Effects of reducing the legal alcohol-purchasing age on drinking and drinking problems. A review of empirical studies.

Abstract

A review of studies of effects of reductions in legal age for drinking and purchasing alcoholic beverages on driving and drinking problems revealed that many studies were conducted with inadequate control groups, so few definitive conclusions could be reached. The following trends were suggested after reduction in legal alcohol-purchasing age: substantial increases in drinking by youth occurred after the change in Canada; there was insufficient data on effects in the USA to draw conclusions; on-premise consumption probably increased more than take-out sales or drinking at home with families; the effects of the change on per-capita beer consumption varied from province to province in Canada; there were usually greater increases in alcohol-related traffic accidents in areas where the alcohol-purchasing age was reduced than in control areas; changes in the alcohol-purchasing age probably affected the automobile crash experience of those aged 15-17 and 18-20; there was no conclusive evidence that reducing purchasing age caused increases in educational, family or public-order problems and the findings of studies of alcohol-related traffic accidents and drinking patterns suggested that there are public health reasons for not reducing alcohol-purchasing age in jurisdictions which have not already done so.