Young people living near bars at greater risk of alcohol abuse

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by Change | 24 Dec 2009

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Young adults residing close to specific alcohol outlets are more likely to require alcohol abuse support.

The potential demand for alcohol abuse services is greater among young people who live in close proximity to off-premise outlets, restaurants and bars.

This is according to new findings published in the Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research journal, which revealed common alcohol-related problems for this age group including injuries, traffic accidents and assaults.

Professor Richard Scribner, a specialist in alcohol research at Louisiana State University School of Public Health, explained that researchers had thought that the relatively large size of the alcohol abuse community was due to "higher alcohol outlet densities".

"However, as the research area has matured, the relations appear to be far more complex," he commented.

"It seems that alcohol outlets represent an important social institution within a neighbourhood. As a result, their effects are not limited to merely the consequences of the sale of alcohol."

Researchers said it is "key" that neighbourhood alcohol environments help to regulate the drinking risks that young people become exposed to as they become adults - which could see a shift away from the individual and towards the community.

Elsewhere, researchers in California have discovered that moderate to heavy alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer reoccurrence, with women advised to stick to just three alcoholic drinks per week or less.

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