On Monday, the Danish Safety Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) launched a new initiative with underage decoy buyers, where young people were sent out to physical stores to assess whether age restrictions for the purchase of alcohol, nicotine, or tobacco products were being adhered to. The result was disappointing, as 34 percent of the stores checked violated the rules.
The Safety Authority announced on Tuesday that out of 50 inspections, 17 took place in stores where age restrictions were breached. This number of violations in one day exceeds the findings of the last four years of over 2000 inspections, highlighting the need for a more effective control method.
Previously, inspectors from the authority needed luck to be present when a store illegally sold to minors. But with the new initiative, as part of a political agreement, the Safety Authority can now use individuals under 18 years old as decoy buyers. This is intended to help reduce the consumption of alcohol and nicotine products among children and adolescents.
According to the current rules, one must be over 18 years old to purchase nicotine and tobacco products as well as alcohol with an alcohol percentage over 16.5. For alcohol below this limit, the age requirement is 16 years. The young decoy buyers used are between 15 and 17 years old. However, the authority emphasizes that the young decoy buyers must not “provoke violations that would not normally occur at the specific sales location.”
Although the industry had been informed about the new initiative, the Confederation of Danish Retailers (De Samvirkende Købmænd) criticized the use of young decoy buyers. Director Jannick Nytoft told DR that it is disproportionate and called the effort a “legal policy shift.” According to him, it is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The Safety Authority states that business owners who sell alcohol to minors in violation of age restrictions risk a fine of 10,000 Danish kroner for first-time offenses.