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CORK Bibliography: Alcohol Control Policy

42 citations. 2007 to present

Prepared: March 2010

Anderson P. Is it time to ban alcohol advertising? Clinical Medicine 9(2): 121-124, 2009. (20 refs.)

Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, with heavy drinking risking impaired brain development and future alcohol dependence. Advertisements increase expectancies about alcohol, leading to a greater likelihood of drinking. A systematic review of 13 longitudinal studies of over 38,000 young people found convincing evidence of an impact of media exposure and alcohol advertising on subsequent alcohol use; including initiation of drinking and heavier drinking among existing drinkers. All European countries, with the exception of the UK, have a ban on one or more types of advertising. Since self-regulation is reported as failing to prevent marketing which has an impact on younger people, and since advertising commonly crosses country borders, there is an argument to approximate advertising rules across Europe banning alcohol advertising targeted at young people, a highly cost-effective measure to reduce harmful alcohol use, and one supported by European citizens and case law.

[Anon]. A framework convention on alcohol control. (editorial). Lancet 370(9593): 1102-1102, 2007. (0 refs.)

Babor TF; Winstanley EL. The world of drinking: National alcohol control experiences in 18 countries. (commentary). Addiction 103(5): 721-725, 2008. (18 refs.)

Baumberg B; Anderson P. Reassurance -- but not complacency -- on trade law and alcohol. A response to Osterberg. (commentary). Addiction 103(12): 1959-1960, 2008. (6 refs.)

Baumberg B; Anderson P. Trade and health: How World Trade Organization (WTO) law affects alcohol and public health. Addiction 103(12): 1952-1958, 2008. (55 refs.)

The alcohol field is becoming more aware of the consequences of world trade law for alcohol policies. However, there is a need for greater clarity about the different effects of trade on alcohol-related harm. A comprehensive review of all literature on alcohol and world trade [including World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes on alcohol], supported by a more selective review of other relevant cases, academic reports and the grey literature on trade and health. The burden of WTO law on alcohol policies depends upon the type of policy in question. Purely protectionist policies are likely to be struck down, which may lead to increases in alcohol-related harm. Partly protectionist and partly health-motivated policies are also at risk of being struck down. However, purely health-motivated policies are likely to be defended by the WTO-and to the extent that policy makers misunderstand this, they are needlessly avoiding effective ways of reducing alcohol-related harm. WTO agreements contain genuine and substantial risks to alcohol policies, and various ways of minimizing future risks are suggested. However, the 'chilling effect' of mistakenly overestimating these constraints should be avoided. Health policy makers should decide on which policies to pursue based primarily on considerations of effectiveness, ethics and politics rather than legality. As long as any effect of these policies on trade is minimized, they are overwhelmingly likely to win any challenges at the WTO.

Caetano R; Vaeth PAC; Ramisetty-Mikler S; Rodriguez LA. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey: Alcoholic beverage preference across Hispanic national groups. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 33(1): 150-159, 2009. (29 refs.)

U.S. Hispanics come from many countries in Latin America, which can lead to different beverage preferences in the United States. This paper examines choice for drinking wine, beer, and liquor across 4 Hispanic national groups: Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and South/Central Americans. A sample of 5,224 individuals 18 years of age and older was selected using multistage cluster procedures from the household population in 5 metropolitan areas of the United States: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. The survey weighted response rate was 76%. Face-to-face interviews lasting 1 hour on average were conducted in the respondents' homes either in English or Spanish. Among men, beer drinkers consume the highest mean number of drinks per week in all national groups. Among women, this is true only of Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans. Among men who drink beer, beer drinking constitutes 52 to 72% of total alcohol consumption. Among women who drink beer, beer consumption is associated with 32 to 64% of total consumption. Beer is the beverage most associated with binge drinking among Puerto Rican and Mexican American women, while among Cuban Americans and South/Central Americans this is seen for wine. Regression analyses showed no significant differences by national group in the likelihood of drinking 2 or fewer drinks (vs. no drinks) of wine, beer, or liquor. Puerto Ricans were more likely (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.00-2.14) than Cuban Americans to drink 3 or more drinks (compared with no drinks) of beer. There was no association between the likelihood of binge drinking and Hispanic national group. Beverage preference across Hispanic national groups is similar. Beer is the preferred beverage. Alcohol control policies such as taxation and control of sales availability should apply equally to beer, liquor, and wine. Prevention interventions directed at different Hispanic national groups in the United States can be relatively uniform in their focus on the dangers associated with drinking different types of alcoholic beverages.

Cohen JE; Anglin L. Outlet density: A new frontier for tobacco control. (editorial). Addiction 104(1): 2-3, 2009. (19 refs.)

Cook PJ; Reuter P. When is alcohol just another drug? Some thoughts on research and policy - Response to comments. Addiction 102(8): 1192-1193, 2007. (7 refs.)

Cook PJ; Reuter P. When is alcohol just another drug? Some thoughts on research and policy. Addiction 102(8): 1183-1188, 2007. (29 refs.)

