Retail Alcohol Outlets Research Articles

The prevalence and magnitude of price promotions in online alcohol retail outlets.

We examined the prevalence of price promotions (i.e., proportion of products on price promotion) and the magnitude of price promotions (i.e., size of the price discount compared to the regular price) among online alcohol retailers. In August 2023, we web-scraped product information for all alcoholic beverages available for sale in the online stores of two leading alcohol retailers in Sydney, Australia. Products were classified into five primary alcohol categories: wine, spirits, beer, cider and premix drinks. We considered three types of price promotion: temporary price discounts (e.g., 'was $5 now $4'), multi-buy discounts (e.g., buy one get one free) and 'any six' discounts (e.g., 5% off when purchased in a bundle of any six similar products). The prevalence and mean magnitude of price promotions were estimated overall and by product category and price promotion type. In total, data for 11,184 products were collected. Of these, 62% were the subject of at least one of the assessed forms of price promotion. The most frequently price-promoted category was wine (91% of products), followed by spirits (35%), premix drinks (30%), cider (28%) and beer (21%). Of all price promotions, 61% were 'any six' discounts, 31% were temporary price discounts, and 7% were multi-buy discounts. Across all price promotions, the mean magnitude of price discount relative to the regular price was 11% and ranged from less than 1% to 71%. Policymakers should consider restricting price promotions as part of a suite of strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms.

Assessing the impacts of alcohol outlets on crime as a natural experiment: agglomeration, churning and spatial effects.

Retail alcohol outlets appear to open in neighborhoods with low land and structure rents near sources of demand; they may 'agglomerate', open near to one another or 'churn', replace one another, over time. We used the turnover in numbers of outlets over time to measure agglomeration and churning and the impacts of openings and closings of outlets on neighborhood crime. Interrupted quasi-experiments using spatial panel population data from 3768 synthetic block areas over 6years. City of Oakland, CA, USA. City population. Census-based socio-demographic estimates and counts of openings and closings of bars/pubs, restaurants and off-premises outlets related to assault, burglary and robbery crime incidents across synthetic Census blocks. Bayesian space-time models were used to assess agglomeration and churning and measure impacts of openings/closings on crime. Churning was substantial; openings followed closings for all outlets [bars/pubs, relative risk (RR) = 50.9, 95% credible interval (CI) = 3.0-449.9; restaurants, RR = 3.1, CI = 1.5-6.1; off-premises, RR = 23.5, CI = 2.0-129.8]. Bars/pub and restaurant openings agglomerated with other outlets (e.g., RR = 1.02, CI = 1.00-1.03 and RR = 1.01, CI = 1.00-1.01), but off-premises outlets did not. Covarying out effects related to outlet densities, bar/pub openings were related to a 3.5% increase in assaults (RR = 1.04, CI = 1.01-1.06) and 6.9% increase in robberies (RR = 1.07, CI = 1.03-1.11). Restaurant openings were related to a 5.3% increase in burglaries (RR = 1.05, CI = 1.04-1.06). Openings and closings of off-premises outlets were unrelated to all three crime types. Retail alcohol outlets appear to follow a pattern of opening near to one another and replacing each other over time. Bar, pub and restaurant openings appear to be related to increases in neighborhood crime.

Spatially Varying Associations of Neighborhood Disadvantage with Alcohol and Tobacco Retail Outlet Rates.

More than 30% of cancer related deaths are related to tobacco or alcohol use. Controlling and restricting access to these cancer-causing products, especially in communities where there is a high prevalence of other cancer risk factors, has the potential to improve population health and reduce the risk of specific cancers associated with these substances in more vulnerable population subgroups. One policy-driven method of reducing access to these cancer-causing substances is to regulate where these products are sold through the placement and density of businesses selling tobacco and alcohol. Previous work has found significant positive associations between tobacco, alcohol, and tobacco and alcohol retail outlets (TRO, ARO, TARO) and a neighborhood disadvantage index (NDI) using Bayesian shared component index modeling, where NDI associations differed across outlet types and relative risks varied by population density (e.g., rural, suburban, urban). In this paper, we used a novel Bayesian index model with spatially varying effects to explore spatial nonstationarity in NDI effects for TROs, AROs, and TAROs across census tracts in North Carolina. The results revealed substantial variation in NDI effects that varied by outlet type. However, all outlet types had strong positive effects in one coastal area. The most important variables in the NDI were percent renters, Black racial segregation, and the percentage of homes built before 1940. Overall, more disadvantaged areas experienced a greater neighborhood burden of outlets selling one or both of alcohol and tobacco.

