in July of 1991 mandating the training of alcohol beverage servers in Delaware. What is a drink? Beer: 12 ounces. Wine: 5 ounces. Spirits: (80-86 Proof): 1.25
51 KB – 18 Pages
PAGE – 2 ============
– 1 – Objectives The primary objective of the mandatory Server Training Program is to educate and assist the alcoholic beverage server as to how to serve and sell alcoholic beverages in a responsible manner consistent with the Commissioner Rules and the Laws of the State of Delaware. Upon the successful completion of this program, you will have the necessary tools to fulfill your obligations of serving a lcoholic beverages r esponsibly. Serving alcoholic beverages in a responsible manner is not an option Anyone who violates the laws or Commissioner Rules can expect nothing less than to be held fully accountable for their actions. S ity When a person accepts a license to serve and sell alcohol they accept a public trust that they will serve and sell alcohol in a responsible manner. Some states have legislated Dram Shop Laws. Delaware does not currently have Dram Shop but it does hav e Civil/Tort Statues that may hold the server responsible. Servers must realize that failing to uphold their responsibility to abide by the laws and rules of the State of Delaware may not be just a matter of a criminal court hearing and a fine. It could es calate into a serious civil hearing with the possible repercussions of a judgment with substantial punitive damages.
PAGE – 3 ============
– 2 – Division of Alcohol & Tobacco Enforcement (ATE) The Division of Alcohol & Tobacco Enforcement (ATE) is responsible for the enforcement of Title 4 (Delaware and wholesalers who are licensed to manufacture, sell, serve, transport, or store liquor in the State of Delaware. Officer s of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement are certified police officers in the State of Delaware with statewide jurisdiction . Officer s have full arrest powers and authority to enforce all of the laws of the state, including liquor, drug, criminal, and traffic statutes. Officers routinely conduct investigations involving underage consumption and possession of alcoho l, sales of alcohol and tobacco to underage persons, fictitious identification, over – service of alcohol to patrons, bootlegging, prostitution, illegal gambling, narcotics, tax evasion, and other criminal activities. Officers work with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies by assisting them with investigations and/or public safety issues. Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (OABCC) The Office of the ABC Commissioner (OABCC) is a separate and distinct agency from the Divi is responsible for all matters related to Liquor licensing process. This includes the licensing of all suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers doing business in the State of Delaware. In additi on to granting licenses and approving variances, the Commissioner is the administrative judge who hears cases of licensees charged with violations of the Liquor Control Act and/or administrative rules .
PAGE – 4 ============
– 3 – What is Alcohol? Alcohol is the oldest documented compound of abuse. It is a drug. The principal ingredient in alcoholic beverages is “Ethyl” Alcohol, more commonly known as Ethanol or just plain Alcohol. It is a central nervous system depressant that affects the entire nervous system. In spite of the initial surge of energy it gives you, alcohol is not a stimulant . Alcohol can also have serious side effects when combined with other drugs. Statistics Alcohol – related accidents cause more than 500,000 serious injuries each year. Alcohol is a fact or in about 50 – 70% of all the pedestrian fatalities in this country each year. Surveys indicate that approximately 50% of all the intoxicated drivers on the road come from commercial establishments. This is an indication that bartenders, waiters, and wai tresses are over serving these patrons. Surveys such as these indicate the need for alcohol – related training programs and were very much a part of the reason that House Bill #65 was passed in Delaware in July of 1991 mandating the training of alcohol bever age servers in Delaware. What is a drink? Beer: 12 ounces Wine: 5 ounces Spirits : (80 – 86 Proof): 1.25 ounces Spirits: (100 Proof): 1 ounce (1 Shot) Each of the above drinks contains approximately the same amount of alcohol and is considered one Each would raise the average Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) approximately .025%. One drink is eliminated per hour by the liver. Intoxication Factors The three most important factors are: Time: How long has the person been drinking? Weight: How much does the person weigh? Number of Drinks: How many drinks have they had in that space of time? The number of drinks in the body at any time therefore equals the number of drinks consumed minus the number of hour s since drinking started. The average size person (150lbs – 160lbs) would have to consume any combination of four of the above drinks in one hour in order to get their B.A.C. to an approximate level of .08%, which is the legal limit of intoxi cation in the S tate of Delaware. 4 drinks (in one hour ) x . 025 % = . 10% BAC – . 025 % ( 1 drink eliminated per hour) = .075% The legal limit of intoxication in the State of Delaware is .08%
