Alcohol Warning Posters

What are alcohol warning posters and how do they work?

Alcohol warning posters are notices or signs located in alcohol establishments that provide information related to the legal, social, and health consequences of alcohol use. Posters may be required by state or local law, or used voluntarily by alcohol establishments. Posters may include information on:

• The legal penalties and consequences of providing/selling alcohol to underage or intoxicated persons.
  
• The legal penalties of underage possession and consumption of alcohol.
  
• The establishment's policies and practices on checking customers' age identification and refusing sales to intoxicated patrons.
  
• Risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
  
• Risks of consuming alcohol while taking certain medications and/or prior to driving motor vehicles and operating heavy machinery.
  

Why warning posters are important for your community

For individuals to make informed decisions about purchasing or consuming alcohol, they must have access to accurate information. Warning posters located in alcohol establishments are one mechanism for informing patrons about their alcohol-related behaviors. The potential benefits of warning posters depend upon the information provided by them.

The benefits of each type of poster and issues to consider when using these posters are outlined below:

• Legal penalties and social consequences of providing alcohol to underage persons. Although most people are aware that providing alcohol to underage persons is illegal, few people know the legal penalties associated with this behavior. Posters that warn people about these penalties may deter some individuals from providing alcohol to minors. These posters are likely to be more effective in reducing youth's ability to obtain alcohol if implemented with other policies such as keg registration, regulations or bans of home deliveries, and enforcement of social host liability laws. (see beer keg registration , home delivery restrictions, and social host liability policies).
• Legal penalties of selling alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons . Many people are not aware that selling alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons is illegal, and few people know the legal penalties associated with this behavior. Posters can inform people about these penalties. Servers/sellers can also refer customers to these posters when they need to cut off service. These posters are likely to be more effective if implemented with other policies such as responsible beverage service training.
  
• Legal penalties of underage possession or consumption of alcohol. Although most young people probably know that it is illegal to purchase, possess or consume alcohol, they still attempt to and are often successful in purchasing it. (1, 2, 3) Posters that inform underage youth of the legal consequences of purchasing, possessing and consuming alcohol may deter then from attempting to obtain alcohol. The posters are likely to be more effective when they are reinforced by policies requiring servers and sellers to check all customers' age identification and attend a responsible beverage service training program. (see checking age identification and responsible beverage service training policies).
  
• Establishment policies regarding checking age identification. These posters can serve two important purposes. First, they can remind salesclerks to check the age identification of all young-appearing customers. Second, they may dissuade underage youth from illegally attempting to purchase alcohol. These posters will likely be more effective if they are combined with community policies such as compliance checks, internal merchant policies such as secret shopper programs, and an administrative penalties ordinance. (see compliance checks and administrative penalties policies).
  
• Risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The link between alcohol consumption and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has been confirmed by research and accepted by the medical community. Posters that provide information about alcohol and birth defects may be an important component of a nation-wide public education effort to reduce FAS and other birth defects.
  
• Risks of consuming alcohol while taking certain medications and/or prior to driving motor vehicles and operating heavy machinery. Many people may not be unaware that certain medications, when taken with alcohol, can have adverse health effects. Posters that advise people to consult their physicians when combining drugs and alcohol may increase awareness of dangerous combinations and may motivate them to consult a healthcare provider. Posters that warn people about the risks and legal penalties of drinking and driving may deter some people from engaging in this very risky behavior.

ISSUE: Alcohol establishments may oppose warning poster policies because of the expense of creating and/or purchasing appropriate posters.
RESPONSE: Warning poster legislation can include provisions that require the governing body (state, county, or municipal) provide posters at no cost to alcohol establishments. In addition, posters are available through numerous sources such as state health departments, various non-profit organizations, and the alcohol industry. See "Additional resources" section below.

ISSUE: Concentrating on efforts to enact an alcohol warning poster ordinance may detract energy and attention from efforts to pass policies that are more likely to be effective in reducing youth access to alcohol.
RESPONSE: Some community groups (alcohol merchants, governing officials, neighborhood groups, etc.) may support warning posters because they are generally not controversial. In some cases, pursuing a warning poster ordinance may be used by community groups to avoid pursuing or supporting other policies. While warning posters are useful, they should not be considered a "stand-alone" policy because their effectiveness is likely limited.

ISSUE: Community groups may oppose warning posters because of their limited effectiveness in changing alcohol-related behaviors.
RESPONSE: When considering the role of warning posters in changing alcohol-related behaviors, it is important to have appropriate expectations about their effectiveness. Warning posters alone may not change alcohol-related behaviors (consumption, sales, providing), but they may be effective in increasing individuals' knowledge and beliefs about the consequences of these behaviors. Warning posters in alcohol establishments provide this information where it is likely to be seen by potential alcohol users and purchasers.

• An ordinance should include plans on how posters are disseminated. Responsibility for obtaining and disseminating the posters should be assigned to a particular group, such as a state, county, or local health department, the police department or sheriff's office.
  
• An ordinance should include a mechanism for enforcement. There are various options for enforcing a warning poster policy. Police could check establishments during periodic visits or compliance checks. Community volunteers could check establishments for posters and report non-compliant establishments to enforcement authorities. Alcohol licensees could also be required to demonstrate their compliance when they renew their alcohol licenses.
  

Warning posters play an important role in informing individuals of various health and legal risks associated with alcohol consumption, purchase and provision but they are more likely to deter people from illegal or unsafe alcohol use when they are used in conjunction with other policies that reduce the availability of alcohol among young people (see specific examples and links above).

As of 1996, alcohol warning signs were required by law in Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. (4)

In Arizona, the state ordinance passed in 1992 mandates that all establishments that sell alcohol have warning posters about how alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause birth defects. One year after the law was in place, a study showed that awareness of the sign and memory of the warning message increased, as well as some evidence that the warning sign led to more accurate beliefs about maternal alcohol consumption and birth defects. (5)

Additional resources:
National Clearinghouse on Drug and Alcohol Information (provides a variety of alcohol posters)
P.O. Box 2345,
Rockville, MD 20847-2345
1-800-729-6686
www.health.org/catalog/posters/

The Century Council (provides posters, decals, buttons, and stickers that discourage underage alcohol sales and purchase)
Washington, DC
202-637-0077
www.centurycouncil.org

References :

1. Forster, J.L., Murray, D.M., Wolfson, M., Wagenaar, A.C. Commercial availability of alcohol to young people: Results of alcohol purchase attempts. Preventive Medicine , 24:342-347, 1995.
   
2. Forster, J.L., McGovern, P.G., Wagenaar, A.C., Wolfson, M., Perry, C.L., Anstine, P.S. The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Addiction , 89:699-705, 1994.
   
3. Wagenaar AC, Toomey TL, Murray DM, Short BJ, Wolfson M, Jones-Webb R. Sources of alcohol for underage drinkers. Journal of Studies on Alcohol , 57(3):325-33, 1996.
   
4. Center for Science in the Public Interest. A national campaign for alcohol health warning signs. Washington, D.C., 1996. Accessed online at: www.cspinet.org/booze/warnqa.html
   
5. Fenaughty AM, MacKinnon DP. Immediate effects of the Arizona alcohol warning poster. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing , 12(1):69-77, 1993.
   

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Reducing Sales to Intoxicated Patrons