Abstract
Admission rates to a medical detoxification ward of a general hospital were examined for periods during a beer and a liquor strike and equivalent length periods before and after each strike. They were also compared to analogous periods during a non-strike year. Results indicated that admissions were lowered during the liquor but not the beer strike, a finding which is consistent with an earlier report that overall alcohol consumption was lowered during the liquor but not the beer strike. This finding indicates that there is a positive association between amount of alcohol consumed by the general public and an index of severe alcohol abuse. No subgroup of the detoxification population was identified as being responsible for the reduced admissions.