Efficacy and the Strength of Evidence of U.S. Alcohol Control Policies

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Prev Med
• Personal Author:
  Nelson, Toben F. ; Xuan, Ziming ; Babor, Thomas ; Brewer, Robert D. ; Chaloupka, Frank J. ; Gruenewald, Paul ; Holder, Harold ; Klitzner, Michael ; Mosher, James ; Ramirez, Rebecca L. ; Reynolds, Robert ; Toomey, Traci L. ; Naimi, Timothy S.
• Description:
  Background
  
  Public policy can limit alcohol consumption and its associated harms, but no direct comparison of the relative efficacy of alcohol control policies exists for the U.S.
  
  Purpose
  
  To identify alcohol control policies and develop quantitative ratings of their efficacy and strength of evidence.
  
  Methods
  
  In 2010, a Delphi panel of ten U.S. alcohol policy experts identified and rated the efficacy of alcohol control policies for reducing binge drinking and alcohol-impaired driving among both the general population and youth, and the strength of evidence informing the efficacy of each policy. The policies were nominated based on scientific evidence and potential for public health impact. Analysis was conducted in 2010–2012.
  
  Results
  
  Panelists identified and rated 47 policies. Policies limiting price received the highest ratings, with alcohol taxes receiving the highest ratings for all four outcomes. Highly rated policies for reducing binge drinking and alcohol-impaired driving in the general population were also highly rated among youth, although several policies were rated more highly for youth compared with the general population. Policy efficacy ratings for the general population and youth were positively correlated for reducing both binge drinking (r = 0.50) and alcohol-impaired driving (r = 0.45). The correlation between efficacy ratings for reducing binge drinking and alcohol-impaired driving was strong for the general population (r = 0.88) and for youth (r = 0.85). Efficacy ratings were positively correlated with strength-of-evidence ratings.
  
  Conclusions
  
  Comparative policy ratings can help characterize the alcohol policy environment, inform policy discussions, and identify future research needs.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Alcohol Drinking Alcoholic Beverages Automobile Driving Binge Drinking Data Collection Delphi Technique Humans Public Health Public Policy Taxes

  More +
• Source:
  Am J Prev Med. 2013; 45(1):19-28
• Pubmed ID:
  23790985
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC3708657
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; P60 AA006282/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 AA018377/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Volume:
  45
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:4750a33a38fc9a35aacbbc50d022a73769be15f7585a9086facfb50a58f8a1c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/43981/cdc_43981_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 255.61 KB ]