Aim: To reflect on the divergence and overlap between alcohol and illicit drugs with respect to both current policies and policy research. Results: For demand reduction, there is considerable overlap in programs and services for prevention and even more clearly for treatment. For supply controls there is mostly divergence, reflecting the difference in legal status. Research generally follows the same pattern. However, a cross-cutting research agenda on the supply side has merit. Conclusion: Even in a prohibition regime, law-enforcement agencies have considerable discretion. A systematic, pragmatic, 'evidence-based' use of that discretion to reduce harm is possible. It can be accomplished only by a continuing program of policy research that measures the harms of drug use and drug enforcement, assesses the effects of current policies on both these sources of social cost and explores alternative strategies. There is a similarly important project for alcohol and tobacco control policy. The goal for research on alcohol and tobacco is to document the extent to which supply controls can be effective in reducing harm; the additional goal for illicit drugs is to document just how much the current ideologically driven approach is costing the public.

de Bruijn A. No reason for optimism: The expected impact of commitments in the European Commission's Alcohol and Health Forum. (editorial). Addiction 103(10): 1588-1592, 2008. (17 refs.)

Background: Europe is the heaviest-drinking region in the world, more than 2.5 times the rest of the world's average. The Commission's conclusion: The cornerstone for the European Commission's action to decrease the alcohol-related harm of this consumption and the main emphasis for its work is the Alcohol and Health Forum, with its Task Forces on Marketing Communication and Youth-Specific Aspects of Alcohol. The Forum, which was launched in June 2007, aims to provide a common platform for all interested stakeholders. Forum members are invited to make commitments to reduce alcohol-related harm, in the form of a monitored and evaluated action plan. By 29 February 2008, 79 commitments have been provided by the members of the Forum. Appraisal of the initiative Taking into account the limited information available, the proposed commitments indicate few evidence-based approaches. A large majority of the summaries do not, or only slightly, address the relevance of their commitment and give no evidence of why their proposed action is important in reducing alcohol-related harm. Even fewer commitments mention indicators of effectiveness of the proposed actions or propose to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed actions. Conclusion: While most economic operators in the Forum have resources to undertake actions which could be highly effective, they commit principally to educational programmes which have been found to be mainly ineffective. This, and the neglect of existing legislation, do not give reason for optimism on the impact of the proposed commitments.

Donovan K; Donovan R; Howat P; Weller N. Magazine alcohol advertising compliance with the Australian Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code. Drug and Alcohol Review 26(1): 73-81, 2007. (38 refs.)

The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency and content of alcoholic beverage advertisements and sales promotions in magazines popular with adolescents and young people in Australia, and assess the extent to which the ads complied with Australia's self-regulatory Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC). Alcohol advertisements and promotions were identified in a sample of 93 magazines popular with young people. The identified items were coded against 28 measures constructed to assess the content of the items against the five sections of the ABAC. Two thirds of the magazines contained at least one alcohol advertisement or promotion with a total of 142 unique items identified: 80 were brand advertisements and 62 were other types of promotional items (i.e. sales promotions, event sponsorships, cross promotions with other marketers and advertorials). It was found that 52% of items appeared to contravene at least one section of the ABAC. The two major apparent breaches related to section B-the items having a strong appeal to adolescents (34%) and to section C-promoting positive social, sexual and psychological expectancies of consumption (28%). It was also found that promotional items appeared to breach the ABAC as often as did advertisements. It is concluded that the self-regulating system appears not to be working for the alcoholic beverages industry in Australia and that increased government surveillance and regulation should be considered, giving particular emphasis to the inclusion of promotional items other than brand advertising.

Faden VB; Corey K; Baskin M. An evaluation of college online alcohol-policy information: 2007 Compared with 2002. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs Supplement 16: 28-33, 2009. (13 refs.)

Objective: To receive federal funds, colleges and universities are required to provide information to students about their alcohol policies as part of their alcohol-abuse prevention efforts. This study investigated whether and how the availability and completeness of alcohol-policy information on college Web sites changed between 2002 and 2007. Method: The Web sites of the top 52 national universities listed in the 2002 rankings of U.S. News and World Report, which were reviewed for alcohol-policy information in 2002, were reviewed again in 2007 using the same Web search methodology. Results: Much more information regarding college alcohol policies was available on the Web sites of the 52 universities in 2007 than in 2002. Substantial increases were seen in the areas of (1) rules, restrictions, requirements; and (2) consequences for infractions, especially for student groups. In addition. information on university Web sites regarding their alcohol policies was easier to access in 2007 than in 2002. Conclusions: These findings indicate that colleges have made online alcohol-policy information more available and accessible to their students and other interested parties, including parents. This may reflect a greater engagement of colleges and universities in the issue of drinking on campus in general.

Fennell R. Using the "KISS" principle to address alcohol misuse/abuse in the United States. (editorial). Journal of American College Health 57(6): 573-574, 2009. (2 refs.)

Keep it Simple and Safe (KISS), a principle that stresses design simplicity over unnecessary complexity, should be the guiding principle used to address the problems with alcohol misuse and abuse in the United States and on college campuses. Once again, the Journal of American College Health (JACH) has produced an issue that focuses entirely on alcohol and college students. In a previous issue of JACH that also exclusively addressed this topic, I wrote an editorial titled, "'Drinking is Fun' and 'There's Nothing You Can Do About It': The Problem With the 21-Year-Old Minimum Drinking Age," in which I stated that neither the minimum drinking age nor the myriad programs that have been implemented across university campuses have ceased underage drinking on college campuses. The minimum drinking age in most countries is 18 years, and in some countries 16-year-olds can drink legally. Why we as a nation continue to use prohibition to curtain underage drinking is a conundrum, as it clearly is not working.

