Markets Wired

A new year is arriving, and with it a familiar problem – New Year’s Eve is often an occasion for teens to obtain access to alcohol, typically through family members or parents of friends. Teens who drink risk their safety and health, and the adults who provide the alcohol also risk heavy fines and possibly jail time. But with the help of the DontServeTeens.gov Web site, you can help put a stop to teen drinking.

DontServeTeens.gov has free tools and materials to educate your family and community about the dangers of teen drinking, the benefits of preventing it, and the ways everyone can spread the message to stop serving teens. The site has resources for parents, members of the media, retailers, and law enforcement, including sample press releases, public service announcements, and stickers that families, businesses, or organizations can reproduce and use. It has the underage drinking laws that are in place in every state – in many states, letting teens drink in your house is illegal – as well as tips on talking to friends and neighbors about serving teens and news stories about people who have faced the consequences of serving alcohol to teens.

Information provided on DontServeTeens.gov is in English and Spanish. The site is sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, along with other public- and private-sector organizations.

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.