Alcoholic Beverage Control Research Articles

Union Measurements and Judgments of Police Management: Role of Police Unions in the United States

Ted Hunt served for 32 years with Los Angeles Police Department, a tenure that included 12 years as director of the Police Association. He is a journalist and organizational consultant and has also served on the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission, Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board and the Speaker's Commission on Police Conduct. In this article, Hunt proposes that unions should seek to partner with the chief to make communities safer; should provide meaningful upward feedback designed to help the chief become a better leader; and states that when chiefs develop policies and procedures, they should include all stakeholders, particularly the union.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy with Multivariate Analysis as a Novel Method for Characterizing Alcoholic Strength, Density, and Total Dry Extract in Spirits and Liqueurs

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy allows fast throughput screening of beverages (less than 2 min per sample). Using partial least squares (PLS) regression, it was demonstrated that relative density and alcohol content, which have previously been calibrated only for extract-free spirits, can also be determined in highly viscous liqueur samples. In addition, total dry extract (TDE) was successfully calibrated for the first time for both spirit and liqueur screening. An inter-laboratory validation showed that the standard errors of prediction, ranging between 0.0006 and 0.0078 (relative density), 0.23 and 0.74 % vol (alcoholic strength), and 0.55 and 7.53 g/l (TDE), were satisfactory for use of the FTIR-PLS method in the context of screening analysis in official food control of alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol Outlets and Problem Drinking Among Adults in California

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between alcohol environments and problem drinking, including excessive alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking, driving after drinking, and riding with a drinking driver. We merged geo-coded individual-level data from the California Health Interview Survey and Los Angeles County Health Survey with alcohol license data from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, distinguishing off-sale retails from on-sale establishments and, among on-sales, eating places from bars and taverns as well as minor-unrestricted establishments from minor-restricted establishments (i.e., youth below age 21 not allowed on business premises). The primary explanatory variable was alcohol outlets within various distances from an individual's residence or census tract. Multivariate logistic regression and simulation were run for men and women separately. On-sale establishments, particularly minor-restricted establishments, were significantly associated with excessive alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking, after controlling for individual and neighborhood sociodemographics. The effect was limited to outlets located within proximity, roughly 1 mile from residential homes. Off-sale retails were not found to be related to problem drinking. If the number of minor-restricted establishments increases from median to 90th percentile of their distribution, heavy episodic drinking would increase from 11.1% to 14.3% among women and from 19.6% to 22.0% among men. Certain types of alcohol retailers in neighborhoods were associated with problem drinking. Moratorium of new licenses based on number of licenses per capita at county level is not effective because only a subgroup of licenses matters, and alcohol is more available in terms of distance, travel time, or search costs in densely populated cities.

Rapid quality control of spirit drinks and beer using multivariate data analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectra

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis is introduced for the quality control and authenticity assessment of spirit drinks and beer in official food control. The spectra were measured using a FTIR interferometer, which is purpose-built for the analysis of alcoholic beverages and includes an injection unit for liquids with automatic thermostating of the sample. Only 2 min are required for FTIR measurement. For spirit drinks, no sample preparation is required at all. Carbon dioxide containing samples, such as beer were prepared by degassing. Using the partial least squares (PLS) method, FTIR spectra were correlated with results from reference methods. During validation with an independent set of samples, strong correlation with the reference values and great accuracy were demonstrated for the spirit parameters density, ethanol, methanol, ethyl acetate, propanol-1, isobutanol and 2-/3-methyl-1-butanol ( R 2 = 0.90–0.98), as well as for the beer parameters ethanol, density, original gravity and lactic acid ( R 2 = 0.97–0.98). Further beer parameters like pH, bitterness unit, and EBC colour ( R 2 = 0.63–0.75) showed lower correlation and accuracy, but can be determined semi-quantitatively in the context of a screening analysis. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the analysis results. A differentiation of deteriorated fruit spirits distilled from microbiologically spoiled mashes was possible. The results obtained suggest that FTIR is a useful tool in the quality control of alcoholic beverages, since quantitative determination of essential compounds as well as chemometric classification are simultaneously possible. Through use of FTIR screening, the majority of all samples were classified as being in conformance with legal and quality requirements. Only conspicuous analysis results (approx. 12% of all samples), which exceeded the predefined limits, must be confirmed by complex and labour-intensive reference analyses. In comparison to conventional methods, FTIR spectroscopy is faster and only requires a simple sample preparation.

