Reducing Binge Drinking? The Effect of a Ban on Late-Night Off-Premise Alcohol Sales on Alcohol-Related Hospital Stays in Germany

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractExcessive alcohol consumption among young people is a major public health concern. On March 1, 2010, the German state of Baden-Württemberg banned the sale of alcoholic beverages between 10pm and 5am at off-premise outlets (e.g., gas stations, kiosks, supermarkets). We use rich monthly administrative data from a 70 percent random sample of all hospitalizations during the years 2007-2011 in Germany in order to evaluate the short-term impact of this policy on alcohol-related hospitalizations. Applying difference-in-differences methods, we find that the policy change reduces alcohol-related hospitalizations among adolescents and young adults by about seven percent. There is also evidence of a decrease in the number of hospitalizations due to violent assault as a result of the ban. JEL: I12, I18, D04

The impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours and days on specific alcohol-related harms: a systematic review

“…In Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a ban of alcohol sales between 22:00 and 05:00 at off-premises (ie, gas stations, kiosks and supermarkets) was associated with a significant 3% decrease in hospitalisations due to head and neck injuries 18. Nonetheless, no significant changes in unintentional injury deaths were reported when comparing most restrictive versus lax hour of alcohol sales and consumption in Colombia 19.…”

“…Results provide evidence of the potential direct effect of policies that regulate alcohol trading times in the prevention of injuries,18 20 alcohol-related hospitalisations,18 homicides,13 19 and crime 29 30. The impact of these alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is less compelling.…”

“…Evidence show decreases in risk of injuries,18 20 alcohol-related hospitalisations18 and homicides13 19 when policies that restricted the time of alcohol sales and pub closing were implemented. Conversely, increases in risk of injuries,11 21 26 crime29 30 and overnight/early morning alcohol-related visits to the emergency department22 26 were associated with extension in alcohol trading times.…”

Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Violent Brawls: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Bartenders in Bogotá, Colombia

“…Given the public health and security risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption, governments have often struggled to design and implement effective public policies. Governments have levied higher taxes on alcohol, raised the drinking age, imposed curfews on establishments serving alcohol, cracked down on public consumption (so-called "open container" laws), have provided fewer liquor licences to alcohol-serving establishments (and more generally limited alcohol availability), and conducted informational campaigns to expose the dangers of (over)consumption and encourage the responsible use of alcohol (Pridemore and Snowden, 2009;Lovenheim and Steefel, 2011;Heaton, 2012;Grönqvist and Niknami, 2014;Marcus and Siedler, 2015;Anderson et al, 2016). The literature has concluded that restricting alcohol availability tends to reduce interpersonal violence and the commission of crimes, but reported effects are small.…”

Purchases by heavier drinking young people concentrated in lower priced beverages: Implications for policy

“…About 72% of all alcohol consumed in New Zealand is now purchased from off‐premises. Less attention has been paid internationally to off‐premise access to alcohol, but recent research has shown a reduction in young people's hospitalisation for alcohol‐related causes following a reduction in off‐premise trading hours .…”