Gliksman L; Rylett M; Douglas RR. Aboriginal community alcohol harm reduction policy (ACAHRP) project: A vision for the future. Substance Use & Misuse 42(12-13): 1851-1866, 2007. (31 refs.)

Four First Nation communities in Ontario, Canada, formulated alcohol management policies between 1992 and 1994. An alcohol management policy is a local control option to manage alcohol use in recreation and leisure areas. Survey results indicate that decreases in alcohol use-related problems related to intoxication, nuisance behaviors, criminal activity, liquor license violations, and personal harm were perceived to have occurred. Furthermore, having policy regulations in place did not have an adverse effect on facility rentals. Bond administrators and facility staff in each community felt the policy had had a positive effect on events at which alcohol was sold or served.

Greenaway J. Agendas, venues and alliances: New opportunities for the alcohol control movement in England. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 15(5): 487-501, 2008. (35 refs.)

Alcohol issues and problems are once again being given a high political and media profile in Britain. However, the tendency of the alcohol control lobby to adopt a rationalist approach and to over rely on the persuasive powers of science may jeopardize policy initiatives. The political system of Britain today is inherently flexible and the way in which scientific knowledge and evidence is translated via the media and by political intermediaries is important. It is suggested that both cultural change and policy shifts can come about if attention is paid to both the venue and the discourse in which alcohol issues are debated, allowing new alliances to flourish.

Hawkins N; Sanson-Fisher R; Shakeshaft A; Webb G. Differences in licensee, police and public opinions regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 33(2): 160-166, 2009. (28 refs.)

Objectives: To determine the level of support by licensees, police and the general public for interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises and to identify differences between the three groups. Methods: Participants were 108 licensees of premises licensed to sell alcohol; 132 police officers; 200 members of the public. Questionnaires were administered either through work settings or by mail. Respondents' levels of agreement with interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises: responsible service of alcohol; security and crowd control; policing; patron transport; and linking of alcohol-related harm to licensed premises and communication. Results: Police and members of the public were significantly more likely than licensees to agree with strategies under licensee control, such as subsidising patron transport and training staff to deal with intoxicated patrons. Police were more likely than licensees and members of the public to agree with strategies requiring community action and changes to liquor licensing laws. Licensees had significantly lower levels of agreement than the other groups about licensees' responsibility to reduce alcohol-related harm as a consequence of drinking at their premises. Conclusions: While there was good agreement between police officers and members of the public about strategies for reducing alcohol-related harm at licensed premises, licensees held divergent views about strategies within their control. Licensees were less likely than police and members of the public to agree they were responsible for reducing alcohol-related harm resulting from drinking at their premises.

Higuchi S; Matsushita S; Maesato H; Osaki Y. Japan: Alcohol today. (review). Addiction 102(12): 1849-1862, 2007. (86 refs.)

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to outline alcohol availability, alcohol consumption and related harm, alcohol control policy and prevention programmes in Japan, few of which have been discussed in either the Japanese or English literature. Methods: Data were collected primarily from the following two sources: statistics and survey results issued by the national government, including surveys funded by the government; and papers published since 2000, identified by searching the MEDLINE and Igaku-Chuo-Zasshi databases. These data were assessed regarding their quality and summarized. Some data presented here were produced specifically for this review. Results: Although per capita alcohol consumption has tended to decline for more than 10 years, it has remained at a high level. Diversification of the drinking population has progressed rapidly, specifically in women, among whom alcohol consumption has increased sharply. Cross-sectional data suggest that alcohol consumption is associated with serious health and social consequences. Existing longitudinal data suggest that alcohol-related problems, especially health problems, have increased steadily over the past several decades, with few exceptions, including alcohol-related fatal road traffic accidents. Alcohol policy and prevention programmes have not developed to a level that can control these problems adequately. Specifically, the high availability of alcoholic beverages, including the lack of restrictions on sales and advertising and decreasing prices, are noted. Conclusions This review provides basic information regarding alcohol availability and alcohol consumption and related harm that may facilitate the improvement of existing alcohol control measures in Japan and encourage the development of new alcohol control measures. This research revealed the scarcity of longitudinal data regarding alcohol consumption and its consequences, and the lack of several important variables, such as disability adjusted life years, for improving our understanding of the comprehensive status of alcohol in Japan.

Holder HD. Thoughts on unexpected results and the dynamic system of alcohol use and abuse. (editorial). Addiction Research & Theory 17(6): 577-579, 2009. (4 refs.)

The author comments on the article "Explaining Change and Stasis in Alcohol Consumption," which highlights the findings of a research that alcohol consumption in Nordic countries is unresponsive to reductions in price. He finds that the paper defines social influences or social controls and argues that the regulation of drinking by law enforcement is also a social or informal control.

Holmila M; Mustonen H; Osterberg E; Raitasalo K. Public opinion and community-based prevention of alcohol-related harms. Addiction Research & Theory 17(4): 360-371, 2009. (27 refs.)

