Drinkers’ Use of Physical Availability of Alcohol: Buying Habits and Consumption Level

On the aggregate level, physical availability of alcohol is related to per capita consumption, prompting the question whether high availability can increase consumption net of social norms which enhance drinking. This issue is investigated using individual-level data in a high-availability urban environment. Effortless, efficient purchase of alcoholic beverages explains a small but significant amount of the variance in consumption when normative factors are statistically controlled. Qualitative factors of availability are discussed, with particular emphasis on food stores, which account for more than half this sample's purchases.     

Washington State Spirits Privatization: How Satisfied were Liquor Purchasers Before and After,and by Type of Retail Store in 2014?

Background: In 2012 Washington State ended a wholesale/retail monopoly on liquor, permitting sale of spirits in stores with > 10,000 square feet. Implementation resulted in average price increases, but also five times the stores selling liquor. Objectives: As part of a privatization evaluation, we studied pre-post and between-store-type purchase experiences. Methods: A 2010 Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) survey of liquor purchasers (n = 599), and the 2014 baseline of a repeated telephone survey (1,202 residents; n = 465 purchasers), each included 10 LCB questions on satisfaction with purchase experiences, each attribute with graded response scale A = 4 to D = 1 and F (0 = fail). Analyses used t-tests for satisfaction differences by time and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for 2014 between-store satisfaction-level differences. Results: Five purchase features were rated more favorably after privatization (ps < .05–.001), including product supply, staff professionalism, location convenience, store hours, and prices (though price rated lowest both times); selection offered, courtesy, and checkout speed were unaltered, and number of staff and staff knowledge declined (both p < .001). Eight consumer experiences differed by store type: five satisfaction aspects (supply, selection, number of staff, operating hours, and checkout speed) were highest for liquor superstores, while location convenience favored grocery and drug stores, and price satisfaction favored wholesale (Costco) stores, with staff knowledge highest at liquor stores. Conclusions: Satisfaction with liquor purchases increased after privatization for half the consumer experiences. Availability (location convenience and store hours) was important to liquor purchasers. Such results are relevant to sustained support for the policy of privatizing spirits retail monopolies.     

Public opinion and alcohol policy: comparisons of two Canadian general population surveys

In recent years increasing attention has been devoted to the association between public opinion and alcohol policy. This paper compares public opinion on alcohol policy questions in two national crosssectional surveys of representatives samples of the general population in Canada, with total Ns of 11 634 (1989) and 12 155 (1994). Views on the following topics are analysed: taxation of alcoholic beverages, the legal drinking age, beer and liquor store hours, government advertising against drinking, efforts to prevent drunken patrons from being served, adding warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers, selling alcohol in convenience (corner) stores, alcohol and drug education and treatment programs. Public support for current and potential alcohol policies is compared to actual changes in alcohol policy at the national level and to gradual or dramatic increases in access to alcohol in provincial contexts. Personal views on policies are placed into context by examining associations among support for policies, respondents' demographic characteristics and their drinking volumes and patterns. A decline in support for further or enhanced policy interventions is evident, although support remains high for several measures. In some instances public responses seemed to be a reaction to increased access, in others a confirmation of greater availability. \[Giesbrecht N, Kavanagh L. Public opinion and alcohol policy: comparisons of two Canadian general population surveys. Drug Alcohol Rev 1999;18:7-19]     

Self-report validity issues

Two possible sources of the substantial gap usually found between survey self-reported alcohol consumption estimates for a population and estimates based on official alcohol sales records are investigated. A measure of atypical heavy drinking is added to ordinary consumption commonly measured in surveys, and consumption by an adolescent (age 14-17) sample is added to that of the adult sample. The relationship between respondents' purchases and consumption during a 30-day period is also investigated. Personal interviews were completed with a random sample of 997 adults and 182 adolescents in Iowa during February-April 1985. Adding atypical drinking to ordinary drinking narrowed the sales-self-report gap more than did adding adolescent drinking, but a considerable gap remained. Self-reported purchases were closer to sales than was self-reported consumption. However, not all purchasers were drinkers and not all drinkers were purchasers, and the two were not highly correlated. The self-report validity issue, which remains unresolved, is apparently affected by many factors. Self-reports appear to be accurate enough for some purposes but not for others. Official alcohol sales (or purchase) records are not necessarily valid measures of alcohol consumption.     

