Neighbourhood context and binge drinking from adolescence into early adulthood in a US national cohort.

BACKGROUND: Underage binge drinking is a serious health concern that is likely influenced by the neighbourhood environment. However, longitudinal evidence has been limited and few studies have examined time-varying neighbourhood factors and demographic subgroup variation. METHODS: We investigated neighbourhood influences and binge drinking in a national cohort of US 10th grade students at four times (2010-2014; n = 2745). We estimated odds ratios (OR) for past 30-day binge drinking associated with neighbourhood disadvantage, personal and property crime (quartiles), and number of liquor, beer and wine stores within 5 km, and then evaluated whether neighbourhood associations differ by age, sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Neighbourhood disadvantage was associated with binge drinking before 18 [OR = 1.54; 95% confidence interval (1.14, 2.08)], but not after 18 years of age. Property crime in neighbourhoods was associated with a higher odds of binge drinking [OR = 1.54 (0.96, 2.45)], an association that was stronger in early adulthood [4th vs 1st quartile: OR = 1.77 (1.04, 3.03)] and among Whites [4th vs 1st quartile: OR = 2.46 (1.03, 5.90)]. Higher density of liquor stores predicted binge drinking among Blacks [1-10 stores vs none: OR = 4.31 (1.50, 12.36)] whereas higher density of beer/wine stores predicted binge drinking among Whites [one vs none for beer: OR = 2.21 (1.06, 4.60); for wine: OR = 2.04 (1.04, 4.03)]. CONCLUSIONS: Neighbourhood conditions, particularly those related to economic circumstances, crime and alcohol outlet density, were related to binge drinking among young adults, but associations varied across age and individual characteristics.

Decreases in global beer supply due to extreme drought and heat.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world by volume consumed, and yields of its main ingredient, barley, decline sharply in periods of extreme drought and heat. Although the frequency and severity of drought and heat extremes increase substantially in range of future climate scenarios by five Earth System Models, the vulnerability of beer supply to such extremes has never been assessed. We couple a process-based crop model (decision support system for agrotechnology transfer) and a global economic model (Global Trade Analysis Project model) to evaluate the effects of concurrent drought and heat extremes projected under a range of future climate scenarios. We find that these extreme events may cause substantial decreases in barley yields worldwide. Average yield losses range from 3% to 17% depending on the severity of the conditions. Decreases in the global supply of barley lead to proportionally larger decreases in barley used to make beer and ultimately result in dramatic regional decreases in beer consumption (for example, -32% in Argentina) and increases in beer prices (for example, +193% in Ireland). Although not the most concerning impact of future climate change, climate-related weather extremes may threaten the availability and economic accessibility of beer.

Progress in Brewing Science and Beer Production.

The brewing of beer is an ancient biotechnology, the unit processes of which have not changed in hundreds of years. Equally, scientific study within the brewing industry not only has ensured that modern beer making is highly controlled, leading to highly consistent, high-quality, healthful beverages, but also has informed many other fermentation-based industries.

Impact of Maryland's 2011 alcohol sales tax increase on alcoholic beverage sales.

BACKGROUND: Increasing alcohol taxes has proven effective in reducing alcohol consumption, but the effects of alcohol sales taxes on sales of specific alcoholic beverages have received little research attention. Data on sales are generally less subject to reporting biases than self-reported patterns of alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the effects of Maryland's July 1, 2011 three percentage point increase in the alcohol sales tax (6-9%) on beverage-specific and total alcohol sales. METHODS: Using county-level data on Maryland's monthly alcohol sales in gallons for 2010-2012, by beverage type, multilevel mixed effects multiple linear regression models estimated the effects of the tax increase on alcohol sales. We controlled for seasonality, county characteristics, and national unemployment rates in the main analyses. RESULTS: In the 18 months after the tax increase, average per capita sales of spirits were 5.1% lower (p < 0.001), beer sales were 3.2% lower (p < 0.001), and wine sales were 2.5% lower (p < 0.01) relative to what would have been expected from sales trends in the 18 months prior to the tax increase. Overall, the alcohol sales tax increase was associated with a 3.8% decline in total alcohol sold relative to what would have been expected based on sales in the prior 18 months (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that increased alcohol sales taxes may be as effective as excise taxes in reducing alcohol consumption and related problems. Sales taxes also have the added advantages of rising with inflation and taxing the highest priced beverages most heavily.