Aim: This article looks at alcohol policy opinions from the point of view of the possibilities and frames for creating local alcohol control policy. Local action against harms related to drinking is a compromise between different points of view, and the question of public support is important for community-based prevention. Data and analyses: The respondents of a postal questionnaire were asked if they supported different alcohol policy measures, and logistic regression analyses were carried out to examine the impact of the demographic characteristics, drinking measures and observations of alcohol-related harms in the community. Results: The wide majority of the population supported such measures suitable for community-based prevention as enforcement of the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol, surveillance of restaurants and shops, and the ban to sell alcohol to a drunken person. Decreasing numbers of outlets of restaurants or their opening hours were least popular. There was a relationship between drinking habits and alcohol policy opinions. Abstainers and moderate drinkers were most likely to support all alcohol policy measures examined, whilst heavier drinkers were least likely to support them. There was a connection between awareness of alcohol problems in one's locality, and favourable opinions on alcohol control measures. The result is similar with the ones found earlier in other countries. Conclusion: Potential members of local alcohol policy coalitions seem to have some similarities in different countries.

Jernigan DH. Alcohol advertising regulation: Where to from here? (editorial). Addiction 104(7): 1166-1167, 2009. (10 refs.)

Kisely S. Applying the lessons of tobacco and alcohol control to cannabis. (editorial). Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 53(12): 799-799, 2008. (5 refs.)

Kraus L; Muller S; Pabst A. Alcohol control policy. review (German). Suchttherapie 9(3): 103-110, 2008. (101 refs.)

Objective: To effectively prevent alcohol-related acute and social problems as well as morbidity and mortality, an evidence-based alcohol control policy is needed. This paper discusses the options, policies and the implementation of alcohol control policies in Germany. Results: Evaluation of the effectiveness of alcohol control policies and their implementation shows that an evidence-based alcohol control policy is possible in Germany. Structural measures reducing the availability and demand for alcohol have proven to be the most effective. Conclusion: In the course of ail evidence-based alcohol control policy the adoption and implementation of structural alcohol policies should be prioritized.

Lavigne AM; Francione C; Wood MD; Laforge R; DeJong W. Predictors of college student support for alcohol control policies and stricter enforcement strategies. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 34(6): 749-759, 2008. (23 refs.)

Objectives: With alcohol-related problems remaining a concern on college campuses, prevention efforts are increasingly directed to addressing the environmental factors that encourage consumption. This study examined students' support for alcohol control policies, correlates of that support, and actual vs. perceived peer support. Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of 510 college students. We conducted a three-step hierarchical regression analysis to examine predictors of policy support. Levels of personal and perceived peer support for alcohol control policies were compared. Results: Findings revealed a high level of policy support among students, with variability in support by gender, alcohol consumption levels, and drinking and driving tendencies. Additionally, compared to the percentage of students who supported each policy, a smaller percentage thought other students were supportive. Conclusions: Results provide valuable insights to inform the development of media campaigns and other environmental management initiatives.

Lenk KM; Toomey TL; Erickson DJ. Alcohol-related problems and enforcement at professional sports stadiums. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 16(5): 451-462, 2009. (8 refs.)

Aims: To assess types and levels of alcohol enforcement and alcohol-related problems at professional sports stadiums. Methods: We conducted a telephone survey in 2005-2006 of state alcohol beverage control and local police agencies in each of the cities and states in the USA that have a professional sports stadium (n = 98). Questions pertained to enforcement actions conducted at stadiums and complaints received about incidents at stadiums that are likely or certainly alcohol-related (e.g. fights, intoxicated patrons, property damage). Findings: We found that underage alcohol compliance checks were the most common type of enforcement but just over 50% of agencies conducted these. The most common types of complaints received by local law enforcement agencies were fights occurring either inside or outside the stadium, with 74-80% of agencies receiving these types of complaints. Among state agencies, 65% received complaints about intoxicated patrons. Conclusions: Given the high profile of alcohol-related violent incidents at professional sports stadiums in recent years along with recent scientific evidence that enforcement of alcohol-related policies is both needed and effective, our results showing high rates of alcohol-related problems and fairly low levels of enforcement at stadiums are particularly timely and point to need for further interventions and research.

Levintova M. Russian alcohol policy in the making. Alcohol and Alcoholism 42(5): 500-505, 2007. (52 refs.)

Aims: This paper examines implementation of the 2005 federal alcohol control law in the Russian Federation. Methods: The documents on the Russian Federation federal legislation on the control of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, and ethyl alcohol containing products, news reports, research, and historical documents were gathered and analysed for implementation barriers. Results: Consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially spirits, has been one the most significant public health problems in Russia for many centuries. Prior attempts to control alcohol consumption have been unsuccessful, in part due to the governments reliance on alcohol revenue, and its inability to implement creative and manageable solutions in the light of the high drinking rates. Implementation of this legislation has been a challenge in Russia because of administrative oversight, lack of organizational preparation, and corruption. Conclusions: The law discussed in this paper presented a window of opportunity to ameliorate the deteriorating health status and reverse the impending mortality crisis. However, a number of barriers presnted substantial setbacks toward realization of this legislation.

Margolis SA; Ypinazar VA; Muller R. The impact of supply reduction through alcohol management plans on serious injury in remote indigenous communities in remote Australia: A ten-year analysis using data from the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Alcohol and Alcoholism 43(1): 104-110, 2008. (34 refs.)