PAGE – 5 ============
– 4 – How Is Alcohol Absorbed Into The Body? Alcohol is not digested like other food and beverages; it is absorbed and diffused into the body. As a person drinks, the alcohol enters their bloodstream and body tissues almost immediately. When alcohol enters the bloodstream it goes into all areas of the body. First and most important is the brain (the brain and liver are the organs with the largest blood supply.) It reaches the brain in this order: Cortex: Judgment Cerebellum: Coordination Limbic System: Emotion Brain Stem: Respiratory System The first sense a person l oses when they drink is their sense of judgment . Food Consumption An important factor on the absorption rate of alcohol is the presence of food in the stomach. Food can slow down the absorption rate of alcohol, provided the food is in the stomach before the person begins drinking. Food does two basic things to slow down the absorption rate of alcohol. It blocks the pyloric valve and it acts as a sponge to absorb some of the alcohol. It is important that we understand that food does not keep one from beco ming intoxicated . It will only slow down the rate at which alcohol gets into your body. Once alcohol has passed through the pyloric valve and gotten into the small intestine, any food eaten afterward will have no effect on the alcohol that is already in t he small intestine. All the alcohol that you ingest will eventually get into your system. Mood Alcohol’s impact can be significantly affected by the individual’s mental state. It usually accentuates the drinker’s mood. If a person is depressed, then one or two drinks may have the same effect as three or four. When a person is in a pleasant mood, the alcohol enhances that feeling, often giving the person much more confidence in himself or herself. When the body has had little sleep, then the effects of alc ohol are often magnified. Tolerance An inexperienced drinker tends to feel alcohol’s effect more quickly and often more severely than an experienced drinker. The experienced drinker develops a certain tolerance to alcohol’s effect. He or she needs progres sively more alcohol to produce the same mood – altering effects experienced in earlier stages of drinking. However, experience has no effect on BAC! An experienced or inexperienced drinker with five drinks in his or her system has the same BAC (Both body wei ghts being about the same).
PAGE – 6 ============
– 5 – Eliminating Alcohol The liver metabolizes and eliminates 90 – 95% of all the alcohol that a person consumes. You lose approximately 1 – 9% through your breath, perspiration, and urine but not enough to make an appreciable differe nce. The liver eliminates alcohol at a rate of about one (1) drink per hour . You should also be aware of the fact that you cannot change the rate at which the liver eliminates alcohol – food, non – alcoholic beverages, exercise or cold showers; it makes no d ifference – about one (1) drink per hour is eliminated. BAC – The Legal Standard Blood Alcohol Content, or BAC, is a measurement of the level of alcohol in the bloodstream at any particular time. In the State of Delaware, the legal per se BAC level is .0 8%. This means that if you are stopped operating a motor vehicle and are found to have a BAC at this level, the state has a prima face case for DUI. You can be arrested and found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) in Delaware at levels less than . 8 % if proper evidence is present (Probable Cause for the stop). How Does BAC Affect Driving? The higher the concentration of alcohol in the blood, the greater its impact is on driving. Driving is a complex task requiring judgment, information processing, and conscious control of behavior, memory, coordination, and quick reaction time. Alcohol tends to retard these processes and, for many individuals, it does so at BAC levels far below the legal blood alcohol limits. Judgment, reaction time, and coordination may be so affected as to make it impossible to safely operate a motor vehicle. Remember, alcohol is a false confidence builder! Whether its driving a vehicle, riding a bic ycle, operating a watercraft, or operating any type of machinery, you cannot do it as well as you think you can, or as well as you can without the alcohol. Below is a basic BAC level of impairment chart. Remember that people respond differently depending on tolerance and circumstances to the same BAC level: .02 to .04 = Reaction times are increasing. Coordination has started to slow. Judgment is beginning to be affected. .05 to .08 = Reaction time is considerably impaired, as is coordination and judgment. You are considered seriously impaired and legally intoxicated when your BAC reaches .08%. Signs of Impairment – LOOK, LISTEN, & SMELL Many servers can recognize when a patron is intoxicated but by then it may be too late. When an individual first enters your establishment, you must remember to LOOK, LISTEN, & SMELL to determine whether or not to serve them. Know that they may enter your establishment already intoxicated. It is your responsibility not to over serve patrons whether they started drink ing in your establishment or not. The same is true for those who work in package stores. You cannot sell alcohol to persons who enter your store and are already intoxicated.