Associations of Alcohol Availability and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Characteristics With Drinking: Cross-Sectional Results From the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

BACKGROUND: Living in neighborhoods with a high density of alcohol outlets and socioeconomic disadvantage may increase residents' alcohol use. Few researchers have studied these exposures in relation to multiple types of alcohol use, including beverage-specific consumption, and how individual demographic factors influence these relationships. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationships of alcohol outlet density and neighborhood disadvantage with alcohol consumption, and to investigate differences in these associations by race/ethnicity and income. METHODS: Using cross-sectional data (N = 5,873) from the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis in 2002, we examine associations of residential alcohol outlet density and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage with current, total weekly and heaviest daily alcohol use in gender-specific regression models, as well as moderation by race/ethnicity and income. RESULTS: Drinking men living near high densities of alcohol outlets had 23%-29% more weekly alcohol use than men in low density areas. Among women who drank, those living near a moderate density of alcohol outlets consumed approximately 40% less liquor each week than those in low density areas, but higher outlet densities were associated with more wine consumption (35%-49%). Living in highly or moderately disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with a lower probability of being a current drinker, but with higher rates of weekly beer consumption. Income moderated the relationship between neighborhood context and weekly alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Neighborhood disadvantage and alcohol outlet density may influence alcohol use with effects varying by gender and income. Results from this research may help target interventions and policy to groups most at risk for greater weekly consumption.

Contextual determinants and alcohol control policies in the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, between 1960 and the 2000s, there were many sociodemographic and economic factors that played a part in the changing picture of alcohol consumption and its related harm. This paper describes some of these variables along with the political measures that were identified as correlated with changes in consumption and harm. The resulting picture is unclear. No consistent pattern was identified among the variables analyzed. Beverage choice changed over time with a reduction in beer consumption and an increase in wines and spirits. Nevertheless, the overall picture showed an increase in total alcohol consumption and resulting harm.

Estimation of own and cross price elasticities of alcohol demand in the UK--A pseudo-panel approach using the Living Costs and Food Survey 2001-2009.

The estimation of price elasticities of alcohol demand is valuable for the appraisal of price-based policy interventions such as minimum unit pricing and taxation. This study applies a pseudo-panel approach to the cross-sectional Living Cost and Food Survey 2001/2-2009 to estimate the own- and cross-price elasticities of off- and on-trade beer, cider, wine, spirits and ready-to-drinks in the UK. A pseudo-panel with 72 subgroups defined by birth year, gender and socioeconomic status is constructed. Estimated own-price elasticities from the base case fixed effect models are all negative and mostly statically significant (p<0.05). Off-trade cider and beer are most elastic (-1.27 and -0.98) and off-trade spirits and on-trade ready-to-drinks are least elastic (-0.08 and -0.19). Estimated cross-price elasticities are smaller in magnitude with a mix of positive and negative signs. The results appear plausible and robust and could be used for appraising the estimated impact of price-based interventions in the UK.

What U.S. data should be used to measure the price elasticity of demand for alcohol?

This paper examines how estimates of the price elasticity of demand for beer vary with the choice of alcohol price series examined. Our most important finding is that the commonly used ACCRA price data are unlikely to reliably indicate alcohol demand elasticities-estimates obtained from this source vary drastically and unpredictably. As an alternative, researchers often use beer taxes to proxy for alcohol prices. While the estimated beer taxes elasticities are more stable, there are several problems with using taxes, including difficulties in accounting for cross-price effects. We believe that the most useful estimates reported in this paper are obtained using annual Uniform Product Code (UPC) "barcode" scanner data on grocery store alcohol prices. These estimates suggest relatively low demand elasticity, probably around -0.3, with evidence that the elasticities are considerably overstated in models that control for beer but not wine or spirits prices.

The effects of beverage type on suicide rate in Russia.

