Off-sale Outlets Research Articles

Did the association between alcohol outlet density and crime change during COVID shelter-in-place orders?

We investigated whether greater concentrations of on- and off-sale alcohol outlets were associated with crime and whether this association was moderated by COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders (SIP) that restricted on-premises consumption of alcohol. Crimes (2019-2020) and addresses of licenced alcohol outlets in a medium-sized California city were geocoded within census block groups (N = 61). On- and off-sale alcohol outlet density was calculated as licenced outlets/2.59 km2 (1 square mile). Multilevel negative binomial regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between alcohol outlet density and crime, and possible moderating effects of SIP, controlling for block group demographic characteristics and density of other retail businesses. On-sale outlet density was positively associated with total crimes and Part 2 crimes, while off-sale outlet density was inversely associated with total crime and Part 2 crimes. Overall, SIP was not significantly associated with crime, but moderated the associations of on-sale density with total crime and Part 1 crimes such that reductions in crime during SIP were observed in higher density areas. The association of off-sale outlets with crime was not moderated by SIP policies. On-sale outlet density, but not off-sale density, appears to be associated with increased crime. The results further indicate that restrictions in hours and service imposed by SIP policies reduced crime in high on-sale outlet density areas. These findings reinforce the importance of regulating alcohol outlet density and hours of service, especially for on-sale outlets, as a crime reduction strategy.

Positive association between neighborhood retail alcohol outlet access and hospital admissions for alcohol withdrawal syndrome in New Orleans

Objectives: We used treatment for alcohol withdrawal syndrome as an objective surrogate marker to investigate the relationship between alcohol-related health outcomes and home neighborhood alcohol outlet density and alcohol advertising density.Methods: Mixed effects logistic regression examined whether alcohol outlet density or alcohol advertisement density within either one-quarter mile or one-half mile of individuals’ home address was associated with treatment for alcohol withdrawal.Results: Adjusted models showed outlet and advertising density, particularly off-sale outlet density within one-quarter mile of the home, increased the risk of hospital admission for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AOR = 1.15).Conclusion/impact: These data inform public policy initiatives to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol by regulating the neighborhood alcohol environment.

Evaluating the effects of a large increase in off-sale alcohol outlets on motor vehicle crashes: a time-series analysis

This study examined the effects on motor vehicle crashes of a policy change that led to the introduction of a very large number of off-sale alcohol outlets in Lubbock, Texas. Times-series analysis of total crashes and single-vehicle nighttime (SVN) crashes was used to compare the periods before and after the policy change in Lubbock and in a comparison area. The results of the analysis revealed some weak effects on total crashes, but no statistically significant effects were found for SVN crashes. Possible reasons for the essentially null findings of the current study regarding the effects of the policy change on motor vehicle crashes are discussed. These include the fact that there were a small number of off-sale outlets already present in the community and that motor vehicle travel immediately following alcohol consumption is less likely to occur with alcohol purchased from an off-sale outlet compared to an on-sale outlet.

Socio‐spatial patterning of off‐sale and on‐sale alcohol outlets in aTexas city

To examine the socio-spatial patterning of off-sale and on-sale alcohol outlets following a policy change that ended prohibition of off-sale outlets in Lubbock, Texas. The spatial patterning of alcohol outlets by licensing type was examined using the k-function difference (D statistic) to compare the relative degree of spatial aggregation of the two types of alcohol outlets and by the spatial scan statistic to identify statistically significant geographic clusters of outlets. The sociodemographic characteristics of the areas containing clusters of outlets were compared with the rest of the city. In addition, the socioeconomic characteristics of census block groups with and without existing on-sale outlets were compared, as were the socioeconomic characteristics of census block groups with and without the newly issued off-sale licenses. The existing on-sale premises in Lubbock and the newly established off-sale premises introduced as a result of the 2009 policy change displayed different spatial patterns, with the latter being more spatially dispersed. A large cluster of on-sale outlets identified in the north-east of the city was located in a socially and economically disadvantaged area of the city. The findings support the view that it is important to understand the local context of deprivation within a city when examining the location of alcohol outlets and add to the existing research by drawing attention to the importance of geographic scale in assessing such relationships.

