Should mocktails be off limits for kids?
July 17, 2024 by DarcieThe mocktail trend shows no sign of slowing down as companies develop more and more products tailored to people who want a tasty drink sans the alcohol and its effects. Not only are there alcohol-free wines, gin, whisky, tequila, and other spirits, canned ready-to-drink mocktails are popping up on store shelves too. Most US states have no age restrictions on these products, but some experts believe that people under the legal drinking age shouldn’t be able to buy them.
![](http://wp.eatyourbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mocktail-e1721190430712.png)
The theory behind this recommendation is that canned mocktails and other zero-alcohol products that are marketed as alternatives to cocktails will be a gateway to alcohol use by children. “There are so many cues in non-alcoholic beverages that mirror that alcoholic counterpart.” say Molly Bowdring, a clinical psychologist and researcher who co-authored a recent opinion piece in JAMA on this topic. Beyond the smells and tastes, the packaging of mocktails mimics that of traditional drinks. Manufacturers often make both alcohol-free and alcohol-containing products that have a similar appearance.
Bowdring likens the mocktail issue to e-cigarettes and other vaping products. Youth smoking had been declining for years until companies started heavily marketing vaping, and now tobacco use among minors is on the rise. She thinks it is time for laws to limit sales of non-alcoholic spirits and mocktails to minors. “If we leave the door open to there being a marketing push for non-alcoholic beverages among kids, could that then lead to increased alcohol use among this generation? We don’t want to wait to find out if that’s going to happen,” she says.
One of my most vivid childhood memories was stopping in a small-town bar with my grandfather on the way to spend the week at my grandparents’ farm. The bartender made me a Shirley Temple and I thought I was the coolest kid in town. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized there were a lot of things wrong with this scenario! While I don’t think our current alcohol regulations do much to encourage responsible drinking, it would probably be better if mocktails and other alcohol-free spirits, which from a glance are indistinguishable from their alcohol-containing counterparts, are limited to those of legal drinking age or at least those over 18. At the least it would make it easier to enforce underage drinking laws. Do you agree?
Note: We have added the Book Category tag “Mocktails” to the Library and are in the process of updating all those related books and if you are seeking recipe drinks with no alcohol – our Recipe Tag “Beverages / drinks (no alcohol)” will locate those.
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