Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Stand up to big booze

By Jonathan J. Ariel - posted Thursday, 30 January 2014


Former Professor of Medicine at the world-class Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and the incoming chief of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Nicholas Talley, is petitioning for the legal drinking age to be raised from 18 to 20 years of age.

And about time too.

His comments echo those of last year's Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose for a trial increase of the drinking age to 21 as well as voices from the physicians union, the Australian Medical Association, seeking (not unreasonably) a national debate on the issue.

Advertisement

Professor Talley reflected the mood of many earlier this week when he said that while what NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell was promising in order to fight the epidemic of drinking was "good", much more was required to solve this complex problem. What is needed is a revolution against the nation's booze-soaked "culture".

He could have added that the whole debate is bastardised, mainly by the media, when it calls "drinking" in effect, alcoholism, a "culture", when it is in fact a disease. Take ABC 702 in Sydney, for example. This leftist radio station targeted smugly at "thinking" people has for years heavily promoted abstinence in July by calling for listeners to abide by a "Dry July". Are listeners to interpret this call as meaning that it's "ok" to drink up and heaven forbid, get wasted in the eleven other months of the year? Sure sounds like it.

Professor Talley's call for a rise in the drinking age has been examined comprehensively, albeit overseas.

It so happens that Alexander C. Wagenaar, PhD and Traci L. Toomey, PhD researchers at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota – a mere 140 kms away from where Talley used to research gastroenterology at the Mayo–dredged four databases (published from 1960-99) that inquired into the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) and identified 241empirical analyses, which they assiduously reviewed.

The findings are jaw dropping:

  • 33% of the studies found an inverse relationship between the MLDA and alcohol consumption; and
  • 58% found a higher MLDA related to decreased traffic crashes.
Advertisement

That is, the lower the legal age to drink,the more tends to be drunk. And, the higher the legal age to drink, the less road traffic crashes take place.

The argument about elevating the MLDA in the United States is the most well trodden of alcohol control policies, the aim of which is to lower alcohol consumptionand its associated problems, mostlyamong youth.

Following prohibition, most states in the republic established an age-21 MLDA. During the early 1970s, a trend toward lowering the MLDA to age 18, 19 or 20 began, aping a lowering of the voting age.

But evidence accumulated proving that road traffic crashes among youth increased following lowering of the legal age, which encouraged a citizens' effort to urge states to ratchet up the MLDA back to age-21. This effort was successful.

To determine the overall effect of the age-21 MLDA on youth, the existing research was critically reviewed. The purpose of which was to summariseall studies available in the peer reviewed published literature since 1960 that evaluated the effects of public policies establishing a legal minimum age for purchase and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages.

48 published studies were located that assessed the effects of changes in the legal minimum drinking age on indicators of alcohol consumption, including

  • sales (off license)
  • sales (on license)
  • spirit sales
  • beer sales
  • self reported drinking and
  • self reported drinking problems.

A total of 78 alcohol consumption outcome measures were analysed of which 35% found a statistically significant inverse relationship between the legal drinking age and alcohol consumption; that is, as the legal age was lowered, drinking increased, and as the legal age was raised, drinking decreased. An additional 10% found an inverse relationship did not report significance levels. Of the 78 analyses, only 6% found a positive relationship between the legal drinking age and consumption.

In short, a whopping 45% of all analyses found that a higher legal drinking age is associated with reduced alcohol consumption.

Of the 78 analyses of alcohol consumption, 24 were specific to college student populations. Of the 24 college-specific analyses, 3 (13%) found a significant inverse relationship between the legal age and alcohol consumption, 3 found a significant positive relationship, and 15 (63%) found no significant relationship.

Of the 54 analyses that were not college student specific, perhaps more relevant to the NSW context, 24 (44%) found a significant inverse relationship between the legal age and alcohol consumption. Only 1(4%)found a significant positive relationship.

In conclusion, the preponderance of evidence, in particular amongst non-college attending youth, suggests that higher legal drinking ages reduce alcohol consumption.

Of all the analyses that reported significant effects, 87% found higher drinking ages associated with lower alcohol consumption. Only 13% found the opposite. The researchers admit that the evidence is not entirely consistent: Almost half (46%) of the analyses found no association between the legal age and indicators of alcohol consumption. However, tellingly a focus on the 33 of the 78 studies with the highest methodological quality (i.e., those that include a longitudinal design, comparison groups and probability sampling or use of a census) revealed that 11 (33%) of those studies found a significant inverse relationship between the legal age and alcohol consumption.

Of the 16 analyses of non-traffic injuries (fatal and nonfatal), 4 (25%) found a significant inverse relationship between the legal drinking age and injuries; none found a positive relationship. Of the 10 analyses of "other crime" (e.g., vandalism, disorderly conduct), 3 (30%) found a significant inverse relationship between the legal drinking age and crime; none found a positive relationship.

The figures tell a story that any 10 year old could understand.

Surely it's time for NSW to trial Professor Talley's proposal, and move the MLDA in the First State up to 20. Or better yet, follow Ms Buttrose's suggestion of 21.

Professor Talley could be tasked with designing a study to measure the costs and benefits both financial and societal of such a trial. Theover-riding objective of which should be to at best eradicate or at least modify the violent anti-social behaviour of those that currently abuse the drug, alcohol. Even a small change in youth behaviour can result in very large societal benefits.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has the opportunity to stand for the victims of violence and to stand up to Big Booze.

Of course he may choose not to. But then again, come the state election in March 2015, O'Farrell may find the NSW electorate standing up to him.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

18 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Jonathan J. Ariel is an economist and financial analyst. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. He can be contacted at jonathan@chinamail.com.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Jonathan J. Ariel

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Jonathan J. Ariel
Article Tools
Comment 18 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy