ST. LOUIS, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- If given the opportunity, whose ID
would American adults most want to check -- media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey,
Demi Moore's husband Ashton Kutcher or comedian Joan Rivers? Would adults
rather have talk show maven Ellen Degeneres, television's hottest host Ryan
Seacrest or longtime favorite Regis Philbin check their ID? These questions
and more are answered in the latest survey assessing how American adults
view the effectiveness of ID checking when it comes to preventing underage
drinking.
The survey, conducted by The Nielsen Company on behalf of
Anheuser-Busch, found broad public support for ID checking. Nearly all
American adults (95 percent) believe that having their ID checked may be a
little inconvenient, but believe it is worth it to help reduce underage
drinking. In fact, 90 percent of respondents actually appreciate having
someone check their ID, viewing the procedure as a clear indication that
the bar, restaurant or retailer is firmly committed to preventing sales of
alcohol to minors. In addition, 81 percent of adults have seen someone get
carded while purchasing alcohol, and 98 percent of 21-29 year olds report
being carded.
"Checking IDs is one of the keys to keeping alcohol out of the hands of
minors. Simply put, if teens can't get alcohol, they can't drink it, and
the survey reflects that America's retailers are doing their part, and that
American adults fully embrace this concept -- whether they are doing the
checking, or being checked," says John Kaestner, vice president of Consumer
Affairs for Anheuser-Busch Cos. "Ensuring that IDs are checked and
authentic is especially important during this time of year when teens are
celebrating graduation and may attempt to purchase alcohol for the
festivities."
The survey also found that 94 percent of respondents agree that people
who sell alcohol should be trained to spot fake IDs. Anheuser-Busch and its
600 wholesalers nationwide provide servers and sellers of alcohol with
tools to help them effectively identify patrons of legal purchase age.
Since 1990, the company and its wholesalers have provided 63 million
wristbands and 1.2 million "We I.D." cards to servers and sellers of
alcohol beverages to help keep these products out of the hands of minors.
These efforts, coupled with strong parental involvement, effective law
enforcement and increased awareness about the consequences of illegal
underage drinking, are working. According to the National Survey on Drug
Use and Health, 83 percent of 12-17 year olds do not drink. In addition,
the federally funded University of Michigan's "Monitoring the Future" study
found the percentage of high-school seniors who reported having a drink in
the last 30 days is at the lowest level since tracking began in 1975, 9
percent lower in 2006 than in 2000 and down 35 percent since 1982.
The lighter side of the survey also reveals:
-- Americans would most like to check the ID of Joan Rivers (26 percent)
to learn her true age, followed by Oprah Winfrey (23 percent), Simon
Cowell (16 percent) and Ashton Kutcher (15 percent).
-- Adults would most like to have their ID checked by Ellen Degeneres (32
percent) when purchasing alcohol, followed by Kelly Ripa (24 percent),
Tyra Banks (22 percent) and Ann Curry (9 percent).
-- Among male celebrities, adults would like Regis Philbin (29 percent)
to check their ID when purchasing alcohol, over Conan O'Brien (21
percent), Ryan Seacrest (19 percent) and Al Roker (18 percent).
The 2007 ID-Checking Survey results are based on 1,044 telephone
interviews with persons 21 or older and are projectable to the Continental
US population aged 21 or older. The Nielsen Company, which conducted the
research, is the leading market research company, with recognized brands in
marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media
Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter,
Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research).
For a quarter century, Anheuser-Busch and its nationwide network of 600
independent wholesalers have led the alcohol beverage industry in promoting
responsibility and respect for the law, investing more than a half-billion
dollars in alcohol awareness and education programs and partnerships. In
2007, for the fourth year in a row, the company ranked first in the
beverage industry for social responsibility in FORTUNE magazine's
"America's Most Admired Companies" and "Global Most Admired Companies."
More information about Anheuser-Busch's responsible drinking programs is
available at http://www.beeresponsible.com . The full survey results are
available at http://www.alcoholstats.com .
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