A.
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that drinking games like "beer pong" have become increasingly popular in recent years.
B.
This Legislature also finds and determines that some drinking games have become so popular that they have led to the development of video games, board games, branded products used for game play, and even a "World Series of Beer Pong."
C.
This Legislature further finds and determines that many of these drinking game products are sold at retail stores and malls throughout Suffolk County and, as such, are readily accessible to minors.
D.
This Legislature determines that drinking games promote binge drinking, a behavior that should be discouraged, particularly among young people.
E.
This Legislature also finds that binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, a life-threatening reaction to an alcohol overdose that can cause serious illness or even death.
F.
This Legislature finds that people who begin drinking in their early teens are four times more likely to become dependent upon alcohol than those who begin drinking at the legal age.
G.
This Legislature also determines that the brain development of adolescents can be negatively impacted by alcohol consumption.
H.
This Legislature further determines that young people who abuse alcohol are more likely to engage in other risky behaviors, including experimentation with other drugs.
I.
This Legislature finds that the sale of alcohol to persons under 21 years of age is prohibited by state law; common sense dictates that the sale of drinking games to residents under the age of 21 should also be prohibited.
J.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to ban the sale of drinking games to minors in Suffolk County.