Alcohol Policy: Gaps between Legislative Action and Current Research

Abstract

This paper compares alcohol policies under debate in U.S. state legislatures with policies that have been the focus of research attention. We reviewed the research literature to identify empirical studies of each policy and types of outcome variables analyzed. The two most evaluated alcohol control policies are the minimum legal drinking age and excise tax. Eight other policies had 20 or more studies evaluating them. The remaining alcohol policies received little attention in the research literature. Alcohol consumption and traffic crashes were the most frequent outcomes used in alcohol policy studies. Most studies evaluated policy changes at the state or national level, with few studies of local or institutional policies. During 1997 some 463 alcohol control bills were introduced at state legislatures. Many specific alcohol policies under debate in state legislatures have little research evidence to guide policy decision-making, pointing to areas where future research is needed.