J. Wray & Nephew Limited and Red Stripe Limited, Jamaica's alcohol beverage leaders, have made the move to initiate an age-verification system whereby only persons at or above the legal drinking age can enter events they sponsor.
Traditionally, alcohol beverage companies make mention of a 'Must be 18 and older ... Drink Responsibly' message in their advertisements and promotions of their sponsored events.
But is it upheld?
This age-verification initiative begins with the Appleton Temptation Isle and Smirnoff Dream Weekend party series scheduled to be held in Negril, Westmoreland, on the Independence weekend.
Several other countries have been using age-verification methods to grant access to patrons of clubs, parties and other events.
Recently, while in the United Arab Emirates, this Gleaner reporter was denied entry to several clubs because he held no valid identification that could prove he was 21 years old.
The same process was required for a few clubs in the United States of America.
The decision by the two companies comes following an agreement by the sponsors and promoters to expand on the existing responsible drinking initiatives at these events.
Patrons will now be required to show IDs to gain access to the parties, and will only be allowed inside if they are 18 years or older.
IDs needed
IDs will also be needed when purchasing tickets for these events.
In a joint statement, Red Stripe and J. Wray & Nephew said: "We consider this an important step in controlling underage drinking, by ensuring only adults 18 and over are allowed inside our events and consuming our products. All our events are only for adults 18 and over. To ensure that is maintained, we have decided to implement an ID check system which will be done by the respective party promoters."
The promoters of ATI and Dream Weekend are also in full support of the initiative.
ATI organisers, Absolute Entertainment's Alex Chin, said it was important to encouraging the responsible consumption of alcohol, while also adding that such practice is standard in other parts of the world.
"We recognise that you cannot always tell a person's age by appearance, therefore, we are all making this concerted effort to help our current and future patrons help themselves," added Ron Burke, a director of Dream Entertainment.
The ATI and Dream Weekend events have become staples on the calendars of many, with both attracting thousands of local and overseas patrons to Negril with each staging.
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