Aims: To assess the impact of supply reduction through Alcohol Management Plans (AMP) on the rate of serious injuries in four indigenous communities in remote Australia. Methods: An ecological study used the database of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to calculate trauma retrieval rates for 8 years pre- and 2 years post-AMP in four remote communities covering a period from 1 January 1995 to 24 November 2005. All serious injuries in these communities required aero-medical retrieval. Results: Serious injury resulted in a total of 798 retrievals during the observation period. One-sided analysis of variance for repeated measurements over the 10 years demonstrated a significant (P = 0.021) decrease of injury retrieval rates after the introduction of the AMP. Similarly, a comparison of linear trends of injury retrieval rates pre- and post-AMP also resulted in a significant decrease (P = 0.022; one-sided paired t-test). Comparisons of injury retrieval rates of just the 2 years pre- and post-AMP also revealed a significant reduction (P = 0.001; paired t-test), with an averaged 52% decline. Identical comparisons of retrieval rates for causes other than injury revealed no significant changes. Conclusion: This impact evaluation provides evidence that AMP was effective in reducing serious injury in the assessed indigenous communities.

McCambridge J; Kypri K. The price of alcohol and the value of the ceteris paribus assumption. Addiction Research & Theory 17(6): 580-582, 2009. (9 refs.)

The authors comment on the article "Explaining Change and Stasis in Alcohol Consumption," which highlights the findings of a research that alcohol consumption in Nordic countries was unresponsive to reductions in price. They find that this study compared to other studies based on sales data for consumption, offers greater potential to evaluate impacts upon population sub-groups and allows examination of hyptothesised mediating variables.

Mccartt AT; Hellinga LA; Wells JK. Effects of a college community campaign on drinking and driving with a strong enforcement component. Traffic Injury Prevention 10(2): 141-147, 2009. (22 refs.)

Objectives: A program of publicized intensive enforcement of minimum drinking age law and drinking and driving laws was implemented in a college community. The effects on driving at various blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were evaluated, particularly for drivers ages 16-24 targeted by the program. Methods: Objective measures of driver BACs were collected through nighttime roadside surveys before and during the program in the experimental college community and a comparison college community. Logistic regression models estimated the program's effects on the likelihood of driving at various BAC thresholds in the program community, after accounting for BAC patterns in the comparison community. Results: Relative to the comparison community, consistent reductions in driving at various BAC levels (positive BAC and BAC at least 0.02, 0.05, or 0.08%) were achieved in the experimental community. Reductions were greatest for 16- to 20-year-olds (from 66% for positive BAC to 94% for BAC 0.05%), followed by 21- to 24-year-olds (from 32% for positive BAC to 71% for BAC 0.08%) and drivers 25 and older (from 23% for positive BAC to 53% for BAC 0.08%). All reductions for 16- to 20-year-olds were significant (p 0.05), and all except the reduction for BAC 0.08 percent were significantly greater than the corresponding reductions for drivers 25 and older. Reductions for 21- to 24-year-olds were significant for BACs at least 0.02, 0.05, and 0.08 percent, but they were not significantly greater than the corresponding reductions for drivers 25 and older. Although large, reductions for drivers 25 and older were not significant, based on 95 percent confidence intervals. Conclusions: A college community program with a strong enforcement component produced substantial reductions in drinking and driving among teenagers and young adults and smaller reductions among older adults. It is hoped that this will encourage colleges and communities to incorporate enforcement into interventions directed at alcohol use among young people.

Naimi TS; Brewer RD; Miller JW; Okoro C; Mehrotra C. What do binge drinkers drink? Implications for alcohol control policy. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 33(3): 188-193, 2007. (36 refs.)

Background: Although binge drinking (drinking five or more drinks on an occasion) is an important public health problem, little is known about which beverage types are consumed by binge drinkers. This knowledge could guide prevention efforts because beer, wine, and liquor are taxed, marketed, and distributed differently. Methods: Data from 14,150 adult binge drinkers who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System binge-drinking module in 2003 and 2004 were analyzed. Information pertained to the amount of alcohol consumed during a binge drinker's most recent binge episode, including beverage-specific consumption. Results: Overall, 74.4% of binge drinkers consumed beer exclusively or predominantly, and those who consumed at least some beer accounted for 80.5% of all binge alcohol consumption. By beverage type, beer accounted for 67.1%, liquor for 21.9%, and wine accounted for 10.9% of binge drinks consumed. Beer also accounted for most of the alcohol consumed by those at highest risk of causing or incurring alcohol-related harm, including people aged 18-20 years (67.0% of drinks were beer); those with three or more binge episodes per month (70.7%); those drinking eight or more drinks per binge episode (69.9%); those binging in public places (64.4%); and those who drove during or within 2 hours of binge drinking (67.1%). Conclusions: Beer accounted for two thirds of all alcohol consumed by binge drinkers and accounted for most alcohol consumed by those at greatest risk of causing or incurring alcohol-related harm. Lower excise taxes and relatively permissive sales and marketing practices for beer as compared with other beverage types may account for some of these findings. These findings suggest that equalizing alcohol control policies at more stringent levels would be an effective way to prevent excessive drinking.

O'Mara RJ; Thombs DL; Wagenaar AC; Rossheim ME; Merves ML; Hou W et al. Alcohol price and intoxication in college bars. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 33(11): 1973-1980, 2009. (24 refs.)