Alcohol Outlet Densities and Alcohol Price: TheBritishColumbia Experiment in the Partial Privatization of Alcohol Sales Off‐Premise

Alcohol beverage prices or taxes have been shown to be related to alcohol sales and use and related problems. What is not clear are the mechanisms underlying these relationships. This study examines the relationship between alcohol outlet density under conditions of the partial privatization of off-premise consumption in British Columbia (BC) occurring over the past decade. Two hypotheses are tested. First, reflecting basic supply-demand principles, greater geographic densities of alcohol outlets will be directly related to reductions in beverage prices in response to greater competition. Second, reflecting the effects of niche marketing and resulting market stratification, increased densities of private liquor stores will be especially related to reductions in beverage prices within this outlet category. Data were collected from: (i) a survey of BC private store prices and practices, (ii) alcohol outlet location information, and (iii) data on demographic characteristics. Multilevel models examine the relationships between prices at individual private liquor stores and the densities of government liquor stores, private liquor stores, bars, and restaurants, controlling for background demographics and geographic unit level effects. Spatial dependencies were also examined. Increased densities of private liquor stores were associated with lower mean prices of beer and all alcohol aggregated across brands at the store level. There appeared to be no outlet level effect on discounting patterns, however, with the mean price differences apparently reflecting differences in the quality of brands carried rather than unequal prices for any given brand. Increased densities of private off-sale alcohol outlets appear to result in lower prices charged at said establishments independently of other types of alcohol outlets suggesting that they represent an emerging marketing niche in the context of off-sale outlet privatization.

Neighbourhood alcohol availability and gonorrhea rates: impact of social capital

Social capital and income inequality have been proposed as important mediators of the relation between the material environment and health outcomes. We determined whether indicators of social capital are (i) associated with neighbourhood gonorrhea rates, and (ii) mediate the relation between alcohol outlet density and gonorrhea rate. Longitudinal analyses of age- and sex-adjusted gonorrhea cases reported from 1990 to 1996 in the 445 census tracts affected by the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, California was conducted. The role of alcohol outlets was assessed both as tracts with surrendered off-sale outlets due to the civil unrest and annual off-sale alcohol outlet density rates. Tract level voting rates were used as one indicator of social capital, while neighbourhood structure conducive to social organization was used as another. Neighbourhoods with greater voting over time and greater endogenous social organization experienced 1.9 and 67.2 fewer gonorrhea cases per 100,000. Results also reveal a partial mediating role of social capital on the relationship between alcohol outlet density and gonorrhea rate. The alcohol environment may have a direct or partially mediated role in infectious disease outcomes such as gonorrhea. Our findings support the importance of continuing controls and limits on off-premise alcohol outlet density, as a potential means of reducing gonorrhea rates and increasing social capital.

The Effect of Enforcement on Merchant Compliance with the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Law

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to deter underage alcohol sales by targeting alcohol retailers instead of underage youth. A quasi-experiment using a repeated-intervention design was conducted for a random sample (n=143) of off-sale alcohol outlets from across New Orleans. Compliance checks of off-sale outlets were conducted at baseline, two months after the intervention, and eight months after the intervention. At baseline, only 11.2% (16/143) of outlets were compliant. Following the intervention, compliance increased to 39.9% (p<.001). The increase in compliance was greatest among outlets receiving citations for non compliance (23/45, 51.1%; p<.001); however, a significant increase in compliance (34/98, 34.7%; p<.001) was also observed among outlets that did not receive a citation but were only exposed to the media coverage of the issuing of citations. A small residual effect of the intervention persisted at eight months post intervention among the outlets receiving citations for non-compliance. The study demonstrates that a deterrence strategy composed of compliance checks and the threat of compliance checks was effective in increasing alcohol retailer compliance with the minimum legal drinking age law. Given the limited effectiveness of general deterrence strategies in targeting other illegal alcohol use behaviors, these findings suggest general deterrence strategies are less effective when the behavior targeted is influenced by physiologic and social externalities, as is the case for underage alcohol consumers, rather than by costs and benefits, as is the case for alcohol retailers.