Trends in public opinion on alcohol policy measures: Ontario 1989-1998

OBJECTIVE: This article presents trend data concerning public opinion on alcohol policy in the Canadian province of Ontario over a 10-year period (1989-98), highlights the currently debated issue of private venues for retail alcohol sales and assesses correspondence between public opinion and actual and proposed policy decisions. METHOD: Selected policy-related items from nine probability surveys on representative samples of male and female Ontario adults (range of unweighted n 's: 953 to 1,947) were analyzed by means of logistic regression. RESULTS: We found strong support for the status quo for a number of items, including beer and liquor store hours, corner store sales and taxes. Across all years, less than 6% of the total sample wanted to lower the legal drinking age. Over time, a linear trend showed a gradual but not entirely consistent development of attitudes among the Ontario public, favoring relaxation of some controls. However, contrary to this trend, disapproval of retail sales in corner stores increased significantly from 1992 to 1996. Demographic breakdown shows that relaxation of controls is most favored by those who report consumption of five or more drinks per occasion at least weekly over the past 12 months, and most strongly opposed by women and nondrinkers. Of those who seldom or never consume five or more drinks per occasion, the majority express satisfaction with the status quo. CONCLUSIONS: These data call into question the suitability of changes in alcohol policy that would diminish controls. It is of particular interest that there seems to be little public support for privatization proposals in the province. Public opinion against comer store sales of alcoholic beverages increased over time.     

DUI pre-arrest alcohol purchases: a survey of Sonoma County drunk drivers.

Based on a sample of 1,052 drunk drivers in northern California, less than 1% (0.80%) of those arrested for DUI had purchased and consumed alcohol prior to arrest from a convenience/gas store (gasmart). Data from both "on-sale" (on-premises consumption) and "off-sale" (off-premises consumption) alcohol outlets were compared. When off-sale outlets were compared only 2% of the DUI offenders had purchased and consumed alcohol from gasmarts prior to the arrest event. Gasmarts were the least frequent source of DUI-offender alcohol purchases. This report also describes the distribution of alcohol outlets for Sonoma and San Diego counties with respect to type of license and activity. Convenience stores that sold gas and alcohol concurrently were not overrepresented in either county.     

Legal Ages for Purchase and Consumption of Alcohol and Heavy Drinking Among College Students in Canada,Europe, and the United States

ABSTRACT

Heavy drinking and associated negative consequences remain a serious problem among college students. In a secondary analysis of data from two published study, the authors examine the correlation between minimum legal age to purchase and/or consume alcohol and rates of heavy drinking among college students in 22 countries. The published studies use identical definitions of heavy drinking and similar methodologies. In the study of 20 European countries and the United States, there is a positive correlation between prevalence of heavy drinking and both minimum legal purchase age (r =.34) and minimum legal drinking age (r =.19); in the study of Canada and the United States, there is a perfect positive correlation (r = 1.0). Examination of this evidence does not support the conclusion that a lower minimum legal age for purchase and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages is a protective factor for decreasing heavy drinking among college students.     

Availability of Tobacco Products at Stores Located near Public Schools

The nearby store is an obvious major site where adolescents obtain tobacco products. We investigated availability of tobacco products to adolescents at those stores located closest to public junior high and high schools by using 3 novel methods: (1) interviewing store personnel; (2) recording types and location of tobacco products, promotional items, and the legal age warning signs within stores; and (3) observing purchasing behavior. Store personnel were interviewed at randomly selected Southern California stores (n=36) and Illinois stores (n - 12). Results showed that store personnel used tobacco at twice the rate of the general public, and that they often use tobacco while working at the store. Promotional advertisements were present at many stores, while tobacco use legal age signs were posted at few stores. Approximately 50% of the store personnel admitted that they would sell to minors, and many reported that they had seen teenagers using tobacco near the stores. Several apparently illegal purchases were observed. Tobacco use prevention program and policy implications are discussed.     

Changes in alcohol consumption patterns following the introduction of credit cards in Ontario liquor stores.

