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Stores won't sell alcohol to parents with kids in tow

Categories: Teens & tweens, Health & safety, In the news, Alcohol & drugs

Tesco, a large grocery chain in the UK, has angered and bewildered many parents with their new rules regarding alcohol sales. Managers have instructed their cashiers to refuse to sell alcohol to any adult who they suspect may be making the purchase for someone who is underage. Having been told to "err of the side of caution", many cashiers are turning away adult customers who happen to have a child standing next to them. That, of course, includes parents shopping with their children.

It happened to Dominic Zenden. He wasn't allowed to purchase a six-pack of Budweiser because his 15-year-old daughter happened to be with him. "I was dumbfounded," he said. "There was absolutely no indication that my daughter would be drinking the alcohol – it was for me. But the woman told me that they don't sell alcohol to people who have children with them."

39-year-old Debbie Bell had to return a case of Fosters and a bottle of cider to the shelf because her 18-year-old stepson couldn't produce proof of age. She said: "You can't do that just because somebody has kids with them.

A spokesman for Tesco says, "I can understand the frustrations of the customer but I think that any reasonable parent would understand the problem and support our policy."

If think that if Tesco finds any success at all in this new policy, it will likely be due to the fact that adults are going to go elsewhere to purchase alcohol. I know I would.


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