The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) was very active this Mardi Gras season. From visiting businesses along the parade routes before carnival season began to walking the parade routes during it, ATC was out in full force. The attachment contains a breakdown of all the parades worked and how many alcohol related citations were issued at each.

Part of ATC’s main mission is to enforce the underage drinking laws and to ensure that businesses selling alcohol are properly permitted. This year’s crackdown is one of the biggest in over 10 years at ATC with almost all of the cost being paid for by a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Statewide there were 825 alcohol related citations issued by ATC agents. The following is breakdown of those citations: 408 citations issued to individuals along 35 parade routes across the state, 393 citations in the French Quarter, 24 citations at Cajun Field in Lafayette, and 5 arrests made in the New Orleans region. Out of the 1278 businesses permitted to sell alcohol that were inspected before the season began, only 15 citations were issued. In New Orleans, 97 kegs of beer (1503 gallons) were confiscated from a frat party for selling beer illegally; numerous underage drinkers were present.

“Considering the amount of alcohol that is sold and consumed during Mardi Gras, ATC is very pleased with the results for 2011. We may not be able to totally prevent minors from purchasing alcohol, but by being pro-active and visible we can make a difference and these numbers reflect that,” stated ATC Commissioner Troy Hebert.