BACKGROUND: Research evidence has suggested that the consumption of different types of alcoholic beverage may have a differential effect on suicide rate. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between the consumption of different beverage types and suicide rates in Russia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Age-standardized sex- and age-specific suicide rate for the period 1980-2005 and data on beverage-specific alcohol sale were obtained from the Russian State Statistical Committee. Time-series analytical modeling techniques (ARIMA) were used to examine the relationship between the sale of different alcoholic beverages and suicide rates. RESULTS: Vodka consumption as measured by sale was significantly associated with both male and female suicide rate. The consumption of beer and wine were not associated with suicide rate. The estimates of the age specific models for men were positive (except for the 75+ age group) and ranging from 0.069 (60-74 age group) to 0.123 (30-44 age group). The estimates for women were positive for the 15-29 age group (0.08), 30-44 age group (0.096) and 45-59 age group (0.057). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that public health efforts should focus on both reducing overall consumption and changing beverage preference away from distilled spirits in order to reduce suicide rate in Russia.

You save money when you buy in bulk: does volume-based pricing cause people to buy more beer?

This paper uses supermarket scanner data to estimate brand- and packaging-specific own- and cross-price elasticities for beer. We find that brand- and packaging-specific beer sales are highly price elastic. Cross-price elasticity estimates suggest that individuals are more likely to buy a higher-volume package of the same brand of beer than they are to switch brands. Policy simulations suggest that regulation of volume-based price discounts is potentially more effective than a tax increase at reducing beer consumption. Our results suggest that volume-based price discounting induces people to buy larger-volume packages of beer and may lead to an increased overall beer consumption.

Propensity for illegal alcohol sales to underage youth in Chicago.

To assess youth's ability to purchase alcohol in a city previously not assessed-Chicago, Illinois-we hired individuals aged 21 and older who appeared to be aged 18-20 (i.e., pseudo-underage buyers) to make alcohol purchase attempts without age identification in off-premise licensed alcohol establishments. We conducted two purchase attempts at each establishment across 44 community areas, resulting in a total of 652 purchase attempts. Our dependent variable was purchase attempt outcome (purchase, no purchase) and we used four categories of independent variables: characteristics of sellers, establishments, purchase attempts, and community areas. We analyzed our data using a logistic regression model, with purchase attempt outcome regressed on the independent variables. The overall purchase rate was 35.1%, ranging from 0% to 72% across community areas. Buyers were less likely to purchase alcohol in community areas that had populations with higher percentages of Hispanics (OR = 0.99; CI = 0.98, 1.0), and more likely to purchase alcohol in establishments that had more expensive beer (OR = 2.0; CI = 1.50, 2.67) and in areas with higher percentages of unemployed individuals (OR = 1.1; CI = 1.07, 1.14). Although progress has been made since the early 1990s in reducing sales to underage youth, youth still have relatively easy access to alcohol from licensed establishments. We recommend increased use of compliance checks-underage youth attempt to purchase alcohol under the supervision of enforcement agents; if alcohol is sold, the server/seller and/or license holder are penalized-which scientific studies have shown to be the most effective strategy in reducing sales to minors.

Propensity for obtaining alcohol through shoulder tapping.

BACKGROUND: Underage youth often obtain alcohol from adults who illegally provide the alcohol. One method for obtaining alcohol from adults is shoulder tapping, where youth approach an adult outside an alcohol establishment and ask the adult to purchase alcohol for them. The goal of this study was to assess what percentage of the general and youth-targeted adult population approached outside of a convenience/liquor store will agree to purchase and then provide alcohol to individuals who appear under age 21. METHODS: We conducted 2 waves of pseudo-underage shoulder tap request attempts, using requesters who were age 21 or older but appeared 18 to 20 years old. In both waves, requests were conducted at randomly selected liquor and convenience stores, requesters explained that the reason they were asking the adult was because they did not have their identification with them, and requesters asked the adults to purchase a 6-pack of beer. During wave 1, we conducted 102 attempts, with the requester approaching the first adult entering the store alone. During wave 2, we conducted 102 attempts where the requester approached the first casually dressed male entering the store alone who appeared to be 21 to 30 years old. RESULTS: During wave 1, 8% of the general sample of approached adults provided alcohol to the pseudo-underage requesters. The odds of adults providing alcohol in urban areas were 9.4 times greater than in suburban areas. During wave 2, 19% of the approached young men provided alcohol to the requesters. No requester, request attempt, establishment, or community characteristics were associated with request attempt outcomes during wave 2. CONCLUSIONS: A small percentage of the general population of adults will agree to provide alcohol to underage youth when approached outside an alcohol establishment. The likelihood of underage youth obtaining alcohol through shoulder tapping increases substantially if the youth approach young men.