Associations of Alcohol and Tobacco Retail Outlet Rates with Neighborhood Disadvantage.

Tobacco causes 29% of cancer-related deaths while alcohol causes 5.5% of cancer-related deaths. Reducing the consumption of these cancer-causing products is a special priority area for the National Cancer Institute. While many factors are linked to tobacco and alcohol use, the placement and density of retail outlets within neighborhoods may be one community-level risk factor contributing to greater use of these products. To elucidate associations between tobacco, alcohol, and tobacco and alcohol retail outlets (TRO, ARO, and TARO) and neighborhood disadvantage over a large geographic area, we employed a novel Bayesian index modeling approach to estimate a neighborhood disadvantage index (NDI) and its associations with rates of the three types of retailers across block groups in the state of North Carolina. We used a novel extension of the Bayesian index model to include a shared component for the spatial pattern common to all three types of outlets and NDI effects that varied by outlet type. The shared component identifies areas that are elevated in risk for all outlets. The results showed significant positive associations between neighborhood disadvantage and TROs (relative risk (RR) = 1.12, 95% credible interval (CI = 1.09, 1.14)) and AROs (RR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.17), but the association was greatest for TAROs (RR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.18, 1.24). The most important variables in the NDI were percent renters (i.e., low home ownership), percent of homes built before 1940 (i.e., old housing stock), and percent without a high school diploma (i.e., low education).

Recreational Marijuana Legalization and Co-use With Alcohol Among Adolescents

Little is known about the possible impacts of recreational marijuana legalization on alcohol and marijuana co-use among underage youth. This study examines the association between recreational marijuana legalization in California in 2016 and alcohol and marijuana co-use among adolescents. Additional analyses investigate the associations between recreational marijuana legalization and co-use among past 30-day drinkers and marijuana users and the frequency of alcohol and marijuana use among co-users. This study used annual cross-sectional data from 7th, 9th, and 11th graders (N=3,319,329) who participated in the California Healthy Kids Survey from 2010-2011 to 2018-2019. Measures included past 30-day alcohol and marijuana use and student demographic characteristics, survey year, pre-post recreational marijuana legalization, and urbanicity. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted in 2021. Recreational marijuana legalization was associated with greater odds of past 30-day alcohol and marijuana co-use in the total sample (OR=1.06, 95% CI=1.05, 1.07). Recreational marijuana legalization was more strongly associated with co-use among adolescents who reported past 30-day alcohol use (OR=1.58, 95% CI=1.52, 1.62) and heavy drinking (OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.21, 1.29) but was inversely related to co-use among past 30-day marijuana users (OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.74, 0.78). Among past 30-day co-users, there was a positive association with the frequency of marijuana use (β=0.36, SE=0.07). Recreational marijuana legalization may increase the risk of alcohol and marijuana co-use among adolescents. Greater restrictions on the numbers of alcohol and marijuana retail outlets and hours of operation and advertising and higher taxes on alcohol and marijuana products may help reduce the availability of these substances to adolescents.

Retail Availability of Recreational Marijuana and Alcohol in Oregon Counties and Co-Use of Alcohol and Marijuana and Related Beliefs among Adolescents

Objective: We investigated whether recreational marijuana legalization (RML) in Oregon in 2015 and recreational marijuana and alcohol retail outlet density levels in Oregon counties were associated with increased alcohol and marijuana co-use and beliefs supportive of alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents. Method: We conducted secondary analyses of biennial data collected from 11th graders who participated in the Student Wellness Survey (SWS) in 36 Oregon counties from 2010 to 2018 (N = 71,870). Multi-level logistic regression analyses assessed changes in past-30-day co-use of alcohol and marijuana, and alcohol- and marijuana-related beliefs after RML in counties with low, medium, and high densities of licensed recreational marijuana and alcohol retail outlets. We used post-RML 2016 and 2018 SWS data to examine whether beliefs accounted for any relationship of recreational marijuana and alcohol outlet density with alcohol and marijuana co-use. Results: We found a significant post-RML increase in past-30-day alcohol and marijuana co-use in 2016 in counties with the highest density of recreational marijuana and alcohol retail outlets. There were significant post-RML increases in perceived risk and parent approval of alcohol and marijuana use. Analyses with 2016 and 2018 SWS data indicated that the relationship between level of recreational marijuana and alcohol retail outlet density and past-30-day alcohol and marijuana co-use was accounted for beliefs about marijuana and alcohol availability, approval by parents, and risk. Conclusion: RML and greater retail availability of recreational marijuana and alcohol were positively associated with alcohol and marijuana co-use among adolescents, and with beliefs favorable to alcohol and marijuana use.

