A press conference inaugurating the fifth edition of the “Appearances Can Be Deceptive, ID Cannot” campaign was held at the headquarters of the National Police Headquarters. Its aim is to draw the attention of sellers, as well as witnesses to sales in shops, to the fact that an adult appearance does not mean maturity. The campaign’s principles and objectives were presented during the conference by junior inspector Anna Kuźnia, deputy director of the Prevention and Road Traffic Bureau of the National Police Headquarters, Danuta Gut, director of the Office of the Union of Employers of the Brewing Industry Polish Breweries, and Andrzej Faliński, general director of the Polish Organization of Trade and Distribution.
“Appearances Can Be Deceptive, ID Cannot” is a nationwide campaign conducted since 2009. Its aim is to prevent the sale of alcohol to people under 18. Previous activities carried out as part of the campaign have resulted in a clear change in Poles’ attitude toward the sale of alcohol to minors. Social acceptance of selling alcohol to children has decreased, while awareness of the dangers resulting from minors’ access to alcohol has increased. Sellers face a particularly difficult task. They are aware of the responsibility resting on them and the legal consequences of selling alcohol to a minor. At the same time, correctly identifying the age of the person making a purchase can be difficult, and assertive refusal techniques are often not the seller’s strongest point.
The “Responsible Seller” training platform, available at www.odpowiedzialnysprzedawca.pl, is a universal and widely accessible e-learning tool that allows shop employees to test their knowledge and verify their skills in assertively refusing to sell alcohol to people not entitled to purchase it.
The e-learning platform is completely free and available to everyone interested – both sellers employed in small, privately owned shops and those working in large retail chains. Police officers will help reach them by handing employees, during inspections of retail outlets, a leaflet informing them about the new training tool. “Sellers and shop owners who do not comply with the statutory ban on selling alcohol to minors risk not only losing their sales licence, but above all act unethically by failing to recognize the serious consequences of such behaviour, including loss of health, addiction and a young person’s coming into conflict with the law,” said junior inspector Anna Kuźnia. “By treating the safety of young people as a priority, we have been involved for years in educational activities promoting responsible alcohol sales. This is why the police are actively participating in the fifth edition of the ‘Appearances Can Be Deceptive, ID Cannot’ campaign.”
Every user who registers and logs in to the platform completes interactive training on the applicable regulations concerning the ban on selling alcohol to minors and the consequences of breaking the law. In subsequent stages, users learn about the impact of alcohol on young people’s psychophysical development and social functioning, as well as techniques for assertive refusal. The training concludes with a knowledge test and an interactive game simulating an alcohol purchase in a shop, which verifies the ability to cope with everyday situations involving service to underage customers.
This year’s edition of the “Appearances Can Be Deceptive, ID Cannot” campaign continues the long-term policy of educating consumers about responsible alcohol consumption and, in this particular case, about the negative effects of premature initiation into alcohol.
“Although the duty to respond to attempts by minors to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages rests with all adults, sellers face a particularly responsible task, as their decisions directly determine whether alcohol reaches a young person,” Danuta Gut pointed out. “Recognizing the role of sellers in the prevention chain, we want to offer them support in dealing with the often difficult situations involved in contacting and talking to a young person attempting to purchase alcohol. We hope that the ‘Responsible Seller’ platform will fulfil its role by providing not only extensive knowledge, but also tools for effectively and assertively refusing to sell alcohol to people under 18.”
Only through consistent, wide-ranging education carried out in a public-private partnership can a lasting change in attitudes toward the strict observance of the ban on selling alcohol to minors be achieved.
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ic/Komenda Główna Policji/ii