Cheap Prices Encourage Binge Drinking
Updated October 21, 2014.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) released a new study documenting, through systematic on-site observations, the extent to which college students are targeted with sales of large volumes of alcohol, low sale prices, and frequent alcohol promotions at bars, liquor stores, and other retail outlets surrounding college campuses.
The study, which appears in the October 2003 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found a strong association between the presence of these promotions and higher rates of heavy drinking on college campuses.
According to previous CAS research, underage students consume 48 percent of all alcohol consumed on college campuses. The study paints a portrait of the alcohol promotions college students will likely encounter as they start school this fall and enumerates the typical price of a beer, which can be as cheap as 25 cents. This study marks the first time that trained observers went into bars and liquor stores surrounding college campuses to obtain a national picture of the marketing practices for alcohol in college communities without relying solely on student recall.
A second study also appearing in the journal found that drinking and driving was less prevalent on campuses in states that had more comprehensive laws and stronger enforcement capacity to restrict drinking and driving, underage drinking, and high volume consumption and sales of alcohol.
"The drinking lifestyle is a well-advertised and low-budget form of entertainment on college campuses," said Henry Wechsler, PhD, Principal Investigator of the study and Director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Our study confirms that the lower the prices and the more extensive the specials, the more heavy the drinking. What this means for programs to protect college students from destructive drinking and its consequences is clear. They have an uphill battle."
"With its findings on the price and marketing sensitivity of high-risk, destructive binge drinking among college students, the Harvard study is testimony to the importance of a community-wide focus on behavior change strategies," said J. Michael McGinnis, MD, Senior Vice President and Director of the Health Group of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "These efforts must include not only college administrators and students, but local business and community leaders, civic organizations, and the alcohol industry as well."
The study encompasses survey results from the 2001 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which gathered drinking information on more than 10,000 college students nationwide. Detailed information on prices, specials, and promotions at individual stores surrounding the college campuses was obtained from independent observations.
In addition to the 118 colleges analyzed for this study, the researchers observed "on-premise" establishments?bars, clubs, and restaurants where alcohol is consumed on site?and "off-premise" establishments?retail outlets such as liquor stores, convenience stores, and groceries that sold alcohol that is consumed off-site.
A total of 1,684 off-premise establishments and 830 on-premise establishments were observed. Field data collectors received more than 22 hours of training, including both classroom instruction and supervised observations in the community.
Part Two: Marketing Affects Drinking Rates
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) released a new study documenting, through systematic on-site observations, the extent to which college students are targeted with sales of large volumes of alcohol, low sale prices, and frequent alcohol promotions at bars, liquor stores, and other retail outlets surrounding college campuses.
The study, which appears in the October 2003 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found a strong association between the presence of these promotions and higher rates of heavy drinking on college campuses.
According to previous CAS research, underage students consume 48 percent of all alcohol consumed on college campuses. The study paints a portrait of the alcohol promotions college students will likely encounter as they start school this fall and enumerates the typical price of a beer, which can be as cheap as 25 cents. This study marks the first time that trained observers went into bars and liquor stores surrounding college campuses to obtain a national picture of the marketing practices for alcohol in college communities without relying solely on student recall.
A second study also appearing in the journal found that drinking and driving was less prevalent on campuses in states that had more comprehensive laws and stronger enforcement capacity to restrict drinking and driving, underage drinking, and high volume consumption and sales of alcohol.
"The drinking lifestyle is a well-advertised and low-budget form of entertainment on college campuses," said Henry Wechsler, PhD, Principal Investigator of the study and Director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Our study confirms that the lower the prices and the more extensive the specials, the more heavy the drinking. What this means for programs to protect college students from destructive drinking and its consequences is clear. They have an uphill battle."
"With its findings on the price and marketing sensitivity of high-risk, destructive binge drinking among college students, the Harvard study is testimony to the importance of a community-wide focus on behavior change strategies," said J. Michael McGinnis, MD, Senior Vice President and Director of the Health Group of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "These efforts must include not only college administrators and students, but local business and community leaders, civic organizations, and the alcohol industry as well."
The study encompasses survey results from the 2001 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which gathered drinking information on more than 10,000 college students nationwide. Detailed information on prices, specials, and promotions at individual stores surrounding the college campuses was obtained from independent observations.
In addition to the 118 colleges analyzed for this study, the researchers observed "on-premise" establishments?bars, clubs, and restaurants where alcohol is consumed on site?and "off-premise" establishments?retail outlets such as liquor stores, convenience stores, and groceries that sold alcohol that is consumed off-site.
A total of 1,684 off-premise establishments and 830 on-premise establishments were observed. Field data collectors received more than 22 hours of training, including both classroom instruction and supervised observations in the community.
Part Two: Marketing Affects Drinking Rates