Environmental policies to reduce college drinking: an update of research findings.

OBJECTIVE: We provide an overview of environmental strategies that may reduce college drinking. The identified environmental strategies fall into three categories: (1) reducing alcohol use and related problems among underage college students, (2) reducing risky alcohol use and related problems among all college students, and (3) de-emphasizing the role of alcohol and creating positive expectations on campus. At the time of our 2002 review, few studies had assessed environmental policies and strategies in the context of college student alcohol use and related problems. The present article summarizes recent research on the effects of environmental policies and strategies affecting college students. METHOD: We updated our previous literature searches to identify peer-reviewed research studies evaluating the effects of environmental strategies on college and general populations. RESULTS: We identified 110 new studies addressing environmental strategies published between 1999 and 2006. Thirty-six of these studies focused on the college population. The extant research indicates that many environmental strategies are promising for reducing alcohol-related problems among the general population. Several recent studies suggest that these strategies, particularly combined strategies, also may be effective in decreasing alcohol-related problems among college populations. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to continue expanding our understanding of environmental strategies to identify the most effective individual and combined strategies.

Correlates of in-store promotions for beer: differential effects of market and product characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: We estimated the strength and direction of the association between product characteristics (beer type, package size, and brand name) and market-area socioeconomic characteristics, and promoted sales of beer in grocery stores. METHOD: Supermarket scanner data from 64 market areas across the United States over 5 years were used to estimate regression models of the share of beer sales that are promoted, controlling for beer price, packaging, and type; and for market-level age, race/ethnicity, income, unemployment rate, and percentage of the population living in an alcohol control state. RESULTS: Large-volume units, such as 144-oz and 288-oz packages, are more likely to be promoted than smaller package sizes. Malt-liquor beverages are less likely to be promoted than non-malt-liquor beverages. Age, race/ethnicity, income, and geographic location of the market area are not significantly related to promoted beer sales. CONCLUSIONS: Marketing research has shown that in-store merchandising and promotions can substantially increase beer sales and that purchasing large package sizes may increase total consumption. Our results suggest that high levels of promoted sales for large-volume beer packages may result in increased beer consumption.

The effects of price on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems.

The most fundamental law of economics links the price of a product to the demand for that product. Accordingly, increases in the monetary price of alcohol (i.e., through tax increases) would be expected to lower alcohol consumption and its adverse consequences. Studies investigating such a relationship found that alcohol prices were one factor influencing alcohol consumption among youth and young adults. Other studies determined that increases in the total price of alcohol can reduce drinking and driving and its consequences among all age groups; lower the frequency of diseases, injuries, and deaths related to alcohol use and abuse; and reduce alcohol-related violence and other crime.

Alcohol law changes and homicide in Iceland.

Homicide rates declined, but not significantly, after the passage of a law in Iceland legalizing the sale of strong beer.

Handgun sales, beer sales, and youth homicide, California, 1972-1993.

Whether regulating access to firearms and alcohol will reduce violent injuries is an important policy question. Empirical answers are difficult to obtain because only observational data are available. The present study estimated the association of firearm sales and alcohol sales with subsequent homicides, after adjusting statistically for potential confounders (e.g., unemployment rates) using California data from 1972 through 1993. Handgun sales and beer sales were lagged one year and used to explain variation in the homicides of Californians (e.g., 1990 sales were used to explain 1991 homicides). Differences across population groups were investigated, with a focus on 15- to 34-year-olds, the highest risk age group. Even when taking potential confounders in the base population into account, beer sales and handgun sales generally are associated positively one year later with homicide, particularly among young men. Reducing beer sales may reduce homicides. And, although they represent a small fraction of existing firearms, regulating the number of handguns sold may reduce the number of homicides.