 80% have used alcohol and approximately 62% have been drunk at least once.

The consequences of underage drinking are devastating.

• Alcohol is a factor in the four leading causes of death among persons ages 10 to 24.
   
• Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21.
  
• More than 67% of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug.  Young people who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use any illicit drug, more than 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drank.
   
• Teens under 15 who have ever consumed alcohol are twice as likely to have sex as those who have not.  Nearly 4 in 10 sexually active teens who consume alcohol have had sexual intercourse with four or more individuals.
   
• Underage drinking costs Americans nearly $53 billion annually.  If this cost were shared equally by each congressional district, the amount would total more than $120 million per district.
   
• Researchers estimate that alcohol use is implicated in one to two-thirds of sexual assault and acquaintance or “date” rape cases among teens and college students.

Inland understands that underage drinking is a widespread problem in our community and for years has been committed to deterring every attempt by underage customers to purchase alcoholic beverages.  The Inland policy on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products is more restrictive than any local ordinance, state and federal law.  Inland employees face termination of employment if found in violation of the policy:

 Inland policy requires that a valid driver’s license identification and verification be obtained by Inland Team members from every customer attempting to purchase alcohol or tobacco products and refuse sale of said products when the customer cannot produce a valid driver’s license identification.

 Inland understands that to be a responsible vendor of alcohol and tobacco products they must be committed to spending the time and money necessary to train all employees on the responsible sale of alcohol and tobacco products.  When it comes to training for the responsible sale of alcohol and tobacco, Inland takes a multi-faceted approach:

• Completion of the Inland New Hire packet under the guidance of the location manager, which includes information to teach the new team member that a person must be at least 21 years of age to purchase alcohol products and at least 18 years of age to purchase tobacco products.  The new Inland Team member is also taught the Inland Alcohol and Tobacco Policy and the consequences of not adhering to the policy.  The new Inland Team members initials and signs each section as proof that they were instructed on the policies and that they understand them.
   
• Completion of a two-hour Inland Basic Training course and a final examination that must be passed to receive a raise and to be eligible for raises and promotions in the future.  The course is taught the first four Tuesdays of every month in different geographic locations.  The course consists of 10 sections, one of which is Inland Responsible Vendor Alcohol and Tobacco Sales.  During this section, Inland Team members are taught the following:
   
  • The Inland Alcohol and Tobacco Policy.
  • Penalties for failing to be a responsible vendor of alcohol and tobacco.
  • Legal Age to purchase Alcohol and Tobacco in their area (Alabama requires an individual to be at least 19 years of age to purchase tobacco products).
  • False/Fake ID recognition.
  • Intoxicated Customers and the law.
  • Adults for child purchase law.
  • On premise consumption laws.
  • Legal Hours of Sale laws.
  • Non-Alcoholic Beer laws.
     
• Inland also conducts semi-annual zone meetings in January and July of every year that employees are required to attend.  Each of these meetings has a refresher course on Inland employees being responsible vendors of alcohol and tobacco products.

Inland posts signage at all of our locations as a reminder to our team members and as a notice to all of our customers that Inland requires valid identification from all persons attempting to purchase alcohol and tobacco products regardless of their age.

 Inland conducts monthly internal “sting” operations where an under-age buyer, monitored by an Inland supervisor, is sent into each Inland location to attempt to purchase alcohol products.  Inland Team members who fail to follow the Inland Alcohol and Tobacco policy are required to re-attend and pass the Inland Basic Training course.  Inland Team members who fail the “sting” more than once have their employment terminated.

 Inland has participated, and helped with the introduction of Responsible Vendor Programs in several of the communities that we serve and always available to share our information, time, and effort in seeking out new and effective ways to deter illegal sales of alcohol and tobacco.

 With all of the training, coaching, testing and emphasis that Inland has devoted to the responsible sale of alcohol and tobacco we still can not guarantee that each Inland Team member will always follow the law.  Inland can guarantee those as a corporate citizen we are doing everything that we know to do to ensure that the laws and our policies are being carried out and illegal sales of alcohol and tobacco is deterred.

Underage drinking is a wide spread problem in our communities that no single group or business can solve. Placing the blame on the responsible retailer is not only wrong; it is never going to solve the problem.  The problem can only be solved with a team approach including retailers, parents, lawmakers, law enforcement, educators and youth as the starting lineup of that team.

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