Politics Young people are still obtaining alcohol illegally

Young people in Switzerland are still obtaining alcohol illegally. According to Addiction Switzerland, beer, wine or spirits were sold illegally in over a quarter of cases in 2023. Effective age controls are needed, especially in the online sector.

At 27.3%, the figure remained unchanged compared to the previous year, as reported by Addiction Switzerland on Tuesday. This was shown by the alcohol test purchases carried out by public and private institutions in 2023.

Overall, the results showed no significant improvement compared to the previous year. In 78.2 percent of cases, the sales or service staff asked about age and/or requested identification.

There were differences according to the type of sales outlet. Petrol station stores had the comparatively lowest rate of violations with 17.6 percent of illegal sales, followed by chain stores and large retailers, according to the report. According to Addiction Switzerland, events and functions fared the worst with a total of 44.2 percent of illegal sales.

In the online sector, there are major gaps in the enforcement of youth protection. Almost nine out of ten of the 156 young people had received alcohol after ordering online from catering establishments. In no case had the age been checked when the order was placed. And on delivery, only 14.3 percent were asked for their age or an ID card, the report continued.

In further tests at 115 online stores, which were limited to the ordering process, age was checked in only around 8 percent of cases with a copy of an ID or using a digital identity.

Addiction Switzerland analyzed the more than 13,000 test purchases on behalf of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. Never before have so many tests been taken into account for a national evaluation, it said.