Exotic Dance Adult Entertainment: A Guide for Planners and Policy Makers

Because exotic dance adult entertainment is a nationwide lightning rod for conflict, a comprehensive knowledge base is necessary. This bibliographic summary of literature addresses some misperceptions and notes new United States Supreme Court cases that can lead planners, policy makers, and government attorneys into legal difficulties over restrictions they try to impose on this industry. Costs to enact, enforce, and defend the restrictions may divert scarce resources. The multi-disciplinary literature encompasses books, articles, court testimony, and court rulings on exotic dance written by researchers in anthropology, architecture, biology, criminology, economics, journalism, law, photography, planning, police work, psychology, real estate, and sociology, as well as accounts presented by former exotic dancers. Topics include First Amendment-related characteristics of exotic dance, its expressive components, performers, patrons, adversaries, and supporters; the validity of studies used to justify zoning, alcohol beverage control, and other restrictive ordinances; and legal justifications and limitations on regulating exotic dance.

Struggling to embrace difference in land-use decision making in multicultural communities

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. This section provides an expanded version of the Anaheim and Garden Grove cases that were originally published in an article titled, “Dealing with Diversity” in Nov/Dec 2004 PAS Memo. Parts of the paper's final section also appear in an earlier version in the same PAS Memo. 2. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control sets the number of licenses allowed in a census tract according to population density, but allows municipalities to decide whether additional licenses are warranted after going through the Determination of a PCN. 3. The Lien Hoa property is a 0.64-acre lot. The code requires religious facilities to be on at least 1.0 acre. The setback of the temple is 90 feet, and the code requires 120 feet. 4. Chua Douc Su, also known as the Nun's Temple, followed just behind Lien Hoa and endured more scrutiny despite meeting all of the requirements for a CUP and having a more suitable location, on a major arterial. The planning commission denied their request, citing traffic, noise and garbage problems, but the council granted the appeal because they had “no reason to deny the application.” One council member noted that he had never seen a CUP with so many detailed conditions (City of Garden Grove City Council, 1994 City of Garden Grove City Council. 1994. “Minutes of Public Hearing – Appeal on SP-139-94”. Resolution 4418 [Google Scholar]; City of Garden Grove Planning Commission, 1994 City of Garden Grove Planning Commission. 1994. “Minutes of Public Hearing CEQA – Negative Declaration”. SP-139-94, CUP-183-94, PM-183-94 [Google Scholar]). 5. Lien Hoa appeared before the planning commission and council to negotiate several of the conditions, including a request to use the patio and existing structure for gatherings and serving of food. Council allowed the patio shelter to be used for gatherings of persons eating or waiting to enter the assembly building, but required that all religious ceremonies be conducted only in the assembly building (City of Garden Grove City Council, 1993 City of Garden Grove City Council. 1993. “Minutes of Public Hearing – Appeal of CUP-110-92”. P-133-102-35, Resolution No. 7571-93 [Google Scholar]; City of Garden Grove Planning Commission, 1993c City of Garden Grove Planning Commission. 1993c. “Minutes of Public Hearing SP-107-92/Revised 93”. CUP-110-02/Revised 93, Resolution 4389 [Google Scholar]).

Measuring public policy: The case of beer keg registration laws

Although there are many valuable evaluations of alcohol control policies, most do not account for the complexities of the policies, such as variability across jurisdictions, conceptual multi-dimensionality, implementation procedures and enforcement mechanisms. We conducted a detailed analysis of state beer keg registration policies in US. Based on reviews of keg registration statutes and regulations and surveys of alcohol beverage control agency officials in each of the 21 states with a keg registration law, three independent coders examined seven core conceptual components. Laws varied considerably in statutory and regulatory provisions and implementation procedures. No state specifically provided for enforcement, education or training regarding keg registration laws, and most did not fully specify penalty or benefit provisions. Future policy evaluation studies should include reliable coding of multiple policy dimensions and characteristics, and incorporate continuous measures of policy quality, not a simple dichotomy indicating presence or absence of a policy.

