Responsible Service Of Alcohol Research Articles

The impact of tableside ordering technologies on alcohol sales to the intoxicated.

The impact of tableside ordering technologies on alcohol sales to the intoxicated.

Expert stakeholders' views on the potential nature and impacts of autonomous alcohol home delivery.

The emergence of autonomous vehicles (AV) heralds new methods of alcohol delivery that are likely to have substantial implications for home drinking. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that have the potential to hasten or restrict widescale increases in alcohol availability resulting from AVs. Thirty-six interviews were conducted with 44 stakeholders across diverse sectors. Interviewees discussed their perceptions of how AVs will evolve and the implications for alcohol access. The interview transcripts were analysed to develop a typology of factors that need to be addressed to minimise harms associated with greater home alcohol consumption due to AVs. The interviewees identified a range of demand-side (e.g., enhanced convenience for consumers) and supply-side (e.g., increased efficiency for providers) factors associated with AV home deliveries that could increase the prevalence and volume of home drinking. A third category of factors related to potential forms of regulation: suggested harm-minimisation options related to appropriate enhancements of licensing restrictions and responsible service requirements and the use of various fiscal levers to introduce price barriers. The suggested strategies will require collaborative efforts across government and non-government organisations to address the potential issues arising from the advent of AV alcohol deliveries. Technological and policy solutions will be needed to ensure responsible service of alcohol. This study provides policy makers with insights into forms of intervention that may be required to minimise the harms associated with the use of AVs in alcohol home delivery systems.

How intoxicated are you? Investigating self and observer intoxication ratings in relation to blood alcohol concentration.

The ability to accurately detect alcohol intoxication is an important skill for people who use these substances and for a variety of professions (e.g. policing, responsible service of alcohol). Previous studies have found that intoxicated people are generally poor at estimating their own intoxication (particularly at high blood alcohol concentration; BAC) and the relationship between perceived intoxication and BAC appears to flatten at higher BAC levels. Studies of observer ratings of other's intoxication have yielded mixed results. The aim of this study was to investigate both self- and observer-ratings of intoxication against BAC levels to determine whether we observe a similar flattening in intoxication for both self- and observer-rated intoxication. Participants were 388 students interviewed outside three university events. Participants provided demographics, a rating of how intoxicated they felt (0=not at all, 10=very) and provided an alcohol breath test. Interviewers recorded a rating of how intoxicated the participant appeared to be. A significant correlation was observed between self- and observer-ratings of intoxication (r=0.802). We fitted our data with both linear and polynomial regressions. Polynomial regression accounted for more variance when predicting both self-rated intoxication (R2 =0.50 vs. R2 =0.40) and observer-rated intoxication from BAC (R2 =0.58 vs. R2 =0.52), suggesting a flattening for both intoxication ratings. Both self-rated and observer-rated intoxication appeared to flatten at higher levels of BAC. This may be due to either tolerance or a 'ceiling effect' for observable signs of intoxication.

Addressing adolescent’s binge drinking in Cameroon using the five key areas of the Ottawa charter for health promotion: implication for the spread of HIV - a commentary

Alcohol consumption in Cameroon is a common practice especially among adolescents. Though the Cameroon law prohibits the advertisement and sale of alcohol to adolescents in and out of school, adolescents and young adults have been identified among the highest consumers of alcohol. This paper comments on how the five key areas of the Ottawa Charter for health promotion can be used in tackling binge drinking among adolescents in Cameroon. In the area of healthy public policies, there should be a tremendous hike in the taxes of alcoholic beverages and promulgation of laws criminalizing binge drinking among adolescents. In creating an enabling environment, the government should put in place a task force to investigate options in relation to closing hours, responsible service of alcohol, reckless secondary supply of alcohol and the alcohol content in ready-to-drink beverages, especially the locally made ones. At the level of the communities, the police should work with community organizations to enforce laws against underage drinking; strategies should also be implemented to tackle the culture of binge drinking among youth social and sports groups. In the area of developing personal skills, the government should include in the curriculum of schools a course on the consequences of adolescent binge drinking, and there should be strategies to increase adolescents´ self-efficacy for alcohol refusal; in reorienting the health services, a task force should be established to develop a national preventative strategy, which will focus on excessive alcohol consumption alongside other lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents.

