Too many young people in Switzerland are still able to obtain alcohol illegally. According to Addiction Switzerland, more than a quarter of all sales of beer, wine and spirits are illegal. Online purchases are particularly problematic. Out of more than 13,000 test purchases made in 2023, 27.3% were illegal, a rate identical to that recorded in 2022, the organisation active in addiction research said on Tuesday. In 78.2% of cases, sales staff explicitly asked for age and/or identification. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. Petrol stations had the lowest rate of offences, with 17.6% of illegal sales, followed by chain shops and large retailers (27.4%) and cafés/restaurants (28.5%). The infringement rate is highest at events (44.2%). There are major shortcomings in the application of youth protection laws to online commerce. Nearly 90% of the 156 test purchases of alcohol made from restaurant ordering and delivery sites resulted in illegal sales to young ...
