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Mandurah: study into supply of alcohol to underage people has positive results

Jill BurgessMandurah Coastal Times

CITY of Mandurah partnered with Deakin University last month to test the supply of alcohol to underage people through the Smart Generation Program with positive results.

The program involves young people aged between 18 and 22 but who look underage, attempting to buy alcohol from bottle shops without a valid ID.

Research showed that of 18 local bottle shops, about 90 per cent asked for ID.

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Although it was the best result in Australia and positive that only 18 were sold alcohol, it was still a concerning statistic.

Bottle shops are one of the three main sources of alcohol for teenagers.

According to research by the Federal Government in 2014, about 68 per cent of adolescents between 12 and 17 reported drinking alcohol in their lifetime.

When asked where they obtained their alcohol, more than 80 per cent reported getting it from home, friends and acquaintances or buying it from bottle shops.

Mayor Marina Vergone said a core component of the program involved monitoring alcohol sales in bottle shops and recent research showed that while some staff were complying with the law, others were not.

The Smart Generation Program is implemented in a number of communities across Australia and also included a school-based education program aimed at students and parents.

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