Keg law needs strengthening

To the editor:

July 1 is the one-year anniversary of Missouri's beer keg registration law. Missouri is one of 23 states that requires every keg sold to carry an identification number and information on the purchaser. This common-sense law helps reduce underage drinking by holding adults accountable for kegs that fall into minors' hands.

The Missouri Youth Adult Alliance, a statewide coalition committed to reducing underage alcohol consumption and its social and health consequences, applauds state leadership for this important tool in the fight against underage drinking and binge drinking.

The average age in Missouri for a child's first drink is now 12, and underage drinking costs the state more than $1 billion annually. Too often the supplier is an older friend or relative.

Law enforcement agents have informed the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control that keg parties have decreased since the law went into effect. But to further encourage enforcement and understand its effect, the state needs to conduct a thorough report on numbers of kegs sold, citations given out and penalties levied.

Elected officials should also strengthen the existing law. Penalties should be raised for adults buying kegs for minors and for retailers that do not adequately collect contact information. To deter underage drinkers and their suppliers from keeping kegs permanently, the alliance recommends increasing a keg's minimum deposit requirement and making that amount standard through the state.

ALICIA OZENBERGER, Project Director, ACT Missouri, Jefferson City, Mo.