ATC sees drop in alcohol sales to underage during annual Mardi Gras crackdown

Agents with the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) conducted underage compliance checks at 860 businesses during its two week long Mardi Gras crackdown operation.  This is over triple the number of compliance checks conducted during the same period last year. As a result of the recent checks, 149 citations were issued for alcohol and tobacco sales to underage persons.

Below are statistics by parish on alcohol and/or tobacco products sold to underage persons from March 2nd through March 16th of 2015, compared to 2014:

“Statewide alcohol and tobacco sales to underage dropped from 33% last year to 17% this Mardi Gras season. Obviously, alcohol is a big part of Mardi Gras and it's great news to see that more and more businesses and servers are selling and serving it responsibly," stated ATC Commissioner Troy Hebert. 

Majority of the compliance checks were conducted using 16 and 17 year old undercover operatives. For Mardi Gras, ATC focused the majority of its checks in areas of the state with large parades and festivities.

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