Physical Availability: What is It and How Can We Address It

1. Physical Availability: What is It and How Can We Address It Traci L. Toomey, PhD Division of Epidemiology & Community Health University of Minnesota

2. Rates and Patterns of Consumption Alcohol-related Problems Availability Policy/ Program

3. Availability • Physical • Economic • Legal

4. Place: Physical Availability • Density of alcohol establishments • Types of licensed alcohol establishments & other venues • Alcohol service at licensed venues • Days & hours of sale • Non-licensed locations

5. Density of Alcohol Establishments • Number of establishments per: • Population • Roadway mile • Geographic area (including around campuses) • Density important at smaller geographic units than community or state

6. Density of Alcohol Establishments • Higher density associated with more: • Violence • Property crime • Other crime • Public drunkeness • Noise • Negative health outcomes (e.g., sexually transmitted diseases)

7. Potential Strategies • Use local and state policies to restrict total number of alcohol establishments • Use licensing and zoning laws to limit density in specific areas • Promote other types of economic development

8. Types of Licensed Alcohol Venues • On-premise (e.g., bars, restaurants) • Off-premise (e.g., liquor & grocery stores) • Community events (e.g., festivals) • Stadiums (e.g., professional, college)

9. Alcohol Service at Licensed Venues • Sales to underage • Over-service of alcohol • Promotion of heavy drinking • Drink specials • Promotion of drinking games

10. Propensity of Sales to Underage Bars/restaurants Early 1990s Stadiums Mid 2000s Bars/restaurants Late 1990s Festivals Early 2000s

11. Propensity of Sales to Intoxicated Bars/restaurants Early 1990s Bars/restaurants Early 2000s Festivals Early 2000s Stadiums Mid 2000s

12. Over Service Contributes to Problems • Drinking and driving • Violence in and around establishments

13. Intervention • Compliance • Deterrence Alcohol Sale Laws • Internal Merchant • Policies • ID Checking • Server Training • Monitoring System Reduce Consumption & Related Problems Reduce Availability  Prevent Illegal Alcohol Sales • Server/Clerk • Behavior • Confiscate false ID • Refuse sales to youth

14. Potential Strategies: Training • Server/manager training • Less promising for preventing sales to underage • More promising for preventing over service • May reduce BAC levels of patrons • May prevent sales to obviously intoxicated patrons • May have short-term effects

15. Potential Strategies: Enforcement • Compliance checks effective for preventing sales to underage • Need to conduct more than once or twice per year • Need to check all establishments • Enforcement for over-service is more complex • Need more research to evaluate

16. Potential Strategies: Dram Shop Liability • State law or case law allows lawsuits targeting establishment owner or server for illegal alcohol service • Potential limitations: (1) compensation caps, (2) imposed statue of limitations, (3) evidence required • RBS training should not negate dram shop liability

17. Days & Hours of Sale • More days of sale = more problems • A few more hours of sale = shift in timing of problems • Greater than few hours of sale = more problems

18. Potential Strategies • Use state & local policies: • Maintain current restrictions on days of sale • Maintain or reduce hours of sale

19. Non-licensed Locations • Parties and other social events at: • Tailgating events • Parks • Houses • Hotels • Residence halls • Etc.

20. Tailgating • Odds of BAC > 0.08 • 4.7 times higher if • tailgated

21. Parties • Parties are a common source of alcohol for underage youth • Parties occur in many different locations

22. Potential Strategies • Institutional policies • Restrictions on room rentals • Alcohol/keg bans on campuses • Local/State policies • Restrictions on use of alcohol in parks • Keg registration • Social host laws • Noisy assembly laws • Ban tailgating • Increased enforcement

23. www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol University of Minnesota