Regulating Alcohol around the World: Policy Cocktails

167 Pages·2013·1.24 MB·English

by  Tiffany Bergin

Regulating Alcohol
around the World
Policy Cocktails
Tiffany Bergin
Regulating alcohol aRound the WoRld
Solving Social Problems
Series editor:
Bonnie Berry, Director of the Social Problems Research Group, USA
Solving Social Problems provides a forum for the description and measurement
of social problems, with a keen focus on the concrete remedies proposed for their
solution. the series takes an international perspective, exploring social problems
in various parts of the world, with the central concern being always their possible
remedy. as such, work is welcomed on subjects as diverse as environmental
damage, terrorism, economic disparities and economic devastation, poverty,
inequalities, domestic assaults and sexual abuse, health care, natural disasters,
labour inequality, animal abuse, crime, and mental illness and its treatment. in
addition to recommending solutions to social problems, the books in this series
are theoretically sophisticated, exploring previous discussions of the issues in
question, examining other attempts to resolve them, and adopting and discussing
methodologies that are commonly used to measure social problems. Proposed
solutions may be framed as changes in policy, practice, or more broadly, social
change and social movement. Solutions may be reflective of ideology, but are
always pragmatic and detailed, explaining the means by which the suggested
solutions might be achieved.
Also in the series
the evidence enigma
correctional Boot camps and other Failures in evidence-Based Policymaking
Tiffany Bergin
Street Practice
changing the lens on Poverty and Public assistance
Lori McNeil
Prison Violence
causes, consequences and Solutions
Kristine Levan
Borderline Slavery
Mexico, united States, and the human trade
Edited by Susan Tiano and Moira Murphy-Aguilar with Brianne Bigej
Regulating alcohol
around the World
Policy cocktails
tiFFany BeRgin
Kent State University, USA
© tiffany Bergin 2013
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
tiffany Bergin has asserted her right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing company
Wey court east 110 cherry Street
union Road Suite 3-1
Farnham Burlington, Vt 05401-3818
Surrey, gu9 7Pt uSa
england
www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Bergin, tiffany.
Regulating alcohol around the world : policy cocktails / by tiffany Bergin.
pages cm. -- (Solving social problems)
includes bibliographical references.
iSBn 978-1-4094-4525-8 (hardback) -- iSBn 978-1-4094-4526-5 (ebook) -- iSBn 978-1-
4724-0262-2 (epub) 1. drinking of alcoholic beverages--government policy--history. 2.
alcoholism--Social aspects. 3. controlled drinking. 4. temperance. i. title.
hV5081.B47 2013
363.4'1--dc23
2013002710
iSBn 9781409445258 (hbk)
iSBn 9781409445265 (ebk – PdF)
iSBn 9781472402622 (ebk – ePuB)
II
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1 Introduction 1
2 Research into Alcohol’s Social Harms 13
3 Alcohol and Policymaking 27
4 History, Culture, Context, and Transformation 43
5 Key Lessons from Prohibition Policies: Beyond the 1920s 57
6 General Efforts to Reduce Alcohol’s Social Harms 71
7 Targeted Policies: Minimum Drinking Age Laws 85
8 Concluding Thoughts 103
Bibliography 111
Index 153
This book is dedicated to Tita Bautista and Kate Bergin
Acknowledgments
I am very grateful to Chris McConnell whose advice and assistance greatly
improved this work. I am also thankful for the suggestions of Bonnie Berry, the
editor of the Solving Social Problems book series, as well as Neil Jordan and
Kayleigh Huelin at Ashgate. Some of the research contained in this book was
completed while I was Sutasoma Trust Research Fellow at Lucy Cavendish
College, University of Cambridge. I am very grateful to both the Trust and the
College for their support. As always, I am thankful for the unwavering guidance
and support of Pamela Huttenberg and Brent D. Bergin. Of course, as author, the
contents of this book are my responsibility alone.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
In late April 2012, a commentator argued in The Malaysian Insider that “Alcohol
consumption will not stop, and what policymakers must concentrate on is changing
the environment so persons who consume alcohol do not drink excessively, and
that they are protected from alcohol-related harm” (Rahman, 2012).
Just over a week later, a Canadian newspaper article reported Quebec’s
decision to join Ontario in imposing a blood-alcohol limit of zero for young
drivers (Aylward, 2012). In the article, an activist said of the policy: “Places like
Ontario have seen a significant drop in deaths and injuries right across the board,
including young drivers. It’s working.”
That same day, Brazil’s Senate approved legislation allowing alcohol to
be sold in stadiums during the 2014 World Cup—even though alcohol sales at
matches have been banned since 2003 (“Brazil Senate …”, 2012). The passage
of the legislation was controversial, with one Brazilian senator declaring that
even though he voted for the bill he felt “violence in stadiums has decreased a lot
because of the ban against alcoholic beverages.”
Six days later, a commentator in the British newspaper The Guardian
questioned Scotland’s decision to impose a minimum unit price for alcoholic
beverages, writing: “Will minimum pricing make us drink less? It is very unlikely
that minimum pricing will affect David Cameron’s chaotic problem drinkers;
some problems need deep solutions and some are not solvable at all” (Gold, 2012).
Two days after that, Kenya’s Presidential Cabinet voted in favor of tougher
penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol among other driving offenses,
with the goal of reducing fatal traffic accidents in that country (Ohito, 2012).
Less than a week later, an Australian politician stated that he and other members
of a parliamentary committee had “received evidence that alcohol labels need to
be introduced as part of a wider health promotion strategy and also evidence that
alcohol labels don’t work,” prior to a series of governmental discussions on the
issue (as quoted in “Alcohol warnings …”, 2012).
These six examples—from six continents during a single four-week period—
illustrate the centrality of alcohol-related policymaking in twenty-first century
society. The harm reduction strategies, blood-alcohol limits for drivers, retail bans,
minimum prices, tougher penalties, and warning labels for alcoholic beverages
discussed in these examples are just six of the myriad kinds of alcohol policies
that policymakers, practitioners, activists, commentators, and citizens around the
world debate on a regular basis. These debates often revolve around questions
of evidence and effectiveness, as the examples above illustrate. Which policies
are most effective at reducing alcohol’s social harms? What evidence is there of