Comparing levels of blood alcohol concentration and indicators of impairment in nightlife patrons.

Breathalyser estimate of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is widely used as an objective intoxication measure, but is not always practical in nightlife contexts. This study uses in situ data collected in nightlife environments to explore how four measures of intoxication are related so as to inform the development of a more practical and reliable method of differentiating intoxication for people working in the night-time economy. Nightlife patron interviews were conducted in five Australian cities. Participants completed demographic questions and were asked about current session (past 12 h) alcohol use, and four different measures of intoxication were assessed: BAC, participant's self-reported intoxication (0-10), interviewer rating of the participant's intoxication (0-10) and interviewer-rated number of the participants' of physical signs of intoxication. A total of 7028 patrons were surveyed and n = 5273 included in analysis. Mean age was 23.9 years (SD = 6.36); 61.5% were male. There was a significant difference in occurrence of all observable intoxication symptoms across differing levels of BAC (P < 0.001). All visible symptoms became more common as intoxication increased, except for talking very quickly/talkative and giggly symptoms. As BAC levels increase, the extent of the disagreement between self-rated and interviewer-rated intoxication measures widens. Exhibiting four or more visible intoxication symptoms emerged as a reliable method for observers to identify intoxicated patrons. As BAC increases, people become worse at estimating their own intoxication, but sober observers remain relatively accurate. Findings provide support for efforts to strengthen and enforce responsible service of alcohol.

Dispensing with the Law

Shower Party (2014), an interactive installation by Australian collective Golden Solution, incorporated participants into a system where they became collectively responsible for the life or death of a goldfish. Self-serve alcoholic cocktail dispensers were programmed so that every drink requested would drain an equivalent volume of water from a goldfish bowl. In ‘Dispensing with the Law: Measuring alcohol and its effects in Shower Party’, Asher Warren focuses on the way these alcoholic cocktails were attributed agency metonymically, metabolically and mechanically throughout the four-hour event. Through interrogating the tendency to read the event through what might be termed an alcohol-oriented-ontology, Warren argues that the agency of alcohol in Shower Party was structured through two quite different assemblages. The first, a technological assemblage, dispensed the alcohol and produces quantified metrics from which the effects of alcohol at a ‘population level’ are inferred. The second, a more concealed legal assemblage, governed the service of alcohol through attendants with ‘Responsible Service of Alcohol’ certificates, required to make qualitative judgements based on the behaviour of individuals, according to a legally defined ‘poetics’ of intoxication. These assemblages, Warren contends, not only influenced participants, but also shaped critical engagements with the work that obscure the fluidity of meaning and agency that alcohol might take on when deployed as an aesthetic medium.

Reducing intoxication among bar patrons: some lessons from prevention of drinking and driving

Intoxication in and around licensed premises continues to be common, despite widespread training in the responsible service of alcohol and laws prohibiting service to intoxicated individuals. However, research suggests that training and the existence of laws are unlikely to have an impact on intoxication without enforcement, and evidence from a number of countries indicates that laws prohibiting service to intoxicated individuals are rarely enforced. Enforcement is currently hampered by the lack of a standardized validated measure for defining intoxication clearly, a systematic approach to enforcement and the political will to address intoxication. We argue that adoption of key principles from successful interventions to prevent driving while intoxicated could be used to develop a model of consistent and sustainable enforcement. These principles include: applying validated and widely accepted criteria for defining when a person is 'intoxicated'; adopting a structure of enforceable consequences for violations; implementing procedures of unbiased enforcement; using publicity to ensure that there is a perceived high risk of being caught and punished; and developing the political will to support ongoing enforcement. Research can play a critical role in this process by: developing and validating criteria for defining intoxication based on observable behaviour; documenting the harms arising from intoxication, including risk curves associated with different levels of intoxication; estimating the policing, medical and social costs from intoxicated bar patrons; and conducting studies of the cost-effectiveness of different interventions to reduce intoxication.