OBJECTIVE: In 1994, regulatory changes were introduced in Ontario, Canada, permitting the purchase of alcoholic beverages with credit cards at government-operated liquor stores. Two objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the characteristics of credit card shoppers with non credit card shoppers at liquor stores, and (2) to assess whether changes occurred in alcohol consumption patterns among shoppers following the introduction of credit cards. METHOD: Random digit dialing was used to interview 2,039 telephone participants prior to the introduction of credit cards (Time 1); 1,401 of these subjects were contacted 1 year later (Time 2). Independent sample t tests were used to compare credit card shoppers with shoppers not using credit cards, and paired t tests were performed to assess whether drinking behaviors changed from Time 1 to Time 2. RESULTS: The credit card shoppers were more likely than the non credit card shoppers to be highly educated (p < .001) and to have high incomes (p < .05). Credit card shoppers drank an average of 6.3 drinks over the previous week compared with 4.0 drinks among non credit card shoppers (p < .01). Although the overall amount of alcohol consumed among credit card shoppers dropped from 6.7 drinks at Time 1 to 6.3 at Time 2 (NS), credit card shoppers reported drinking significantly more often after credit cards were introduced (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that credit cards may not present public health problems since significant increases in alcohol consumption among credit card shoppers were not found.     

Increased minimum legal age for the sale of alcohol in the Netherlands as of 2014: The effect on alcohol sellers’ compliance after one and two years

BackgroundAs of January 2014, the Dutch minimum legal age for the sale and purchase of all alcoholic beverages has increased from 16 to 18 years of age. The effectiveness of a minimum legal age policy in controlling the availability of alcohol for adolescents depends on the extent to which this minimum legal age is complied with in the field. The main aim of the current study is to investigate, for a country with a West-European drinking culture, whether raising the minimum legal age for the sale of alcohol has influenced compliance rates among Dutch alcohol vendors.MethodsA total of 1770 alcohol purchase attempts by 15-year-old mystery shoppers were conducted in three independent Dutch representative samples of on- and off-premise alcohol outlets in 2013 (T0), 2014 (T1), and 2016 (T2). The effect of the policy change was estimated controlling for gender and age of the vendor.ResultsMean alcohol sellers’ compliance rates significantly increased for 15-year-olds from 46.5% before to 55.7% one year and to 73.9% two years after the policy change. Two years after the policy change, alcohol vendors were up to 3 times more likely to comply with the alcohol age limit policy.ConclusionAfter the policy change, mean alcohol compliance rates significantly increased when 15-year-olds attempted to purchase alcohol, an effect which seems to increase over time. Nevertheless, a rise in the compliance rate was already present in the years preceding the introduction of the new minimum legal age. This perhaps signifies a process in which a lowering in the general acceptability of juvenile drinking already started before the increased minimum legal age was introduced and alcohol vendors might have been anticipating this formal legal change.     

Compliance with the legal age limits for alcohol,tobacco and gambling – A comparative study on test purchasing in retail outlets

Aim: To assess whether retail outlets comply with the minimum legal age of 18 for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco and for gambling on slot machines in Finland. Methods: A test-purchase research in 117 retail outlets selling alcohol, tobacco and supplying slot machines in two towns. Five-hundred fifty-seven purchase attempts were made for alcohol (n?=?173), tobacco (n?=?177) and gambling on slot machines (n?=?170) in private outlets and 37 attempts in government alcohol retail monopoly outlets. The differences in denial rates and factors of potential significance for denials were tested using logistic regression. Findings: The denial rate for gambling on slot machines was 4%. The odds that an alcohol or a tobacco purchase was denied were 25- and 20-fold, respectively, compared to gambling. The odds of denial of an alcohol purchase were 12-fold in alcohol monopoly stores compared to private outlets. Conclusion: The low compliance with the age limit for gambling is a challenge in a gambling policy system where slot machines are decentralized in private retail outlets and are widely available. The high denial rate in government alcohol retail monopoly outlets indicates that monopoly outlets are more capable of enforcing legal age limits effectively compared to private outlets.     