Electronic noses in the quality control of alcoholic beverages

In the last 20 years, there has always been research into electronic noses with the main aim of achieving an instrument that can differentiate samples according to their complete volatile composition, quickly and objectively, so that quality in industry can be ensured and controlled. The electronic noses developed so far can be classified into two groups on the basis of their detection systems: classical instruments, which are based on solid state gas sensors, and new instruments, which are based on mass spectrometry (MS). In general, MS-based instruments have the advantage over the classical instruments (e.g., in stability, sensitivity and versatility). Furthermore, in the analysis of alcoholic beverages, the advantages of MS-based instruments are even more evident because the high ethanol content of the samples interferes with solid-state gas sensors. This article presents an overview of electronic nose applications in the field of alcoholic beverages. We describe the electronic noses that have been developed and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Alcohol availability as a predictor of youth drinking and driving: a hierarchical analysis of survey and archival data.

Much attention has recently been directed toward developing preventive interventions to reduce drinking and driving through efforts to limit the numbers and locations of alcohol outlets at the community level. Although evaluations of these efforts have suggested linkages between alcohol outlets and problem outcomes, they have not addressed the linkage between outlets and drinking and driving among youth. The analysis reported here investigates the relationship between alcohol outlet densities and underage drinking and driving as self-reported on two telephone surveys conducted in California. These analyses were based on data obtained from two telephone surveys conducted by the Prevention Research Center and archival data collected by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the US Census Bureau. The sample for the first survey consisted of 15- to 20-year-old adolescents and young adults contacted by telephone, using a random digit dialing of exchanges in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. A second set of survey data was similarly collected by a random sample of households throughout California, and the Bay Area subset was also used for this analysis. At the individual level, older respondents were more likely to report drinking and driving and riding with drinking drivers, whereas females and Asians were less so. At the aggregate or city-level, alcohol outlet density, as measured by the number of on- and off-premises establishments licensed to sell alcohol, was associated with both drinking and driving and riding with drinking drivers. These effects were moderated by a number of individual level effects, with younger respondents and females more likely to be affected by outlet densities. The findings here provide support for the implementation of policies targeting alcohol outlet density reductions. Areas with large numbers of such outlets provide ample opportunities to youth for alcohol purchases.

The spatial dynamics of violence and alcohol outlets.

This study examines whether the association between violence and population density is moderated by the presence of alcohol outlets, both within a target geographical area and in adjacent geographical areas. The effect of sociodemographic variables on violence is also examined controlling for spatial confounding. Zip code areas (N = 766) in California from four distinct areas (three urban and one rural) were examined for rates of violence, taking into consideration population characteristics of persons living in those areas and the potential interaction effects of alcohol outlets on violence rates. Population characteristics were assessed using Census data: outlet densities were obtained from the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control; and violence rates were abstracted from hospital discharge data. A spatial population model of the production of violence was used to examine the relationships of population characteristics of target and surrounding areas to violence rates. The density of bars was found to be strongly associated with greater rates of assault, while density of restaurants was associated with less violence. Both appeared to have greatest effect in densely populated areas. Local and nearby population characteristics were also found to be related to greater rates of violence. While limited to cross-sectional data, the current study suggests that alcohol outlets, in the presence of socioeconomic measures, moderate the occurrence of violence in urban areas.

The Population Consumption Model, Alcohol Control Practices, and Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities

Background. More than 40% of urban traffic fatalities are alcohol related and the rate of such fatalities varies more than 10-fold across U.S. cities. These variations might be explained by differences in local alcohol control policies and practices.Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of state Alcohol Beverage Control agencies and local city police departments in 107 cities that participate in the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. We examined the association of alcohol control practices in 1997 and alcohol-related traffic fatalities per daily vehicle miles traveled, 1995–1997.Results. Ninety-seven (91%) cities participated. Regulations related to alcohol accessibility, licensure of alcohol outlets, disciplinary procedures of alcohol outlets, and enforcement of blood alcohol concentration laws were associated with lower rates of fatalities. Cities with 9 or fewer of the 20 regulations had 1.46-fold greater alcohol-related traffic fatality rates than cities with 15 or more of these regulations, representing 392 excess deaths annually. Beer consumption was found to be a potential mediator of the effect of regulations on traffic fatalities.Conclusions. Alcohol beverage regulations are associated with alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Localities should consider greater restrictions on alcohol accessibility, stricter disciplinary measures for violations, and stricter licensure requirements as a potential means to reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Automated multiple development method for determination of glycerol produced by wine yeasts

A rapid and efficient analytical method for the determination of glycerol in wines is described. This method utilizes high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) plates coupled with an automated multiple development system with an elution gradient based on acetonitrile–acetone–hexane on silica gel layers. The absence of clean-up procedures, sometimes only centrifugation, makes this method suitable also for the large-scale control of alcoholic beverages. In particular the capacity of different wine yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Kloeckera apiculata and Saccharomycodes ludwigii) to produce glycerol was determined. Generally, the strains of S. cerevisiae produced elevated amounts of glycerol together with Z. bailii, whereas K. apiculata strains formed the lowest amounts of glycerol, exhibiting also a great strain variability.

