Adopting local alcohol policies: a case study of community efforts to regulate malt liquor sales.

PURPOSE To learn how the local context may affect a city's ability to regulate alcohol products such as high-alcohol-content malt liquor, a beverage associated with heavy drinking and a spectrum of nuisance crimes in urban areas. APPROACH An exploratory, qualitative case study comparing cities that adopted policies to restrict malt liquor sales with cities that considered, but did not adopt policies. SETTING Nine large U.S. cities in seven states. PARTICIPANTS City legislators and staff, alcohol enforcement personnel, police, neighborhood groups, business associations, alcohol retailers, and industry representatives. METHOD Qualitative data were obtained from key informant interviews (n = 56) and media articles (n = 360). The data were coded and categorized. Similarities and differences in major themes among and across Adopted and Considered cities were identified. RESULTS Cities faced multiple barriers in addressing malt liquor-related problems, including a lack of enforcement tools, alcohol industry opposition, and a lack of public and political will for alcohol control. Compared to cities that did not adopt malt liquor sales restrictions, cities that adopted restrictions appeared to have a stronger public mandate for a policy and were less influenced by alcohol industry opposition and lack of legislative authority for alcohol control. Strategies common to successful policymaking efforts are discussed. CONCLUSION Understanding the local context may be a critical step in winning support for local alcohol control policies.