PAGE – 8 ============
– 7 – PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING Checking Identification Serving underage patrons is a serious violation of the law and could be the basis of a costly lawsuit. We recommend that you accept only the following forms of identification (ID): State Driver’s License (With Picture) State Issued Identification Cards Military ID Passports Check the identification of any patron who you are not positively sure is of legal drinking age. Take physical just quickly scan it. Look for the following: Expiration Date: It must be currently valid. Do not ever serve on an expired ID! Signs of t ampering Compare the patron’s appearance with the picture and descriptive information on the license. Compare features that are not easily changed such as ears, jaw line, and hairline. Make sure they are the correct height. Ask patrons to tell you informa tion directly from the license; e.g., date of birth, address, zip code, height, weight etc. Ask them the month and year of their DOB as most people memorize the DOB in month – day – year order. Ask for county, year of graduation, or any other information that they may not have memorized. Ask for a second form of identification if necessary. Remember, you do not have to serve someone if you are not s atisfied that the identification is valid. The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement has three programs th at are designed to prevent sales of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21. They are: The Cooperating Underage Witness Program (CUW) The Cops – In – Shops Program Fake ID Sweeps These programs assist law enforcement officers in assuring that all servers and sellers make every reasonable effort to ensure that persons under 21 years of age do not receive alcoholic beverages. The reasonable effort is that all servers/sellers always ask for identification and check it carefully!
PAGE – 9 ============
– 8 – Alcohol is the #1 drug of choice for children and adolescents. More than 40% of individuals who start drinking before the age of 15 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. Among high school students, those who started drinking before age 13 are nine times more likely to binge drink (5+ drinks on one occasion at least six times per month). 67% of 8th graders and 83% of 10th graders believe that alcohol is readily available to them. High school students who use alcohol or other drugs fre quently are up to five times more likely than other students to drop out of school. In a survey of 18 – 24 year – old current drinkers who failed to complete high school, nearly 60% had begun to drink before age 16. Those who begin drinking at age 14 or younge r are significantly more likely to experience unintentional injuries, physical fights, and motor vehicle crashes. Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two – thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students. Alcohol is a major facto r in unprotected sex among youth, increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. An overwhelming number of Americans (96%) are concerned about underage drinking and a majority support measures that would help reduce teens drinking, such as stricter controls on alcohols sales, advertising, and promotion.