Background: Many population studies find that alcohol prices are inversely related to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, including among college students and young adults. Yet, little is known about the "micro-level" effects of alcohol price on the behavior of individual consumers in natural drinking settings such as college bars. Therefore, we assessed patron's cost per gram of ethanol consumed at on-premise drinking establishments and its association with intoxication upon leaving an establishment. Methods: On 4 consecutive nights during April 2008, data were collected from 804 patrons exiting 7 on-premise establishments in a bar district located adjacent to a large university campus in the southeastern United States. Anonymous interview and survey data were collected as well as breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) readings. We calculated each patron's expenditures per unit of ethanol consumed based on self-reported information regarding the type, size, number, and cost of consumed drinks. Results: A multivariable model revealed that a 10-cent increase in cost per gram of ethanol at on-premise establishments was associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of exiting an establishment intoxicated (i.e., BrAC >= 0.08 g/210 l). Conclusions: The results are consistent with economic theory and population-level research regarding the price elasticity of alcoholic beverages, which show that increases in alcohol prices are accompanied by less alcohol consumption. These findings suggest that stricter regulation of the drink discounting practices of on-premise drinking establishments would be an effective strategy for reducing the intoxication levels of exiting patrons.

Ornberg JC. Escaping deadlock: Alcohol policy-making in the EU. Journal of European Public Policy 16(5): 755-773, 2009. (33 refs.)

Despite the cultural and ideological diversity of the member states when it comes to alcohol, several alcohol-related initiatives have been taken recently at the EU level. The purpose of this article is to analyse the development of two of these initiatives: the Council Recommendation of 5 June 2001 on the drinking of alcohol by young people, and the invitation from the Council to the Commission to develop a Community Alcohol Strategy, both adopted during the Swedish Presidency in 2001. Drawing from Heritier's work on escaping deadlock it is argued that EU decisions on alcohol policy were made possible by using four strategies: priority, anchorage, lowest common denominator and baby steps. In cases of weak EU supranational competence the possibilities of escaping deadlock differ somewhat from cases of strong legislative competence and the strategies of priority and anchorage seem to be of particular importance for questions based on soft law decision-making.

Paschall MJ; Grube JW; Kypri K. Alcohol control policies and alcohol consumption by youth: A multi-national study. Addiction 104(11): 1849-1855, 2009. (16 refs.)

Aims: The study examined relationships between alcohol control policies and adolescent alcohol use in 26 countries. Design: Cross-sectional analyses of alcohol policy ratings based on the Alcohol Policy Index (API), per capita consumption and national adolescent survey data. Setting: Data are from 26 countries. Participants: Adolescents (aged 15-17 years) who participated in the 2003 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) or national secondary school surveys in Spain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Measurements Alcohol control policy ratings based on the API; prevalence of alcohol use, heavy drinking and first drink by age 13 based on national secondary school surveys; per capita alcohol consumption for each country in 2003. Analysis: Correlational and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships between alcohol control policy ratings and past 30-day prevalence of adolescent alcohol use, heavy drinking and having first drink by age 13. Per capita consumption of alcohol was included as a covariate in regression analyses. Findings: More comprehensive API ratings and alcohol availability and advertising control ratings were related inversely to the past 30-day prevalence of alcohol use and prevalence rates for drinking three to five times and six or more times in the past 30 days. Alcohol advertising control was also related inversely to the prevalence of past 30-day heavy drinking and having first drink by age 13. Most of the relationships between API, alcohol availability and advertising control and drinking prevalence rates were attenuated and no longer statistically significant when controlling for per capita consumption in regression analyses, suggesting that alcohol use in the general population may confound or mediate observed relationships between alcohol control policies and youth alcohol consumption. Several of the inverse relationships remained statistically significant when controlling for per capita consumption. Conclusions: More comprehensive and stringent alcohol control policies, particularly policies affecting alcohol availability and marketing, are associated with lower prevalence and frequency of adolescent alcohol consumption and age of first alcohol use.

Pennock PE. Advertising Sin and Sickness. The Politics of Alcohol and Tobacco Marketing, 1950-90. DeKalb IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2007

This book is organized into three parts. Part I deals with the alcohol industry and the efforts, between 1947 and 1958, to ban alcohol advertising. It addresses attitudes toward temperance in the larger society and the alcohol industry's efforts to resist regulation. Part II focuses upon the tobacco industry. The highlights of these efforts, occurring in the context of the emerging antismoking movement, were the battle to regulate tobacco marketing in the 1960s, followed by the debates over warning labels, and efforts to restrict advertising. Part III considers the alcohol marketing restrictions introduced in the 1970s and 1980s, and what the author describes as a new temperance movement. The intertwining of political, legal and scientific research threads of the debate are presented. The concluding chapter deals with the elusive quest for restraints.

Record C; Day C. Britain's alcohol market: How minimum alcohol prices could stop moderate drinkers subsidising those drinking at hazardous and harmful levels. Clinical Medicine 9(5): 421-425, 2009. (12 refs.)