Geospatial characteristics of non-motor vehicle and assault-related trauma events in greater Phoenix, Arizona

BackgroundInjury-causing events are not randomly distributed across a landscape, but how they are associated with the features and characteristics of the places where they occur in Arizona (AZ) remains understudied. Clustering of trauma events and associations with areal sociodemographic characteristics in the greater Phoenix (PHX), AZ region can promote understanding and inform efforts to ameliorate a leading cause of death and disability for Arizonans. The outcomes of interest are trauma events unrelated to motor vehicle crashes (MVC) and the subgroup of trauma events due to interpersonal assaults.MethodsA retrospective, ecological study was performed incorporating data from state and national sources for the years 2013–2017. Geographically weighted regression models explored associations between the rates of non-MVC trauma events (n/10,000 population) and the subgroup of assaultive trauma events per 1000 and areal characteristics of socioeconomic deprivation (areal deprivation index [ADI]), the density of retail alcohol outlets for offsite consumption, while controlling for race/ethnicity, population density, and the percentage urban population.ResultsThe 63,451 non-MVC traumas within a 3761 mile2 study area encompassing PHX and 22 surrounding communities, an area with nearly 60% of the state’s population and 54% of the trauma events in the AZ State Trauma Registry for the years 2013–2017. Adjusting for confounders, ADI was associated with the rates of non-MVC and assaultive traumas in all census block groups studied (mean coefficients 0.05 sd. 0.001 and 0.07 sd. 0.002 for non-MVC and assaultive trauma, respectively). Alcohol retail outlet density was also associated with non-MVC and assaultive traumas in fewer block groups compared to ADI.ConclusionSocioeconomic deprivation and alcohol outlet density were associated with injury producing events in the greater PHX area. These features persist in the environment before and after the traumas occur. Ongoing research is warranted to identify the most influential areal predictors of traumatic injury-causing events in the greater PHX area to inform and geographically target prevention initiatives.

“You have to make some money before you can do some good”: Balancing the commercial, social and public health objectives in a “community enterprise” regulatory model for alcohol and cannabis

IntroductionNew Zealand's alcohol licensing trusts are social enterprises that operate retail alcohol outlets in their districts and distribute profits back to the community. There have been calls for a similar “social enterprise” approach to legal cannabis sales. However, social enterprises face unique challenges in balancing commercial and social objectives. AimTo explore mechanisms that support the balancing of commercial, social and public health objectives in alcohol trusts and identify learnings for cannabis reform. MethodThematic analysis of interviews with 16 internal and external key informants (trust board members, trust retail managers, community activists, law enforcement) from two alcohol trust districts. ResultsKey informants overwhelmingly conceptualised alcohol trusts as business entities, but commercial success was also seen as a means to help the community. Interviewees’ perceptions of trusts’ social mission ranged from simple “corporate social responsibility” to a “genuine” community orientation. Despite a near-monopolistic market position, forces within and outside the trusts create pressures to conform to standard commercial behaviour, including strategic placement of alcohol outlets. Participants attributed the potential public health benefits of the trusts to reduced density of alcohol retail outlets and ease of enforcement. The pragmatic political goal of maintaining a favourable public image (to secure survival of the trust and re-election of individual trustees) was the key mechanism balancing commercial and social objectives. Ethical dilemmas related to the sale of alcohol and conflicts of interest in allocating community funds were evident. Discord was “negotiated” with the community via the public discussion and voting, providing opportunity to correct mission drift. ConclusionsThe need to maintain a positive public image (to ensure favourable electoral results) was a key mechanism helping to balance the commercial and social goals of alcohol trusts. A community trust model for retail cannabis sales could similarly provide constraints on commercial behaviour while funding community services.

