Alcohol 101: Concurrent Sales of Alcohol
More locations can mean more problems
When a business sells alcohol, but primarily has another product focus, it's called "concurrent sales of alcohol." For instance, retail establishments such as mini-marts, convenience stores, and supermarkets sell groceries, but are also licensed to sell alcohol. The sale of malt liquor at a gas station, wine at the grocery store, and beer at a football stadium are all examples of concurrent sales.
Concurrent sales of alcohol do not necessarily cause problems, but they do increase the overall number of alcohol outlets in an area. Research confirms that communities with more alcohol outlets experience increased problems such as homicide, violence, and drinking-driving.1 Furthermore, research shows that making alcohol more readily available leads to increased alcohol consumption in a community.2 This, in turn, results in alcohol-related problems such as high-risk drinking, negative health effects, and lost work productivity.
There may be an emerging trend of states transitioning from liquor store sales to concurrent sales of alcohol with grocery or gas. For example, The Oregon Liquor Control Commission recently launched a pilot program to allow grocery stores to sell alcohol, asserting that additional locations will be an added convenience to shoppers and will generate revenue for the state. The decision about concurrent sales should be carefully considered since it will have an impact on availability of alcohol and may result in more problems and costs to the community.
1 Scribner, Richard, et. al. "Alcohol Availability and Homicide in New Orleans." Journal of Studies on Alcohol, May 1999. Scribner, Richard, et. al. "The Risk of Assaultive Violence and Alcohol Availability in Los Angeles County" American Journal of Public Health, March 1995.Scribner, Richard, et. al. "Alcohol Outlet Density and Motor Vehicle Crashes in Los Angeles County Cities." Journal of Studies on Alcohol, July 1994.
2 MacDonald, Scott. "The Impact of Increased Availability of Wine in Grocery Stores on Consumption: four case histories" British Journal of Addiction 81, 381-387, 1986. |
