More Alcohol Control Technology
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 7:52 PM

Vice Squad has sung the praises in the past of the alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet that sounds like a pretty effective deterrent against drinking for those who have court-ordered restraints upon their alcohol consumption. (Enthusiasm for the bracelet seems to be spreading.) A second technological advance is a machine that can reliably detect a fake ID. The device is the main plank in a new drive against underage drinking in the US. Here's an excerpt from this press release:

America's Partners to Prevent Underage Drinking (AP), a campaign of the International Institute for Alcohol Awareness (IIAA), will introduce the newest, most effective weapon in the battle to save lives by preventing underage drinking at the U.S. Justice Department's underage drinking prevention conference entitled "Recognizing Our Collective Responsibility: Kicking Things Up a Notch" from Aug. 25-28, 2004 in San Diego.

The national coalition has launched a campaign and push in Congress for legislation aimed at combating the crisis of underage drinking. The centerpiece of this campaign involves installing life-saving electronic age-verification technology in retail stores, bars, restaurants and other points of sale to prevent underage individuals from obtaining alcohol illegally by using fake identification.

Sounds like the machine won't be able to detect if you are using your older brother's license, however. I am all in favor of keeping underage people from purchasing alcohol, though I think that the US minimum drinking age of 21 is too high.

Labels: alcohol, teens