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Youth

Vertical Identification Laws Fail to Achieve Goals in Underage Smoking and Drinking Prevention

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As of May 25, 2025, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have adopted vertical identification laws for drivers' licenses issued to individuals under age 21. These laws are intended to lower the cost of age verification and curb underage drinking and smoking. However, research published in Contemporary Economic Policy suggests that these laws have not achieved their intended goals.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study analyzed 1991-2019 data from the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys and found no evidence that adoption of vertical identification laws had a statistically significant or economically important effect on teenage drinking and smoking.
  • The policy strategy of adopting vertical identification laws was deemed largely ineffective in reducing the public health costs of underage purchases of cigarettes and alcohol.
  • The study's findings suggest that policymakers should reevaluate their approach to preventing underage drinking and smoking, as the current policy has not yielded the desired results.
  • The lack of effectiveness of vertical identification laws was attributed to the ability of underage individuals to obtain fake identification cards or other forms of identification.
  • The study's authors emphasized the need for policymakers to consider alternative strategies to address the issue of underage drinking and smoking.

Statistics:

  • 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have adopted vertical identification laws for drivers' licenses issued to individuals under age 21.
  • The study analyzed 1991-2019 data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, which included responses from over 1 million high school students.
  • The study found no statistically significant change in teenage drinking and smoking rates after the adoption of vertical identification laws.
  • The lack of effectiveness of vertical identification laws was attributed to the fact that underage individuals can obtain fake identification cards or other forms of identification.

Sources:

  • Contemporary Economic Policy, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.12690
  • Wikipedia, Contemporary Economic Policy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_Economic_Policy

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