Drink or drunk: developing partnerships to assist licensed premises in minimising alcohol-related violence

BackgroundThe Drink or Drunk project was funded through the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. The project examines why staff at licensed premises continue to serve to intoxication despite current...

Alcohol and community football clubs: club-based characteristics and practices associated with risky consumption

BackgroundExcessive alcohol consumption has been reported among members and spectators of community sporting clubs. Regulating and modifying the drinking environment is one strategy to reduce the risk of excessive alcohol...

TARGETED REGULATION OF LICENSED PREMISES IN A CITY ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT: IMPACT ON ASSAULTS, STREET OFFENCES AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PRESENTATIONS

BackgroundLicensed premises in entertainment precincts are associated with higher levels of alcohol-related harm. In 2008, additional licensing conditions were imposed on a number of hotels in the main entertainment precinct...

Implementation of effective alcohol control strategies is needed at large sports and entertainment events

To assess the implementation and effectiveness of strategies and actions to eliminate and/or reduce alcohol-related problems at large sports and entertainment events in New Zealand. We conducted site visits and monitoring observations at venues before, during and after a variety of large events between March 2009 and November 2010. Thirteen events were attended at nine different venues. Events included rugby, rugby league and cricket matches, motor racing, rowing, horse racing, an outdoor music festival, and food and wine festivals. Most large events appeared to pass with few or no alcohol-related problems. The exceptions were one of the horse-race meetings, a rugby league match and one food and wine festival. Common contexts at events where alcohol-related problems were seen included: inadequate alcohol control and management by security staff; the ability to purchase four alcoholic drinks (rather than two) at a time; inexperienced bar staff untrained in responsible alcohol service; no or little promotion of low and non-alcoholic drinks; and a lack of monitoring and enforcement of the law on intoxication. An important approach to prevent and reduce alcohol-related problems at large spots and entertainment events is the use of specific alcohol-control strategies. The management of alcohol consumption is a major part of event management that must be planned with harm-minimisation strategies well in advance of the event itself. If strategies and actions are not properly implemented to manage the sale and supply of alcohol at large events, there is significant risk of alcohol-related problems and harm resulting from them.

Common Ground: An Investigation of Environmental Management Alcohol Prevention Initiatives in a College Community

This article presents an evaluation of Common Ground, a media campaign-supported prevention program featuring increased enforcement, decreased alcohol access, and other environmental management initiatives targeting college student drinking. Phase 1 of the media campaign addressed student resistance to environmentally focused prevention by reporting majority student support for alcohol policy and enforcement initiatives. Phase 2 informed students about state laws, university policies, and environmental initiatives. We conducted student telephone surveys, with samples stratified by gender and year in school, for 4 consecutive years at the intervention campus and 3 years at a comparison campus. We did a series of one-way between-subjects analyses of variance and analyses of covariance, followed by tests of linear trend and planned comparisons. Targeted outcomes included perceptions of enforcement and alcohol availability, alcohol use, and alcohol-impaired driving. We examined archived police reports for student incidents, primarily those resulting from loud parties. There were increases at the intervention campus in students' awareness of formal alcohol-control efforts and perceptions of the alcohol environment, likelihood of apprehension for underage drinking, consequences for alcohol-impaired driving, and responsible alcohol service practices. There were decreases in the perceived likelihood of other students' negative behavior at off-campus parties. Police-reported incidents decreased over time; however, perceived consequences for off-campus parties decreased. No changes were observed for difficulty finding an off-campus party, self-reported alcohol use, or alcohol-impaired driving. The intervention successfully altered perceptions of alcohol enforcement, alcohol access, and the local alcohol environment. This study provides important preliminary information to researchers and practitioners engaged in collaborative prevention efforts in campus communities.