Discounting of alcoholic products is universal in UK supermarkets with some chains selling own brand spirits for less than the duty payable per item. Eighty per cent of alcohol purchases are made by 30% of the population and this group are the main beneficiaries. In December 2008 the government announced its intention to consult on modifications to the Licensing Act 2003 to enable the introduction of mandatory conditions for the sale of alcoholic products in order to curtail alcohol harm. In this article it is shown that families in Britain have nothing to fear from the introduction of a 50p/unit minimum price of alcohol as the overall effect should be a reduction in average weekly supermarket bills for the majority while harmful and hazardous drinkers will pay more. By paying less for non-alcoholic products sold by supermarkets, moderate drinkers should no longer be effectively subsidising the alcohol purchased by the harmful and hazardous group.

Saltz RF; Welker LR; Paschall MJ; Feeney MA; Fabiano PM. Evaluating a comprehensive campus-community prevention intervention to reduce alcohol-related problems in a college population. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs Supplement 16: 21-27, 2009. (17 refs.)

Objective: This article evaluates Western Washington University's Neighborhoods Engaging with Students project-a comprehensive strategy to decrease disruptive off-campus parties by increasing student integration into and accountability to the neighborhoods in which they live. The intervention includes increasing the number of and publicity regarding "party emphasis patrols" and collaboration with the city to develop a regulatory mechanism to reduce repeat problematic party calls to the same address. The enforcement components are complemented by campus-based late-night expansion programming, as well as neighborhood engagement strategies including an educational Web site designed to increase students' knowledge of and skills in living safely and legally in the community, service-learning projects in the campus-contiguous neighborhoods, and a neighborhood-based conflict-resolution program. Method: The evaluation comprised data from three public universities in Washington. In addition to the Western Washington University site, a second campus created an opportunity for a "natural experiment" because it adopted a very similar intervention in the same tune frame. creating two intervention sites and one comparison site. Annual, Web-based student surveys in 2005 and 2006 included measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and student perception of alcohol control and prevention activities. Results: Although statistical power with three campuses was limited, results using hierarchical linear modeling showed that the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking was significantly lower at the intervention schools (odds ratio = 0.73; N = 6,150 students). Conclusions: The results Suggest that alcohol control measures can be effective in reducing problematic drinking in college settings. These findings strongly support Conducting a replication with greater power and a more rigorous design.

Schulte MT; Ramo D; Brown SA. Gender differences in factors influencing alcohol use and drinking progression among adolescents. (review). Clinical Psychology Review 29(6): 535-547, 2009. (174 refs.)

While prevalence rates for alcohol use and related disorders differ widely between adult men and women, male and female adolescents do not exhibit the same disparity in alcohol consumption. Previous research and reviews do not address the emergence of differences in drinking patterns that occur during late adolescence. Therefore, a developmental perspective is presented for understanding how various risk and protective factors associated with problematic drinking affect diverging alcohol trajectories as youth move into young adulthood. This review examines factors associated with risk for developing an alcohol use disorder in adolescent girls and boys separately. Findings indicate that certain biological (i.e., genetic risk, neurological abnormalities associated with P300 amplitudes) and psychosocial (i.e., impact of positive drinking expectancies, personality characteristics, and deviance proneness) factors appear to impact boys and girls similarly. In contrast, physiological and social changes particular to adolescence appear to differentially affect boys and girls as they transition into adulthood. Specifically, boys begin to manifest a constellation of factors that place them at greater risk for disruptive drinking: low response to alcohol, later maturation in brain structures and executive function, greater estimates of perceived peer alcohol use, and socialization into traditional gender roles. On an individual level, interventions which challenge media-driven stereotypes of gender roles while simultaneously reinforcing personal values are suggested as a way to strengthen adolescent autonomy in terms of healthy drinking decisions. Moreover, parents and schools must improve consistency in rules and consequences regarding teen drinking across gender to avoid mixed messages about acceptable alcohol use for boys and girls.

Scribner R; Ackleh AS; Fitzpatrick BG; Jacquez G; Thibodeaux JJ; Rommel R et al. A systems approach to college drinking: Development of a deterministic model for testing alcohol control policies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 70(5): 805-821, 2009. (53 refs.)

Objective: The misuse and abuse of alcohol among college students remain persistent problems. Using a systems approach to understand the dynamics of student drinking behavior and thus forecasting the impact of campus policy to address the problem represents a novel approach. Toward this end, the successful development of a predictive mathematical model of college drinking would represent a significant advance for prevention efforts. Method: A deterministic, compartmental model of college drinking was developed, incorporating three processes: (1) individual factors, (2) social interactions, and (3) social norms. The model quantifies these processes in terms of the movement of students between drinking compartments characterized by five styles of college drinking: abstainers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, problem drinkers, and heavy episodic drinkers. Predictions from the model were first compared with actual campus-level data and then used to predict the effects of several simulated interventions to address heavy episodic drinking. Results: First, the model provides a reasonable fit of actual drinking styles of students attending Social Norms Marketing ResearchProject campuses varying by "wetness" and by drinking styles of matriculating students. Second, the model predicts that a combination of simulated interventions targeting heavy episodic drinkers at a moderately "dry" campus would extinguish heavy episodic drinkers, replacing them with light and moderate drinkers. Instituting the same combination of simulated interventions at a moderately "wet" campus would result in only a moderate reduction in heavy episodic drinkers (i.e., 50% to 35%). Conclusions: A simple, five-state compartmental model adequately predicted the actual drinking patterns of students from a variety of campuses surveyed in the Social Norms Marketing ResearchProject study. The model predicted the impact on drinking patterns of several simulated interventions to address heavy episodic drinking on various types of campuses.

