Community Regulation of Alcohol Availability: Evidence of Effectiveness and Challenges for Implementation

Context Regulation of the availability of alcohol has been found to be a very important factor in alcohol impaired driving, as well as other alcohol related problems. Such factors as minimum purchase age for alcohol, the density and location of alcohol outlets, and alcohol service and sales practices have all been found to be related to impaired driving. Recent research has added to knowledge about the potential for regulatory strategies to reduce alcohol impaired driving, giving communities additional tools for preventing alcohol related harm. Objectives This paper summarizes recent findings about alcohol regulation as related to impaired driving and will describe efforts to disseminate and facilitate the use of this information at the community level. It also describes some of the barriers to implementation of alcohol regulatory strategies. In particular, it highlights ongoing dissemination and education in a sample of cities in California (USA). Key Outcomes Local efforts to reduce alcohol impaired driving have included changing the alcohol environments on college campuses, improvements in enforcement of purchase age and responsible beverage service regulations, and zoning and licensing laws to regulate the density and location of alcohol outlets. Many of these strategies have shown positive results for drinking and driving as well as other alcohol related harm. Barriers to implementation of effective strategies include coordination among relevant agencies and groups, competing economic issues, and competing demands on enforcement resources. Discussion and Conclusions Research and evaluation have demonstrated that alcohol regulation is an effective and efficient way of preventing impaired driving. Many strategies can be implemented at the community level. Significant challenges must be overcome in order to optimize the use of these strategies.