Students visit local businesses to assess how well retailers reduce underage drinking

Simi Valley youth will assess risk at local offsale alcohol outlets today, March 16.

The teens will inspect outlets based on criteria such as alcohol placement and promotion.

After assessments are conducted and analyzed, each merchant will be provided a report identifying ways they could use environmental design to reduce youth access to alcohol by theft, thus reducing the retailer's loss and liability.

The effort is to reduce retail access to alcohol by youth.

Participating in this assessment are volunteers ages 14 through 18 from the Royal High School Peer Helper Class, Apollo High School Leadership, Simi Valley Youth Council, Straight Up Ventura County and the community at large. The teens will be accompanied by adult sponsors.

According to a survey of ninth through 12thgrade students conducted by the Coalition for Simi Valley Youth and Community, 89 percent reported it was somewhat easy to extremely easy to get alcohol.

Retailers can help protect youth from access to alcohol by limiting advertising, eliminating price reduction, refusing to carry alcoholic products that are packaged in a way that is appealing to youth and by placing alcohol away from entryways and products commonly purchased by youth such as soda, candy and chips.