State Laws Mandating or Promoting Training Programs for Alcohol Servers and Establishment Managers: An Assessment of Statutory and Administrative Procedures

We conducted a qualitative analysis of 23 state Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) laws to determine how effective the laws are in mandating or encouraging high-quality RBS programs. As of January, 2001, 12 states at least partially mandate RBS training for alcohol establishments and 11 states offer incentives to encourage participation in RBS training. We collected information regarding state RBS laws from two sources: (1) RBS statutes and associated regulatory provisions, and (2) telephone surveys of Alcoholic Beverage Control agency staff. We identified and evaluated five components of RBS laws: program requirements, administrative requirements, enforcement provisions, penalties for lack of compliance with law, and benefits for participation in training programs. Comprehensiveness of RBS laws varied by state; however, RBS legislation was weak across all states overall. While some states were strong in one or two of the RBS components, almost all states were weak in at least one component.

Sweepstakes Machines and the Duck Offense: Illegality is in the Eyes of the Beholder

467 THE FIRST HALF OF 2001 has been a bad, bad time for Lucky Shamrock Vending Machines. In key judicial opinions in such disparate venues as New York and Mississippi, the Lucky Shamrock machines were found to be illegal gambling machines under state law— for articulated reasons as divergent as the demographics of the respective states. The common lesson to be learned from the Mississippi and New York opinions is that courts and regulators will continue to construe anti-gambling statutes broadly, stretching their analyses to the very edges of reason in prohibiting the growth of activities that bear any resemblance to illegal gambling. For one dollar, the Lucky Shamrock machine dispenses a long-distance phone card, good for only one call to anywhere in the United States for up to two minutes.1 With each card purchase, however, the buyer also receives a game piece that displays a combination of symbols. Certain combinations are deemed “winners” and entitle the buyer to a cash prize ranging from $1 to $500. The game piece also contains a bar code on the reverse side. As the card is dispensed, the machine “reads” the bar code and displays the same combination of symbols as are printed on the game piece. If the game piece is a “winner,” the machine lights up and plays music. The establishment hosting the machine then pays the winning buyer, after verifying the validity of the game piece. The first blow against Lucky Shamrock was delivered by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court on March 21, 2001. In Black North Assocs., Inc. v. Kelly,2 the court found the Lucky Shamrock Vending Machine to be an illegal slot machine as prohibited by New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law § 106(6). According to New York Penal Law, a slot machine is a

Strict U.S. Alcohol Laws Reduce Teen Drinking, Study Suggests

Strict U.S. Alcohol Laws Reduce Teen Drinking, Study Suggests

‘ONE DAY AT A TIME’ AND OTHER SLOGANS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE: THE ETHICAL PRACTICES OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Alcoholics Anonymous has developed an oral tradition for teaching people to alter their relation to their own desires and their own freedom fundamentally, teaching that is done through practice rather than through ideas. Our study of AA's innovative organisational tools for building long-lasting mutual-help groups shows that the same tools that build the organisation also exemplify and embody the organisation's ethical worldview. To that extent, AA's group practices are worth studying not only from the point of view of learning about bottom-up, non-expert-led networks but also to shed light on the development of a popular pragmatist ethics in which little techniques – anonymity, the focus on the 24-hour cycle, etc. – deconstruct the Kantian distinction between means and ends. This study of the everyday ethics of AA members argues that AA's unique role in the history of popular ethical practices can be traced to several original features. First, AA incorporates elements of the disease model of alcoholism while remaining fundamentally a spiritual programme, thus mapping an important hybrid terrain often ignored by students of medicalisation. Secondly, AA was able to steer away from the political controversies about temperance, prohibition, and control of alcoholic beverages that had made the old temperance movement founder. Thirdly and most importantly, AA uniquely managed to combine the once-in-a-lifetime experience of total transformation that is characteristic of religious conversion with the development of a series of slogans and mental techniques for dealing with the ‘trivial’ details of life. This paper first outlines the hybrid terrain of AA, between medicine and religion, and then examines a few of the techniques that are at the core of AA's success, including anonymity, the Higher Power, and the twenty-four hour cycle.