我国天然解酒制品的研究进展

酗酒和酒精中毒已经成为我国的公共卫生问题,开发有效的解酒药物具有重要的意义和广阔的市场前景。当前天然解酒药物的作用机制是通过抑制乙醇胃肠吸收和加速代谢以降低机体血醇浓度,解除醉酒状态。文章论述了开口箭、蛇菰、人参、葛花等多种天然解酒药物的解酒作用及药理研究的最新进展,探讨其活性成分的药效作用,并对此类天然药物在今后的研制方向上提出了浅见。     

'An unacceptable risk': the problem of alcoholic milk

In 2002 Wicked Holdings Pty Ltd, a company formed for the purpose of marketing alcoholic milk, applied to the Director of Liquor Licensing Victoria (LLV) for a wholesale licence to distribute a beverage known as 'Moo Joose'. This article outlines the case against alcoholic milk as the ultimate 'alcopop'. The argument encompasses the risk that alcoholic milk would reinforce and increase existing levels of under-age drinking in Australia, the risk it would reduce the age of initiation into drinking and the potential for alcoholic milk to be mistaken for a 'healthy' version of alcohol and a 'safe' alcoholic beverage. When LLV refused the application for a licence, Wicked Holdings appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Following a public hearing the Tribunal confirmed LLV's decision to refuse a licence on the grounds the product posed an unacceptable risk to the health and well-being of young people. [Munro G, Learmonth A. 'An unacceptable risk': the problem of alcoholic milk. Drug Alcohol Rev 2004;23:345-349]     

Effects of communities, neighborhoods and stores on retail pricing and promotion of beer

OBJECTIVE: This study examines how communities, neighborhoods and stores influence retail pricing and promotion of beer. METHOD: In the year 2000, trained field staff conducted observations in 2,024 retail alcohol stores in 160 communities throughout the contiguous United States. Based on a nationally representative sample of schools, we selected communities defined by the school's catchment area, or the vicinity from which the majority of students are drawn. We randomly selected off-sale alcohol retail establishments from a complete list of stores likely to sell tobacco or alcohol in the selected communities. Beer price and promotions are based on observations of Miller and Budweiser beer brands in the stores. Neighborhoods are defined by the store's census block. We used cross-sectional, hierarchical regression models and mixed methods procedures to analyze data. RESULTS: Community, neighborhood and store characteristics were related to beer price; however, only community and store characteristics were predictive of beer promotions. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the pricing and promotion of beer vary systematically by some characteristics of communities, neighborhoods and stores, but not significantly by the number of young people populating a neighborhood. In addition, pricing and promotion of Budweiser and Miller beers, in particular, do not appear to target racial minority populations. Because of the significant effect of store characteristics, public health agencies and advocates might focus prevention efforts on collaborations with liquor control agencies to reduce variations in pricing and promotion of beer, which ultimately encourage risky drinking behaviors. Further studies are needed to examine the effects of pricing and promotion on alcohol-related social problems.     

'Think before you buy under-18s drink': evaluation of a community alcohol intervention

Hazardous consumption of alcohol by teenagers is a significant public health problem in New Zealand. Concern about supply of alcohol to minors motivated 'Think before you buy under-18s drink', a campaign to reduce alcohol-related harm by discouraging inappropriate supply of alcohol by adults. Two intervention districts and a comparison district, in the South Island of New Zealand, were selected for the purpose of evaluating the campaign. Primary outcome measures were changes in the prevalence of parent supply to their teenager (13-17 years) for unsupervised drinking (SUD), and changes in the prevalence of binge drinking among teenagers. At baseline, 49% of teenagers reported a recent episode of binge drinking. SUD in the past month was reported by 36% of teenagers. Recent purchases of alcohol by under-18s were common (bottle shops: 16%; pubs/bars: 11%). In contrast to teenagers, only 2% of parents reported SUD in the past month. Levels of binge drinking decreased in all three districts. Analysis of data from 474 teenagers who completed questionnaires, at baseline and follow-up, showed decreased SUD in Ashburton and Waitaki relative to Clutha, although this was not significant (OR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.43, 1.25). Discrepancies between teenager and parent reports of SUD may be due to the latter providing a socially desirable survey response and to differences in the interpretation of what constitutes adult supervision. The lack of a significant association between changes in SUD and binge drinking may be a consequence of teenagers obtaining relatively small amounts of alcohol from their parents and larger quantities from other sources, e.g. peers (some of whom may be able to purchase alcohol legally) and from licensed premises.     