Smoking and alcoholism among adult population and its association with outlet density in a hilly area of North India.

SummaryBackgroundThe rising burden of non-communicable diseases is a threat to India. The behavioural risk factors having largest contribution to NCDs. Neighbourhood retailing of tobacco products, and alcohol are important risk factors. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence of smoking and alcoholism among adults of Srikot, Uttarakhand, and to determine its relationship with tobacco, and alcohol retail outlet density.Materials and methodsThe study design was a community based cross sectional study, which was done in Srikot, Uttarakhand among adults aged above 20 years, selected by systematic sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used. The outlet density was measured mapped using android application.ResultsA total of 155 were enrolled in the study of which 61.3% were females. A total of 11.6% of the study participants were smokers. On multivariate analysismale gender, and alcohol use was significantly associated with increased risk of smoking (p < 0.05). A total of 16.8% of the study participants were alcohol user. On multivariate analysis it was found male gender, and smoking was significantly associated with increased risk of alcohol use (p < 0.05). On mapping the study area, it was found that total tobacco selling outlets were 40. There was no alcohol-selling outlet in the study area.ConclusionThe community is in an early stage of urbanization as evident from the burden of smoking, and alcohol use. This burden of smoking might be worsened by outlet density of tobacco seller.

The association between alcohol access and alcohol-attributable emergency department visits in Ontario, Canada.

The availability of alcohol through retail outlets is associated with alcohol-related harms, but few studies have demonstrated a causal relationship. We investigated the association between alcohol availability and alcohol-attributable emergency department (ED) visits in the province of Ontario during a period of deregulation of controls on the number of alcohol outlets. Cross-sectional and pre-post design SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The study used data from two time-periods: pre-deregulation (2013-14) and post-deregulation (2016-17), to compare rates of ED visits for 513 defined geographic regions in Ontario Canada, called Forward Sortation Areas (FSAs). The primary outcome was the age-standardized rates of alcohol-attributable ED visits. We compiled a list of all alcohol retail outlets in Ontario during 2014 and 2017 and matched them to their corresponding FSA. We fitted mixed-effects Poisson regression models to assess: (a) the cross-sectional association between number of outlets and hours of operation and ED visits; and (b) the impact of deregulation on ED visits using a difference-in-difference approach. Alcohol-attributed ED visits increased 17.8% over the study period: more than twice the rate of increase for all ED visits. Increased hours of operation and numbers of alcohol outlets within an FSA were positively associated with higher rates of alcohol-attributable ED visits. The increase in ED visits attributable to alcohol was 6% (incident rate ratio =1.06; 95% confidence interval=1.04-1.08) greater in FSAs that introduced alcohol sales in grocery stores following deregulation compared with FSAs that did not. Deregulation of alcohol sales in Ontario, Canada in 2015 was associated with increased emergency department visits attributable to alcohol.

A ‘community enterprise’ model for recreational cannabis: Lessons from alcohol licensing trusts in New Zealand

The legalisation of cannabis on the American continent in recent years has reinvigorated calls for cannabis law reform in many countries. Yet researchers have described potentially negative public health and social impacts of profit driven commercial markets for cannabis. Consequently, they have suggested exploring a number of alternative regulatory options, such as “not-for-profit” or “for-benefit” organisations. However, many of these new models are yet to be developed in detail. This paper presents a “community enterprise” model for recreational cannabis based on the alcohol licensing trusts which have existed in New Zealand for many decades. Alcohol licensing trusts are community-owned entities which operate alcohol retail outlets and return a portion of their profits back to local communities in the form of grants, loans and donations. The principal benefits of the “community trust” model are suppressing the commercial incentive to expand the market, establishing statutory obligations to distribute revenue back to the community, and establishing community governance over alcohol sales. The removal of a strong commercial incentive and community accountability may also contribute to lower levels of availability, higher prices and less harm. A further benefit is providing the local community with some oversight of a trust’s commercial activities via community elections of the trust board and the ability to call a “community poll” to vote on the future existence of the trust. Our proposed community cannabis licensing trust model seeks to address some of the challenges experienced by alcohol licensing trusts in New Zealand, including the lack of general oversight and balancing the commercial and social aims of the trusts. A limitation of this model includes a lack of research and evaluation of the existing alcohol licensing trusts and further research in this area would inform the application of the model to cannabis.