Differences in licensee, police and public opinions regarding interventions to reduce alcohol‐related harm associated with licensed premises

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

Responsible Alcohol Service: Ethics and the Licensee

This article notes the problems experienced in the UK due to excessive alcohol consumption. It offers a brief analysis of the public house sector and then considers the ideal ethical approach of the licensed retailers. Their legal requirements are established, together with the expectations of society. Using an already published source and some similar prime research, the actual performances of the licensees are examined, so as to assess to what extent these ethical expectations are achieved. Suggestions are offered as to how the issues of alcohol service can be best addressed.

Signs of intoxication and server intervention among 18-39-year-olds drinking at licensed premises in New South Wales, Australia.

To estimate the extent of responsible service of alcohol (RSA) practice to young adults showing signs of alcohol intoxication on licensed premises in New South Wales. Telephone-based cross-sectional survey. New South Wales, Australia. A total of 1090 people aged 18-39 years old. Seventy-five per cent of males and 64% of females reported that they had consumed at levels for acute alcohol-related harm during the previous 12 months, with 34% of males and 24% of females reporting doing so weekly; 54% (95% CI: 51-58%) of both males and females who had consumed at acute-risk levels, reported that this last drinking occasion occurred at a licensed premises. Of these, 56% (95% CI: 51-61%) reported that they had exhibited at least one sign of overt alcohol intoxication, while 19% (95% CI: 15-23%) reported showing three or more signs of intoxication. Among those reporting at least one sign of intoxication, only 10% (95% CI: 7-15%) reported that the licensed premises staff had provided at least one of seven different responsible service initiatives, while 55% (95% CI: 48-61%) reported that they were continued to be served alcohol. While these results suggest that intoxicated patrons are not being refused service as often as they should, there was evidence for some degree of responsible service provision with around half of the 'non-intoxicated' patrons reporting that they had seen licensed premises staff intervene in some way with other 'intoxicated' patrons. While the majority of 18-39-year-olds report showing signs of intoxication while drinking at licensed premises in NSW, only a small minority report experiencing RSA initiatives from bar staff in response to these signs.

Health promotion practices of restaurants and cafés in Australia: changes from 1997 to 2000 using an annual telemarketing intervention.

This study looked at whether rates of health promotion practices among restaurants and cafés in the Hunter Region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, increased between 1997 and 2000. During the project period all restaurants and cafés in the region were offered an annual direct marketing telephone interview (1997, 1998 and 1999), during which resources were offered to assist in the adoption of health promotion practices. Owners or managers of restaurants and cafés completed phone interviews that assessed 18 health promotion practices relating to: environmental tobacco smoke (two practices); responsible service of alcohol (five practices); healthy food choices (one practice); food safety (four practices); occupational health and safety (three practices); and the prevention of infectious diseases (three practices). Changes in practices were examined by comparing data from cross-sectional samples in 1997 (before any offers of resources) and 2000 (after up to three annual telemarketing calls), and among a cohort interviewed in both 1997 and 2000. Ninety-one per cent of restaurants and cafés (321) participated in the 1997 survey and 239 (81%) participated in the 2000 survey. A cohort of 122 restaurants and cafés participated in both surveys. Significant increases were present for 14 of the 18 health promotion initiatives in the cross-sectional sample and for 10 of the 18 health promotion initiatives in the cohort. For both cross-sectional and cohort samples, a change in at least one practice in each area was evident, with the exception of nutrition. The proportion of restaurants and cafés in the project region that undertake health promotion initiatives is increasing. A telephone-based intervention may contribute to such an increase. The suggestion that the prevalence of health promotion initiatives in restaurants and cafés can be increased highlights the potential for health promotion to be more actively involved in this setting.

