Minimum Alcohol Prices and Outlet Densities in British Columbia, Canada: Estimated Impacts on Alcohol-Attributable Hospital Admissions
Date
2013-04
Authors
Stockwell, Tim
Zhao, Jinhui
Martin, Gina
Macdonald, Scott
Vallance, Kate
Treno, Andrew
Ponicki, William
Tu, Andrew
Buxton, Jane
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Objectives. We investigated whether periodic increases in minimum alcohol
prices were associated with reduced alcohol-attributable hospital admissions in
British Columbia.
Methods. The longitudinal panel study (2002–2009) incorporated minimum
alcohol prices, density of alcohol outlets, and age- and gender-standardized
rates of acute, chronic, and 100% alcohol-attributable admissions. We applied
mixed-method regression models to data from 89 geographic areas of British
Columbia across 32 time periods, adjusting for spatial and temporal autocorrelation,
moving average effects, season, and a range of economic and social
variables.
Results. A 10% increase in the average minimum price of all alcoholic
beverages was associated with an 8.95% decrease in acute alcohol-attributable
admissions and a 9.22% reduction in chronic alcohol-attributable admissions 2
years later. A Can$ 0.10 increase in average minimum price would prevent 166
acute admissions in the 1st year and 275 chronic admissions 2 years later. We
also estimated significant, though smaller, adverse impacts of increased private
liquor store density on hospital admission rates for all types of alcohol attributable
admissions.
Conclusions. Significant health benefits were observed when minimum
alcohol prices in British Columbia were increased. By contrast, adverse health
outcomes were associated with an expansion of private liquor stores.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Stockwell et al. American Journal of Public Health Published online ahead of print April 18, 2013