Communities mobilizing for change on alcohol (CMCA): secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial showing effects of community organizing on alcohol acquisition by youth in the Cherokee nation.

We evaluated the effects of a community organizing intervention, Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA), on the propensity of retail alcohol outlets to sell alcohol to young buyers without age identification and on alcohol acquisition behaviors of underage youth. Random assignment of community to treatment (n=3) or control (n=2). Student surveys were conducted four times per year for 3 years; the cohort was in 9th and 10th grades in the 2012-13 academic year. Alcohol purchase attempts were conducted every 4weeks at alcohol retailers in each community (31 repeated waves). The Cherokee Nation, located in northeastern Oklahoma, USA. A total of 1399 high school students (50% male; 45% American Indian) and 113 stores licensed to sell alcohol across five study communities. Local community organizers formed independent citizen action teams to advance policies, procedures and practices of local institutions in ways to reduce youth access to alcohol and foster community norms opposed to teen drinking. Perceptions regarding police enforcement and perceived difficulty of and self-reported actual acquisition of alcohol from parents, adults, peers and stores. Alcohol purchases by young-appearing buyers declined significantly, an 18 [95% confidence interval (CI)=3, 33] percentage-point reduction over the intervention period. Student survey results show statistically significant differences in the trajectory of perceived police enforcement, increasing 7 (4, 10) percentage points, alcohol acquisition from parents, decreasing 4 (0.1, 8) percentage points, acquisition from 21+ adults, decreasing 6 (0.04, 11) percentage points, from <21 peers decreasing 8 (3, 13) percentage points and acquisition from stores decreasing 5 (1, 9) percentage points. A community organizing intervention, Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA), is effective in reducing the availability of alcohol to underage youth in the United states. Furthermore, results indicate that the previously reported significant effects of CMCA on teen drinking operate, at least in part, through effects on alcohol access.

Validation of commercial business lists as a proxy for licensed alcohol outlets

BackgroundStudies of retail alcohol outlets are restricted to regions due to lack of U.S. national data. Commercial business lists (BL) offer a possible solution, but no data exists to determine if BLs could serve as an adequate proxy for license data. This paper compares geospatial measures of alcohol outlets derived from a commercial BL with license data for a large US state.MethodsWe validated BL data as a measure of off-premise alcohol outlet density and proximity compared to license data for 5528 randomly selected California residential addresses. We calculated three proximity measures (Euclidean distance, road network travel time and distance) and two density measures (kernel density estimation and the count within a 2-mile radius) for each dataset. The data was acquired in 2015 and processed and analyzed in 2015 and 2016.ResultsCorrelations and reliabilities between density (correlation 0.98; Cronbach’s α 0.97–0.99) and proximity (correlations 0.77–0.86; α 0.87–0.92) measures were high. For proximity, BL data matched license in 55–57% of addresses, overstated distance in 19%, and understated in 24–26%.ConclusionsBL data can serve as a reliable proxy for licensed alcohol outlets, thus extending the work that can be performed in studies on associations between retail alcohol outlets and drinking outcomes.

The Impact of Single-Container Malt Liquor Sales Restrictions on Urban Crime.

Many US cities have adopted legal restrictions on high-alcohol malt liquor sales in response to reports of crime and nuisance behaviors around retail alcohol outlets. We assessed whether these policies are effective in reducing crime in urban areas. We used a rigorous interrupted time-series design with comparison groups to examine monthly crime rates in areas surrounding alcohol outlets in the 3years before and after adoption of malt liquor sales restrictions in two US cities. Crime rates in matched comparison areas not subject to restrictions served as covariates. Novel methods for matching target and comparison areas using virtual neighborhood audits conducted in Google Street View are described. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, sales of single containers of 16oz or less were prohibited in individual liquor stores (n = 6). In Washington, D.C., the sale of single containers of any size were prohibited in all retail alcohol outlets within full or partial wards (n = 6). Policy adoption was associated with modest reductions in crime, particularly assaults and vandalism, in both cities. All significant outcomes were in the hypothesized direction. Our results provide evidence that retail malt liquor sales restrictions, even relatively weak ones, can have modest effects on a range of crimes. Policy success may depend on community support and concurrent restrictions on malt liquor substitutes.

