Associations between state‐level general population alcohol policies and drinking outcomes among women of reproductive age: Results from 1984 to 2020 National Alcohol Surveys

Abstract

BackgroundPolicies specific to alcohol use during pregnancy have not been found to reduce risks related to alcohol use during pregnancy. In contrast, general population alcohol policies are protective for the general population. Here, we assessed whether US state‐level general population alcohol policies are related to drinking outcomes among women of reproductive age.MethodsWe conducted secondary analyses of 1984–2020 National Alcohol Survey data (N = 13,555 women ≤44 years old). State‐level policy exposures were government control of liquor retail sales, heavy beer at gas stations, heavy beer at grocery stores, liquor at grocery stores, Sunday off‐premise liquor sales, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) driving limits (no law, 0.10 limit, 0.05–0.08 limit). Outcomes were past 12‐month number of drinks, ≥5 drink days, ≥8 drink days, and any DSM‐IV alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms. Regressions adjusted for individual and state‐level controls, clustering by state, and included fixed effects for survey month and year.ResultsAllowing Sunday off‐premise liquor sales versus not was related to having 1.20 times as many drinks (95% CI: 1.01, 1.42), 1.41 times as many ≥5 drink days (95% CI: 1.08, 1.85), and 1.91 times as many ≥8 drink days (95% CI: 1.28, 2.83). BAC limits of 0.05–0.08 for driving versus no BAC limit was related to 0.51 times fewer drinks (95% CI: 0.27, 0.96), 0.28 times fewer days with ≥5 drinks (95% CI: 0.10, 0.75), and 0.20 times fewer days with ≥8 drinks (95% CI: 0.08, 0.47).ConclusionsUS state‐level policies prohibiting Sunday off‐premise liquor sales and BAC limits of 0.05–0.08 for driving are related to less past 12‐month overall and heavy drinking among women 18–44 years old.