The Stricter the Alcohol Laws, the Lower Binge Drinking Is in Some States – Report

States enforcing more stringent alcohol regulations were found to have lower binge drinking rates, a new report on Science Daily said Thursday.

Citing results from a study conducted by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) experts, the report noted that the higher a state’s alcohol policy score is, the lower the rate of binge drinking among residents goes.

Specifically, a 10 percentage point added to the of a state’s alcohol policy score leads to an 8 percent decrease in binge drinking.

In addition, a 10 percent reduction in the “likelihood” of consuming over 10 drinks in one occasion during a binge drinking spell was observed in residents of states with stricter alcohol policies.

According to the report, the policies that were found to be most effective in bringing down binge drinking rates were those associated with raising alcohol prices, and alcohol production and sales. Out of these two policy categories, higher levies and a restricted number of alcohol sellers accounted for 50 percent of the strength of effectiveness of “all 29 policies combined.”

Other effective alcohol policies are anti-drunk driving laws, imposed bans on happy hours and alcohol sales discount offers, and earlier bar closing hours.

For the study, the researchers examined data on 29 alcohol policies, which were ranked and evaluated based on their effectiveness. Researchers also took the link between alcohol consumption and age, gender, ethnicity, religion, geographic location, income, social class and financial standing, and efficiency of law enforcement system into consideration.

The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

These statistics are interesting. Any decrease in binge drinking should lead to a decrease in the loss of productivity to society and it would hopefully decrease the rate of addiction,” said Brady Grainier, Chief Operating Officer of BioCorRx, Inc. BICX. BioCorRx, Inc. is a Santa Ana-based addiction treatment companythat licenses and distributes its alcohol and opioid addiction treatment program, called the Start Fresh Program, to clinics across America.

The program uses a biodegradable implant formulation of naltrexone, which curbs an addict’s physical cravings for opioid drugs and alcohol for several months, and a series of private, one-on-one life coaching sessions to help recovering addicts plan for a life free from substance abuse.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines binge drinking as having four or more alcoholic beverages (for women), and five or more drinks (for men) on a single occasion or within two hours. One in six American adults engages in binge drinking four times per month, and consume eight servings of alcohol per occasion.

A person is also determined to have been binge drinking if his or her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or higher, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).  

Binge drinking cost the United States 223.5 billion annually from “losses in productivity, health care, crime, and other expenses,” the CDC said. 

It largely affects the young adult population aged 18 to 34, but CDC data also pointed out that it greatly affects seniors as well. Seniors aged 65 years and older were found to binge drink five to six times per month on average. 

It is also more common in households earning $75,000 or more annually than those earning less.

Learn more information about the program via phone: 714-462-4880, or by visiting www.startfreshprogram.com.