Association Between Alcohol Outlets and HIV Prevalence in U.S. Counties.

The current study examines associations between on- and off-premise alcohol retail outlets and HIV prevalence in counties across the United States during a 3-year period. Health department and U.S. Census Bureau surveillance data were analyzed from 1,523 counties in 47 states, representing more than 86% of the U.S. population. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to examine the association between the number of on- and off-premise alcohol outlets in a county and HIV prevalence in the same county, adjusting for the between-year correlation of HIV prevalence within each county. When we adjusted for potential confounders, number of on-premise alcohol outlets within a county was positively associated with HIV prevalence, whereas off-premise alcohol outlets were negatively associated with HIV prevalence. The relations observed in this study are consistent with the niche theory of assortative drinking, which maintains that drinkers who are prone to risk taking may be attracted to alcohol outlets where they can expand their social networks to include similarly high-risk individuals who engage in both heavy drinking and sexual risk taking. This is the largest study conducted to date to examine the association between alcohol retail outlet types and HIV prevalence. Natural experiments are needed to examine specific policy changes that reduce outlet density and its association with HIV incidence.

Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part II: Stages and factors in development, 1980-2015

Wittman, F. (2016). Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part II: Stages and factors in development, 1980-2015. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(3), 109-116. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.235From 1980 to 2015 California cities have been increasing their capacity for preventive local control to reduce harms attributable to retail alcohol outlets. We describe a four-stage process that has evolved from reactive zoning to preventive zoning. Starting about 1980, communities turned to local zoning following the California Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Department’s struggles to stem growing problems with new types of rapidly proliferating outlets in rapidly-changing cities. (See Wittman [2016] for the function of local zoning in the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) system for licensing retail alcohol outlets). Community coalitions teamed with local public officials to reduce problems through “local control” ordinances based on conditional-use permits for retail alcohol outlets. Working in coordination with ABC licensing procedures, cities learned to use their zoning ordinances to draw effective boundaries for outlet location and type of setting, to limit outlet density, and to impose preventive restrictions on outlet design and operation. The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the California alcohol policy advocacy community helped develop local control into a statewide movement. This paper reviews local control’s statewide progress to date and considers its prospects for future development to prevent harm in California cities. We conclude cities are about halfway to achieving harm-reduction benefits available from self-sustaining regulatory infrastructures grounded in participatory administration of local land-use law.

Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part I: The system as it has developed

Wittman, F. (2016). Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part I: The system as it has developed. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(3), 101-107. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.228Local control over retail alcohol sales in California cities provides substantial capacity to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm. This paper shows how local control works in California to prevent harm at retail alcohol outlets. Prior to issuing a retail license to an outlet operator, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) waits until the local jurisdiction (city or county) issues a land-use permit (also called a zoning permit or use permit). Localities have discretionary authority to impose preventive “conditions” on the use permit to protect public health and safety by imposing restrictions on setting design, operation, and hours of operation for the retail alcohol outlet. Within the state/local control system, city options include Level 1 permissive zoning (no restrictions), Level 2 problem-solving zoning (restrictions on new/expanded outlets), and Level 3 community oversight (restrictions on existing and new outlets). Since 1980 the scope of local control has progressed from nil (Level 1 permissive zoning) to Level 3 preventive surveillance for all outlets. Higher-level zoning requires local politics in which the ABC is not involved. A companion article (Wittman, 2016) describes the evolution of local control for retail alcohol availability in California’s local jurisdictions from 1980 to 2015.

Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part I: The system as it has developed

Wittman, F. (2016). Halfway there – The evolution of local alcohol control in California. Part I: The system as it has developed. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(3), 101-107. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.228Local control over retail alcohol sales in California cities provides substantial capacity to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm. This paper shows how local control works in California to prevent harm at retail alcohol outlets. Prior to issuing a retail license to an outlet operator, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) waits until the local jurisdiction (city or county) issues a land-use permit (also called a zoning permit or use permit). Localities have discretionary authority to impose preventive “conditions” on the use permit to protect public health and safety by imposing restrictions on setting design, operation, and hours of operation for the retail alcohol outlet. Within the state/local control system, city options include Level 1 permissive zoning (no restrictions), Level 2 problem-solving zoning (restrictions on new/expanded outlets), and Level 3 community oversight (restrictions on existing and new outlets). Since 1980 the scope of local control has progressed from nil (Level 1 permissive zoning) to Level 3 preventive surveillance for all outlets. Higher-level zoning requires local politics in which the ABC is not involved. A companion article (Wittman, 2016) describes the evolution of local control for retail alcohol availability in California’s local jurisdictions from 1980 to 2015.

