Danish Stores Fail Age Checks on Alcohol and Tobacco Every Third Time

Danish shops often fail to check age limits for alcohol and tobacco. Young test buyers can buy these goods in one third of all attempts. This comes from new figures from the Danish Safety Technology Authority. Parents and shoppers should know that age checks remain weak in many stores.

The authority sent young test buyers to shops across Denmark. They conducted 3,622 inspections between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026. In 1,206 cases, stores sold alcohol, nicotine, or tobacco illegally. This means shops broke the age limit rules every third time.

The young test buyer scheme is currently a trial program in Denmark. It aims to test how well stores follow youth protection laws. Sikkerhedsstyrelsen leads these random spot checks in retail stores. The results show that many store clerks still fail to ask for ID.