The International Alcohol Control (IAC) study-evaluating the impact of alcohol policies.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes a new multicountry collaborative project to assess the impact of alcohol control policy. Longitudinal surveys of drinkers in a number of participating countries and analysis of the policy context allow for the assessment of change over time within countries and comparison between countries. The design of the study is modeled on the International Tobacco Control study and aims to assess the impact of alcohol policies in different cultural contexts on policy-related behaviors and alcohol consumption. A survey instrument and protocol for policy analysis have been developed by the initial participating countries: England, Scotland, Thailand, South Korea, and New Zealand. The first round of data collection is scheduled for 2011-2012. MEASUREMENTS: The survey instrument (International Alcohol Control [IAC] survey) measures key policy relevant behaviors: place and time of purchase, amounts purchased and price paid; ease of access to alcohol purchase; alcohol marketing measures; social supply; perceptions of alcohol affordability and availability and salience of price; perceptions of enforcement; people's experiences with specific alcohol restrictions; support for policy and consumption (typical quantity, frequency using beverage and location-specific measures). The Policy Analysis Protocol (PoLAP) assesses relevant aspects of the policy environment including regulation and implementation. RESULTS: It has proved feasible to design instruments to collect detailed data on behaviors relevant to alcohol policy change and to assess the policy environment in different cultural settings. CONCLUSIONS: In a policy arena in which the interest groups and stakeholders have different perceptions of appropriate policy responses to alcohol-related harm, a robust methodology to assess the impact of policy will contribute to the debate.

Alcohol's harm to others: self-reports from a representative sample of New Zealanders.

AIM: There is a lack of research, internationally and in New Zealand, on the harms experienced as a result of drinking by others. Such effects have often been neglected in policy development and in estimates of the economic burden associated with alcohol consumption. This study describes the broad range of harms reported by New Zealanders due to the drinking of someone else. METHOD: A representative national survey was conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing with New Zealanders aged 12 to 80 years (N=3068) in 2008/2009 (response rate - 64%). Harms experienced due to the drinking of others were reported along with demographic variables. RESULTS: One in four respondents indicated that they had at least one heavy drinker in their life. Most of these respondents indicated they had experienced a range of harms because of this person's drinking. Further, 17% of respondents with children reported that their children experienced harm because of the drinking of someone else. Seventy-one percent of those sampled reported experiencing at least one harm because of the drinking of a stranger. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of New Zealanders report the experience of physical, social, economic, and psychological harms because of the drinking of others. These harms should be considered in the discussion of alcohol policy.