The measurement of drinking patterns and alcohol problems in Nigeria

As in most other societies, alcoholic beverages have been consumed in what is present-day Nigeria for a long time. Before the arrival of western factory-made drinks, alcohol consumption was limited to a variety of beverages produced from palm trees and food grains. Today, beer has become the most popular drink in the country but traditional beverages (palm wine, burukutu, ogogoro, pito) are still widely consumed in both rural and urban areas. Though research has shown that heavy drinking seems to be the norm among those who drink any type of alcohol, there is no clear association between drinking and social or health problems. On the other hand, certain types of beverages are linked with positive attributes. Despite their potential significance, these and other issues have not received the attention they deserve in the alcohol research literature on Nigeria and other African countries. The focus of this paper is on the need to take into consideration relevant measurement issues (e.g., container and serving size, alcohol contents, drinking expectancies, perceived risks associated with the consumption of different types of alcoholic beverages, as well as reasons for drinking) in alcohol research. It is suggested that a better understanding of these and related factors is necessary for the advancement of alcohol epidemiology in the country.     

Patterns of alcohol consumption and Helicobacter pylori infection: results of a population-based study from Germany among 6545 adults

BACKGROUND: Moderate alcohol consumption has been suggested to facilitate elimination of Helicobacter pylori infection. AIM: To investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and infection with H. pylori, with particular consideration of the role of age, different alcoholic beverages and specific drinking habits. METHODS: These issues were addressed in the German National Health Survey, conducted in a representative population sample between October 1997 and March 1999. Overall, 6545 subjects provided data on frequency and average amount of different alcoholic beverages consumed. H. pylori infection status was measured by serum immunoglobulin G antibodies. RESULTS: Seroprevalence of the infection was highest among subjects who reported drinking no alcohol (49.3%) and lowest among subjects consuming 25-50 g alcohol/day (35.2%, adjusted odds ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.48-0.75). This inverse association was consistently seen for different alcoholic beverages and in all age groups and it was particularly pronounced among women and among regular but moderate drinkers. There was also an inverse dose-response relationship between the frequency of alcohol consumption and H. pylori infection. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis supports suggestions that regular but moderate consumption of alcohol from various sources may facilitate elimination of H. pylori infection.     

Age of onset versus duration of problem drinking on the Alcohol Use Inventory

The importance of two factors--the age at which a consistent pattern of heavy alcohol use was established and the duration of problem drinking--was compared in 70 alcoholic outpatients (21 women) using the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI). Alcoholics who began heavy drinking at age 20 or below reported significantly greater social role maladaptation, more loss of behavioral control when drinking, greater severity of alcoholism, more severe alcoholic deterioration, and more frequent psychoperceptual withdrawal symptoms (delirium tremens) than later-onset alcoholics. Age of onset was consistently a better correlate of these alcoholic patterns than the duration of heavy drinking. Despite the 9.7-year mean difference between the groups with short- and long-term durations of heavy drinking, no significant differences on their AUI scores were found. These data suggest that the hypothesis that steady, excessive alcohol consumption at a young age may have more deleterious effects on the future social, interpersonal, cognitive and physical functioning of an alcoholic than the duration of excessive alcohol intake deserves further investigation.     

The measurement of harmful outcomes following drinking on licensed premises

The relationships between five potential indicators of alcohol-related harm following drinking on licensed premises in Perth were explored. These were annual purchases made by individual licensees of 'high' (>=3.8%) and 'low' (<3.8%) alcohol content drinks, the number of times a particular licensed establishment is cited by drivers as the last place of drinking prior to failing a roadside breath-test (including after accidents) and the annual number of assaults occurring either on or in the vicinity of particular licensed premises. The study area selected was a central part of the Perth metropolitan area with 367 licensed premises serving a residential population of 400 000. Highly significant correlations were found between each of the five variables. The correlations involving purchases of low alcohol drinks, however, were small. When purchases of alcohol were controlled, significant, though lower, correlations, were still evident between the other three variables. This suggests that there are risk factors other than extent of alcohol sales which further research will need to identify, and that these indicators of harm can be of value in monitoring the impact of future intervention strategies.     

The unique contribution of attitudes toward non-alcoholic drinks to the prediction of adolescents' and young adults' alcohol consumption

Attitudes toward alternative behaviors, such as drinking soda instead of alcohol, might contribute to the prediction of young people's drinking behavior. The current study explored the associations between late adolescents' and young adults' attitudes toward alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and their alcohol consumption, and whether these associations were moderated by participants' sex, age and education level. Cross-sectional data were collected among 1012 15 to 25-year-olds. Participants completed an online questionnaire on attitudes toward alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, binge drinking and monthly alcohol consumption.