PAGE – 10 ============
– 9 – LAWS AND RULES NOTE: All licensees should have on their licensed premises at all times an updated copy of: The Liquor Control Act (Title 4) and The Commissioner Rules and Regulations . They are also required to post a Prenatal Decal and Decal of legal drinking age at each entrance. Common Title 4 Laws Title 4 Sec. 512 d) Any person who has purchased a bottle of alcoholic liquor other than beer from a hotel, restaurant, motor sports speedway, club, dinner theater or horse racetrack licensed under this section, and who has partially consumed the contents of such bottle on the licensed premises, may remove it fro m the licensed premises for the purpose of consumption off the licensed premises. Any person who has purchased a bottle of alcoholic liquor other than beer from a caterer and who has partially consumed the contents of such bottle on the premises, approved by the Commissioner for the catering may remove it from the approved premises for the purpose of consumption off the approved premises. k) Any person who holds a valid restaurant license issued by the Commissioner may deny a minor, as defined in § 708 of this title, admission to or permission to remain on the premises after 9:00 p.m. (official Eastern time) unless accompanied by a parent or by a legal guardian. Title 4 Sec. 525 ( Spirits, Wine and Beer Tasting ) A license to permit spirits, wine, and beer tasting may be granted by the Commissioner to any person holding a license under this title as a retailer. a. Limit of (1) one ounce of wine or beer. b. Limit of one half ounce or spirits. c. Must be in an area designated by the Commissioner. Title 4 Sec. 561 – Gr ounds for cancellation or suspension The licensee maintains a noisy, lewd, disorderly, or unsanitary establishment or has been supplying impure or otherwise deleterious beverages or food. Title 4 Sec. 705 – Containers for Sale and Delivery of Beer for off Premises Consumption (package stores) No sale or delivery of beer for off premise consumption shall be made in open containers. Title 4 Sec. 706 – Sale or Service of Alcoholic Liquors to Intoxicated Persons No licensee or employee of a license shall sell or serve any alcoholic liquor to any person that is intoxicated or appears to be intoxicated .
PAGE – 11 ============
– 10 – Title 4 Sec. 708 – Prohibition of Sales of Alcoholic Beverages to Certain Persons No person shall sell any alco holic liquor to: a. Anyone who has not reached the age of twenty – one; b. Persons to whom such sales are prohibited; c. An individual who habitually drinks to excess or whom the Commissioner has, after investigation, decides to prohibit such sale. Title 4 Sec. 709 – Prohibition of Sale at Certain Times a. No manufacturer or importer shall sell or deliver alcoholic liquor on any holiday specified in subsection (d) of this section, or at hours other than those prescribed by the rules or regulations of the Commissioner. b. N o holder of a license for the sale of spirits, wines or beer in a store shall sell or deliver the same on any holiday specified in subsection (d) of this section between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. of any other day. The closing hours may be made e arlier in any municipality having a population of 50,000 or more persons, by ordinance of the municipal corporation; provided however, that such ordinance be consistent with the Delaware state and federal constitutions as well as treat all businesses fairl y. c. No holder of a license for the sale of alcoholic liquor in a hotel, restaurant, club, tavern, taproom, horse racetrack, motor sports speedway, multi – purpose sports facility, dining room of a boat, passenger cars of a railroad or caterer shall sell the s ame between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. The closing hour may be made earlier in any municipality by ordinance of the municipal corporation. Title 4 Sec. 727 – Sale at last call/c losing hour of an establishment No more than 1 alcoholic beverage ma y be sold to a person less than 15 minutes prior to closing each day that a licensee is open pursuant to this title. Any server who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation. Title 4 Sec. 901 – Offenses carrying penalty of imprisonment for 3 to 6 months. Whoever: 1) Peddles any alcoholic liquor; or 2) Keeps, sells or dispenses alcoholic liquor in a disorderly house; or 3) Being an employee of the Commissioner and/or Division, infringes any of the provisions of this title; or 4) Not being the holder of a proper and valid license, or not being so authorized by this title, sells any alcoholic liquor in this State; or 5) Not being the holder of a license under this title, claims or represents that he is the holder of a license or exhibits a document purporting to be a license under this title; or 6) Sells, offers for sale, or keeps with the intent to sell for beverage purposes, denatured alcohol, perfume, lotion, tincture, fluid extract or essence, or other liqu id or solid not originally manufactured or intended for use as a beverage, containing more than one half of 1 percent of ethyl alcohol by volume, shall, in addition to the payment of costs, be imprisoned not less than 3 nor more than 6 months. Justices of the peace shall have original jurisdiction to hear, try, and finally determine alleged violations of this section.
51 KB – 18 Pages