`One Day at a Time' and other Slogans for Everyday Life: The Ethical Practices of Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous has developed an oral tradition for teaching people to alter their relation to their own desires and their own freedom fundamentally, teaching that is done through practice rather than through ideas. Our study of AA's innovative organisational tools for building long-lasting mutual-help groups shows that the same tools that build the organisation also exemplify and embody the organisation's ethical worldview. To that extent, AA's group practices are worth studying not only from the point of view of learning about bottom-up, non-expert-led networks but also to shed light on the development of a popular pragmatist ethics in which little techniques - anonymity, the focus on the 24-hour cycle, etc. - deconstruct the Kantian distinction between means and ends. This study of the everyday ethics of AA members argues that AA's unique role in the history of popular ethical practices can be traced to several original features. First, AA incorporates elements of the disease model of alcoholism while remaining fundamentally a spiritual programme, thus mapping an important hybrid terrain often ignored by students of medicalisation. Secondly, AA was able to steer away from the political controversies about temperance, prohibition, and control of alcoholic beverages that had made the old temperance movement founder. Thirdly and most importantly, AA uniquely managed to combine the once-in-a-lifetime experience of total transformation that is characteristic of religious conversion with the development of a series of slogans and mental techniques for dealing with the `trivial' details of life. This paper first outlines the hybrid terrain of AA, between medicine and religion, and then examines a few of the techniques that are at the core of AA's success, including anonymity, the Higher Power, and the twenty-four hour cycle.

Alcohol-related mortality and tribal alcohol legislation.

American Indian alcohol-related mortality rates differ widely among tribes, even within the same geographic region. In addition, there are many different legislative approaches to alcohol beverage control employed by tribes. This paper explores the association between alcohol legislation and alcohol-related mortality rates among American Indian tribes located in a region of the northwestern United States from 1979 to 1990. Both an unweighted analysis of alcohol-related mortality and a weighted analysis, using the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) approach, are used. Alcohol-related mortality rates did not differ significantly between reservations with alcohol prohibition statutes or where alcohol was legal in this region. However, evidence suggests that more comprehensive tribal alcohol legislation may be correlated with lower alcohol-related mortality among American Indian tribes.

U.S. Consumer Demand for Alcoholic Beverages: Cross‐Section Estimation of Demographic and Economic Effects

Much research has been done on the control and taxation of alcoholic beverages (Ornstein; Atkinson, Gomulka, and Stem; Heien and Pompelli; Johnson et al.; Blaylock and Blisard). The unusual status and attention that alcoholic beverages have attracted is due mainly to their unique characteristics in consumer utilities and social concerns. Consumption of alcoholic beverages has been viewed not only in terms of its effect on individual utility maximization, but also in terms of its bearing on social concerns and government revenue. Although there is empirical evidence suggesting that moderate alcohol consumption lowers the risk of coronary heart disease (e.g. Maclure; Moore and Pearson), social concerns are based on the consequences of chronic and acute alcohol abuse. Because of these concerns, they are traditionally subject to some form of social control. One important form of control is the excise tax which contributes significantly to government revenue. The estimation of demand elasticities and the effects of household characteristic variables on alcohol demand provide important information for the formulation of public policies. However, it is with respect to current fiscal deficits and as a means to finance the Clinton administration's

Enforcement of the Legal Minimum Drinking Age in the United States

We studied patterns and levels of enforcement of the legal drinking age in the United States. Major findings include: (1) rates of enforcement of the legal drinking age are very low; (2) actions against outlets or adults providing alcohol to youth are particularly rare; (3) two of every thousand occasions of illegal drinking by youth under 21 are estimated to result in an arrest; (4) five of every 100,000 youth drinking occasions are estimated to result in an Alcohol Beverage Control agency action against an alcohol outlet; (5) penalties appear too lenient to deter providers of alcohol; and (6) levels of enforcement of the drinking age vary significantly across states. Recommendations for public policy and enforcement actions include: (1) increased enforcement effort be directed at those who provide alcohol to underage youth; (2) significant increases in the numbers of Alcohol Beverage Control enforcement personnel are needed; (3) one or more officers in each local enforcement agency should be designated as the alcohol control officer; (4) regular sting operations in retail alcohol outlets are needed; (5) all police-attended alcohol-involved incidents should include a record of the source of the alcohol; and (6) effective long-term efforts will require attention to the broader environment that encourages youth drinking.