How Online Alcohol Sale Is Exposing Children to Harm

By Simon Mwangi

In our country today if a child below eighteen years, but with access to a phone and the internet, ordered for alcohol online they would have it delivered to them within no time. This is the harsh reality we are staring at as a country with respect to online sale of alcohol.

In June 2021 an outfit referring to itself as the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, apparently in response to the acceleration in the shift towards e-commerce in the sale and delivery of alcohol, developed a set of standards to guide the sale and delivery of alcohol in efforts aimed to minimize risks to consumers. Two companies operating in Kenya are among the coalition of organizations that worked to develop the global e-commerce standards.

Part of the recommendations for these self-regulatory standards were that online retailers are required to verify the age of buyers and prevent deliveries to minors or intoxicated buyers. In Kenya, this is a mirage considering that no online platform retailing alcoholic drinks requires any form of age verification from the buyers.
As of August,2022 online trade platforms in Kenya have traditionally not been regulated under the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA) as they do not constitute electronic services as envisaged under the act and are therefore not licensable.

Assuming even that the age verification safeguards are there or are introduced, how would these traders confirm that it is not a miscreant minor in possession of an adult’s identification details making the purchase?
Research shows that although the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of hospitality venues in most countries throughout 2020 resulted in global alcohol sales volumes declining by more than six percent, there has been an acceleration in the shift to e-commerce with the sale and delivery of alcohol online increasing by thirty-three percent globally.

According to Movendi International, a premier global network for development through alcohol prevention, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Alcohol Status Report from 2018 shows that 76% of the adult population abstains from any alcohol use. And yet, Kenya ranks among the top countries worldwide for years of life lost due to alcohol.

Data from a nationwide survey on alcohol and drug abuse prevalence in primary schools in Kenya conducted by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) shows that alcohol use prevalence among primary school pupils is at 38.2%. Heavy intermittent alcohol use is surprising, with every second minor who consumes alcohol engaging in binge drinking.