Last Call Fact Sheet

Later Last Call increases alcohol-related problems:

• Recent studies have found evidence that later hours of sale increase such problems as injuries and drinking-driving incidents.¹
• Studies show that increasing availability of alcohol results in increased consumption of alcohol and alcohol-related illness and death.²
• Despite assertions that later sales of alcohol might help reduce alcohol-related problems, there are no studies to support this claim.³

Cities that extended last call experienced more alcohol-related problems:

• Violent crimes increased sharply in the “Campustown” neighborhood of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois after the city extended bar hours there from 1:00 am to 2:00 am. Violent crimes did not increase for the rest of the city where hours of alcohol sale were not extended.⁴

• Because of nuisance complaints, Chicago officials are cracking down on restaurants that stay open late and stop serving food while still serving alcohol.⁵

• Australian hotels with extended hours of alcohol sales experienced a 70% increase in assaults compared to the period before hours were extended.⁶

Earlier last call reduces alcohol-related problems:

• “Changing the conditions of availability—for example,…restricting the hours and days of alcohol sales…can help prevent or reduce problems.”⁷
• “In general, greater restrictions have been associated with decreases in drinking and drinking problems...”⁸
• “In sum…it appears that significant changes in hours of service can have a significant impact on drinking and drinking-related problems among young people and in the population as a whole.”⁹
• When bars in Juarez, Mexico changed closing hours from 5:00 am to 3:00 am there was an 89% decrease in the number of intoxicated American youth (with a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher) crossing the border back to El Paso, Texas.¹⁰

¹ “Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity Research and Public Policy.” Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (Babor, October 2003)

² “We’re Closed! The Effects of a Policy Change on Teens Crossing the Border Between El Paso and Juarez.” Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. August 28, 2003.

³ Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (Grube, Nygaard, 2004)

⁴ “Police statistics show crime up since bar hours extended.” Associated Press January 13, 2004.

⁵ Walkup, Carolyn. Nation’s Restaurant News, 36, 8, 4(2). February 25, 2002

⁶ National Drug Research Institute in Australia (Chikritzhs and Stockwell, 2002)

⁷ Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 99-3298.

⁸ Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (Grube, Nygaard, 2004)

⁹ Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (Grube, Nygaard, 2004)

¹⁰ “ We’re Closed! The Effects of a Policy Change on Teens Crossing the Border Between El Paso and Juarez.” Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. August 28, 2003.