Responsible alcohol service: lessons from evaluations of server training and policing initiatives

AbstractResponsible alcohol service programmes have evolved in many countries alongside a general increase in the availability of alcohol and a greater focus on the prevention of alcohol‐related road crashes. They also recognize the reality that a great deal of high‐risk drinking and preventable harm occurs in and around licensed premises or as drinkers make their way home. Early US efficacy studies of programmes which trained managers and barstaff to limit customers' levels of intoxication and prevent drink driving showed promise. Studies of effectiveness of these programmes in the wider community, and in the absence of the enforcement of liquor laws, found little benefit. The data will be interpreted as suggesting that, in reality, skills deficits in the serving of alcohol are not a significant problem compared with the motivational issue for a commercial operation of abiding by laws that are rarely enforced and which are perceived as risking the goodwill of their best customers. Australian, UK and US experiences with liquor law enforcement by police will be discussed along with outcomes from the Australian invention of Alcohol Accords, informal agreements between police, licensees and local councils to trade responsibly. It will be concluded that the major task involved in lifting standards of service and preventing harm is to institutionalize legal and regulatory procedures which impact most on licensed premises. A number of strategies are suggested also for creating a political and social climate which supports the responsible service of alcohol and thereby supports the enactment and enforcement of appropriate liquor laws.

Police knowledge and attitudes regarding crime, the responsible service of alcohol and a proactive alcohol policing strategy

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern and predictors of police knowledge and attitudes regarding alcohol and crime, the responsible service of alcohol by licensees and proactive alcohol policing strategies. Operational police in the Hunter region of NSW, Australia who attended for duty on a selected weekday were invited to complete a questionnaire during their shift. Two hundred and ninety‐eight police participated (77%). Police estimated that 60% of the incidents that they attend are related to the consumption of alcohol, with 44% of such incidents relating to alcohol consumed on licensed premises. Three‐quarters of police were able to identify correctly responsible service components of the Liquor Act. A large proportion of police (93%) considered that alcohol servers are responsible for preventing intoxication and that trying to improve licensee serving practices is not a waste of police time (89%). Considerable support (67%) was shown for police using education rather than enforcement as a method for improving licensee responsible service practices. Strong support (92%) was shown for providing information to licensees about alcohol‐related incidents associated with their premises. Only 55% of police reported having sufficient skills and 17% reported that sufficient police resources were used to enhance licensee alcohol service practices. The introduction of liquor legislation, with an explicit “responsible service of alcohol” emphasis, provides police with considerable opportunity to improve the serving practices of licensed premises and to reduce alcohol‐related harm. The perception by police of a lack of skill, a low prioritization for alcohol policing, limited time availability and inadequate penalties may prevent the realization of these benefits. Enhanced police training and the development of alternative responsible service of alcohol policing strategies are needed if these benefits are to be achieved.

Police knowledge and attitudes regarding crime, the responsible service of alcohol and a proactive alcohol policing strategy

Police knowledge and attitudes regarding crime, the responsible service of alcohol and a proactive alcohol policing strategy

Increasing the practice of health promotion initiatives by licensed premises.

Licensees of all licensed premises in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, were offered free services to encourage adoption of health promotion initiatives relating to responsible service of alcohol, environmental tobacco smoke, healthy food choices, breast and cervical cancer prevention, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. A total of 239 premises participated in the follow-up survey. Increases in prevalence ranged between 11% and 59% for alcohol-related initiatives. The prevalence of smoke-free areas and healthy food choices increased from 32% to 65% and 42% to 96%, respectively, and the provision of cancer prevention information increased from 3% to 59%. Licensed premises represent a particularly challenging sector for health promotion practitioners to work in. The results of this study suggest that the adoption of health promotion initiatives by licensed premises can be increased. A considerable opportunity therefore exists for health promotion practitioners to become more actively involved in facilitating the adoption of such initiatives in this setting.