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Local Bars, Not Liquor Stores, Associated With Heavy Drinking |
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From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: "Usually people think that liquor stores define a neighborhood's alcohol consumption, but we didn't find any relationship between them and problem drinking among the adult population in California," says author Khoa Truong, PhD. Instead, the investigators say that overall, their findings point to so-called "minor-restricted establishments" -- adults-only bars and nightclubs -- as having the most consistent and sizeable effects on adult problem drinking, even though they accounted for only about six percent of the total number of alcohol retail licenses in the area studied. After accounting for one's education level, income, race, and neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics, we found that a higher number of minor-restricted establishments located within one mile from someone's home is associated with that person's higher likelihood of binge drinking and consuming excess alcohol, the authors write. This research was funded by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The paper entitled "Alcohol Outlets and Problem Drinking Among Adults in California" appears in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves.
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