Regulation of Alcohol Outlets: Experiences of the First and Second Republic of Lithuania

In 1928-1931, annual consumption of legal pure alcohol per capita was just 1.17 litres, while in 2014 the alcohol consumption per capita was 12.7 litres. The alcohol outlet density is one of the most significant factors for the indicators of alcohol consumption. The aim of this paper is to compare the characteristics of the regulation of retail alcohol outlets in the First (1918-1940) and Second (1990-2015) Republic of Lithuania. The goals are the following: to evaluate the aspects of alcohol outlet density, expiration dates and issue conditions of seller licences, and the maintenance of public order of seller licence usage as well as assurance of safety in the neighbourhoods, and to determine the period of Seimas (governing parties) ruling during which fundamental changes occurred in the liberalization or prohibition with regards to regulation of alcohol outlets. The paper is based on the method of document analysis. It was determined that the regulation of alcohol outlets was much stricter in the period of the First Republic of Lithuania than in the period of the Second Republic. In the First Republic of Lithuania, the regulation of the density of alcohol outlets was connected to the assurance of public safety and prevention of noise, the community was involved in the regulation of the density of alcohol outlets, the density of alcohol outlets was regulated, the prohibited distances were defined between alcohol outlets and places of worship, cemeteries, healthcare and education establishments or other institutions significant to the public, the issued licences were short-term, for the period of one year. Even though in the period of the ruling of Antanas Smetona in 1934 the alcohol outlet regulation was liberalized, eliminating the influence of residents and municipalities on the issuing of licences, alcohol outlet regulation still remained stricter than in the period of the Second Republic of Lithuania. In 2002, the social-democratic coalition, which had the majority in the government, strongly liberalized the alcohol outlet regulation: it abolished any regulation of alcohol outlet density, eliminated short-term licences and authorised alcohol sales in sanatoriums, kiosks and petrol stations. Only the political group of Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian democrats, which had the majority in the Seimas of 2008-2012, managed to prohibit sales in kiosks and petrol stations, but the density remained unregulated, the licences were still short-term, the licencing was unconnected to public safety and assurance of public order, and the community’s influence was restricted only to expression of opinion on the issuing of new alcohol seller licences in the blocks of flats they reside in. It is recommended to connect alcohol outlet regulation with public safety and assurance of public order, to regulate outlet density, to issue short-term licences, and to empower the residents to participate in the alcohol outlet regulation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.15.1.14691

A cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between tobacco and alcohol outlet density and neighbourhood deprivation.

BackgroundThere is a strong socio-economic gradient in both tobacco-and alcohol-related harm. One possible factor contributing to this social gradient may be greater availability of tobacco and alcohol in more socially-deprived areas. A higher density of tobacco and alcohol outlets is not only likely to increase supply but also to raise awareness of tobacco/alcohol brands, create a competitive local market that reduces product costs, and influence local social norms relating to tobacco and alcohol consumption. This paper examines the association between the density of alcohol and tobacco outlets and neighbourhood-level income deprivation.MethodsUsing a national tobacco retailer register and alcohol licensing data this paper calculates the density of alcohol and tobacco retail outlets per 10,000 population for small neighbourhoods across the whole of Scotland. Average outlet density was calculated for neighbourhoods grouped by their level of income deprivation. Associations between outlet density and deprivation were analysed using one way analysis of variance.ResultsThere was a positive linear relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and outlets for both tobacco (p <0.001) and off-sales alcohol (p <0.001); the most deprived quintile of neighbourhoods had the highest densities of both. In contrast, the least deprived quintile had the lowest density of tobacco and both off-sales and on-sales alcohol outlets.ConclusionsThe social gradient evident in alcohol and tobacco supply may be a contributing factor to the social gradient in alcohol- and tobacco-related disease. Policymakers should consider such gradients when creating tobacco and alcohol control policies. The potential contribution to public health, and health inequalities, of reducing the physical availability of both alcohol and tobacco products should be examined in developing broader supply-side interventions.