RHP&EO is the electronic journal of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education

What happens to the alcohol consumption in a small community when an off-licence is opened?

Anders Lindgren

Skaraborg County Council, Public Health Centre, 542 87 Mariestad, Sweden. Tel. 0501-62347 Fax 0501-63350

After a long period of local debate, starting in 1974, when the municipal council applied for the establishment of an off-licence, Systembolaget (the State off-licencing company) opened a shop in the centre of Tibro on Sweden's national day, the 6th of June 1994.

The debate on this issue has at times been very lively. For example, a local councillor moved in 1985 that a public referendum be held as to whether the council's application for an off-licence should remain or be withdrawn. The main argument of those advocating the establishment of an off-licence has consistently been that a local off-licence would make people more inclined to shop in Tibro and hence stimulate the local retail trade, while the opponents have argued that an off-licence would lead to an increased alcohol consumption and more alcohol-related problems in the community.

In order to test the validity of these arguments, the Primary Care Unit in Tibro decided to carry out a scientific study of the effects of the opening of the off-licence. In collaboration with the Department of International Health and Social Medicine at the Royal Caroline Institute and the Development Unit in Tibro, a questionnaire was sent to 1 500 persons aged between 20 and 74 years just before the off-licence opened. The survey was repeated one year later. The response rate was high on both occasions, about 75%.

The results concerning the population's alcohol consumption are currently being analysed and compared.. They will. be presented in a Master of Science in Public Health thesis in the beginning of June.

It may be noted that there is at present a shortage of scientific investigations showing how increased physical access to alcohol influences the alcohol consumption in a community. Most of the studies that have been performed in this field are old or concern the effects of reduced access to alcohol.

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