Alcohol availability and homicide in New Orleans: conceptual considerations for small area analysis of the effect of alcohol outlet density.

To determine the geographic relation between homicide rate and two competing measures of exposure to alcohol outlets, alcohol outlets per square mile and alcohol outlets per person. Homicides occurring in 1994 and 1995 and on-sale and off-sale alcohol outlets with active 1995 licenses were geocoded by address for aggregation at the census tract level. Ecologic analysis of the 155 urban residential census tracts in New Orleans was conducted with controls for potential sociodemographic confounders (% black, % adults unemployed, % unmarried households, and ratio males 15-24/males 35-44). After logarithmic transformation of all study variables, sociodemographic confounders alone accounted for 58% (R2 = .58) of the variance of homicide rates. Adding off-sale alcohol outlet density to the models, measured (beta +/- SE) either as outlets per square mile (beta = .211 +/- .062) or outlets per person (beta = .244 +/- .063), yielded strong geographic relations with homicide and increased the amount of variance explained (R2 = .62). A 10% higher off-sale outlet density accounted for a 2.4% higher homicide rate. Both off-sale alcohol outlets per square mile and off-sale outlets per person demonstrate strong geographic associations with homicide rates among urban residential census tracts in New Orleans. These findings suggest that communities faced with high rates of assaultive violence might consider policy interventions that address alcohol outlet related factors.

A geographic relation between alcohol availability and gonorrhea rates.

The availability of alcohol measured as alcohol outlet density is associated with numerous alcohol-related outcomes in small area analysis. A number of studies suggest that high-risk sexual behavior should also be considered an alcohol-related outcome. To assess the geographic relationship between alcohol availability and high-risk sexual behavior at the neighborhood level. Ecological analysis of the geographic relation between off-premise, on-premise, and total alcohol outlet density and reported gonorrhea rates among 155 urban residential census tracts in New Orleans during 1995. All alcohol outlet density variables were positively related to gonorrhea rates. Off-premise outlets per square mile was most strongly related to gonorrhea rates (beta +/- SE) (beta = 0.582+/-0.073), accounting for 29% of the variance in gonorrhea rates. Interpreted as an elasticity, a 10% increase in off-sale alcohol outlet density accounts for a 5.8% increase in gonorrhea rates. Including the covariates percent black and percent unemployed to the model reduced but did not remove the effect of off-sale outlet density (beta = 0.192+/-0.047). These results indicate there is a geographic relationship between alcohol outlet density and gonorrhea rates at the census tract level. Although these results cannot be interpreted causally, they do justify a public health intervention as a next step in defining the relation between alcohol availability and high-risk sexual behavior.

Commercial Availability of Alcohol to Young People: Results of Alcohol Purchase Attempts

Objectives. Commercial availability is an important contributor to alcohol use by young people. The purpose of this study was to test the purchasability of alcohol by youth who appeared to be under the legal age of sale in all types of businesses licensed to sell alcohol in upper Midwest communities. Methods. Female buyers who were age 21 but whose apparent age as rated by a panel averaged 19 years attempted to purchase beer without age identification at all off-sale outlets (n = 395) and a random sample of on-sale outlets (n = 492) in 24 communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Two purchase attempts were made at each outlet, with the buyer randomly assigned to outlet and community. Characteristics of the outlets, clientele, signs, interaction with the sellers or servers, and purchase success were recorded. Results. The buyers were successful in purchasing beer without age identification in 50% of attempts in on-sale outlets and 52% of off-sale attempts. Almost 75% of the outlets sold beer to the buyers at least once in two attempts. In off-sale businesses buyers were more successful if the salespersons were male and if the businesses were located in residential areas or malls. On-sale purchase attempts were more likely to be successful if the server appeared to be younger than 30 years, if the business was a restaurant as opposed to a bar alone, and if signs warning against sales to miners were located at the checkouts. Conclusions. The results of this study confirm and extend previous reports of the ability of youth to purchase alcohol and support the conclusion that commercial availability of alcohol to youth is widespread.

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

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