Stockwell T. A cross-cutting research agenda on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs: Where to start? (editorial). Addiction 102(8): 1191-1192, 2007. (16 refs.)

This is a commentary on the article by Cook and Reuter (this issue) which reflects on the similarities and disparities in the response to licit and illicit drugs. For demand reduction, there is considerable overlap in programs and services for prevention and even more clearly for treatment. For supply controls there is mostly divergence, reflecting the difference in legal status. Policy research is required to explore the impact of these differences. Among the questions that need to be addressed are the costs to the public from a prohibitionist policy toward illlict drugs.

Wagenaar AC; Maldonado-Molina MM. Effects of drivers' license suspension policies on alcohol-related crash involvement: Long-term follow-up in forty-six states. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31(8): 1399-1406, 2007. (39 refs.)

Background: We evaluated the effects of driving under the influence (DUI) mandatory preconviction and postconviction drivers' license suspension laws in each of 46 U.S. states using 1 to 2 decades of long-term follow-up data on fatal car crashes. State-specific results were combined using meta-analytic techniques, and provide a direct test of the concept of celerity-time between offending behavior and consequent punishment-from deterrence theory. Methods: Four key outcome measures of monthly fatal alcohol-related crash involvement were examined using data from January 1976 through December 2002: single-vehicle nighttime, breath or blood alcohol concentration (BAC)=0.01 to 0.07, BAC=0.08 to 0.14, and BAC >= 0.15 g/dL. Missing BAC test data for some individual cases were filled using multiple imputation methods, and consequent increases in standard errors were incorporated into subsequent analyses. Separate ARIMA models were estimated for each state, including controls for state-specific levels of crash involvement over time due to other factors and effects of other major DUI countermeasures. Estimates were pooled across states using inverse variance weighting methods. Results: Administrative or preconviction drivers license suspension policies have statistically significant and substantively important effects in reducing alcohol-related fatal crash involvement by 5%, representing at least 800 lives saved per year in the United States. Moreover, these laws have similar effects on drivers at all drinking levels-from lower-risk drivers below the legal alcohol limit to drivers at extreme levels of intoxication. In clear contrast, postconviction license suspension policies have no discernable effects. Conclusions: The effectiveness of a deterrence policy appears to be more strongly affected by clarity-the speed by which punishment is applied after the offending behavior-than by the high severity of the penalty. This finding could be fruitfully applied to other areas of alcohol control policy and laws and regulations in general.

Warner KE. To educate or not to educate: Is that the question? (editorial). Addiction 102(9): 1352-1353, 2007. (13 refs.)

This is a reponse to Giesbrecht's article on the need to re-evaluate conventional approahces to alcohol education. The author presents lessons that might be drawn from an examination of the nicotine-tobacco publich health efforts around tobacco.

Williams TT; Jason L; Pokorny SB. Youth attitudes towards tobacco control laws: The influence of smoking status and grade in school. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse 17(2): 1-14, 2007. (28 refs.)

This study examined adolescent attitudes towards tobacco control laws. An exploratory factor analysis, using surveys from over 9,000 students; identified the following three factors: (1) youth attitudes towards the efficacy of tobacco control laws, (2) youth attitudes towards tobacco possession laws and (3) youth attitudes towards tobacco sales laws. Findings revealed that smokers reported less favorable attitudes towards the efficacy of tobacco control laws, tobacco possession laws, and tobacco sales laws than non-smokers. In addition, youth in lower grade levels reported more support for the efficacy of tobacco control laws and tobacco possession laws than those in higher grades. Findings indicate that there are different dimensions of youth attitudes towards tobacco control laws, and that smoking status and grade in school have important relationships to these different factors. This understanding might better allow the perspectives of youth to be an additional consideration when developing and implementing laws aimed at minimizing underage smoking.

Zeigler DW. The alcohol industry and trade agreements: A preliminary assessment. (review). Addiction 104(Supplement 1): 13-26, 2009. (102 refs.)

To review trade agreements, their relation to alcohol control policy and examine the role of the alcohol industry in supporting and attempting to influence trade policy. Review of peer review, public health advocacy literature (both pro and con on free trade), business, press and government documents on trade agreements, assess current and potential challenges by trade agreements to alcohol control policy and investigate the means and extent of industry influence in trade agreements. 'Free' trade agreements reduce trade barriers, increase competition, lower prices and promote alcohol consumption. However, international treaties, negotiated by free trade experts in close consultation with corporate lobbyists and without significant, if any, public health input, governments and corporations contain significant provisions that will result in increased alcohol consumption and may challenge public health measures of other nations as constraints on trade. Conversely, alcohol control measures seek to reduce access and consumption, raise prices and restrict advertising and product promotion. The prospect is for increased alcohol consumption and concomitant problems throughout the world. Trade agreements challenge effective alcohol control policies. The alcohol industry seeks to influence agreements and can be expected to work through trade agreements to reduce tariffs, increase market access and seek to restrict effective domestic regulations. Further research is needed on the impact of trade agreements and the ongoing role of the industry. Advocates must recognize the inherent conflicts between unbridled free trade and public health, work to exclude alcohol from trade agreements, counter industry influence and protect alcohol control policies.