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Executive Summary
Background
This literature review forms part of a study commissioned by the Scottish Executive on behalf of the Deputy Minister for Finance and Parliamentary Business to gather evidence to assess the validity of current beliefs about the off-sales trade and respond as appropriate, e.g. the belief that off-sales shops and supermarkets are the primary source of alcohol for underage drinking; and that low prices charged by some off-sales premises promote binge and excessive drinking, and contribute to localised antisocial behaviour. The purpose of this research is to provide evidence to inform policy about which measures, if any, should be applied to the off-sales sector to reduce the alleged effects of binge and excessive drinking.
The literature is gathered from a wide range of sources and includes articles from peer reviewed journals, policy reports, news articles and web articles.
The literature review is divided up into a number of sections. Chapter 1 contains the introduction and approach taken for the review, the questions considered and the search terms used. Chapter 2 describes background to the subject area, and Chapter 3 includes discussion about the concept of promotions. Chapter 4 contains information about the selling of alcohol through off-sales and the issues involved, and Chapter 5 discusses the issues surrounding the effects of off-sales on the community. Chapter 6 looks at international licensing law and the impacts of the recent changes in England, and finally Chapter 7 draws the conclusions of the review together.
In considering this subject area there is a lack of material, particularly from the UK in the more rigorous, peer reviewed journal articles. Where pertinent, material has been gathered from international sources, however, this must be taken into account when considering Scottish policy making.
It must be noted that a lack of evidence in this subject area does not prove or disprove a link between off-sales of alcohol and problematic drinking; rather it is an indication of the complexity of the subject area, and the difficulties of developing suitable methodologies to explore the area.
Summary of review
- There is a limited range of literature exploring the links between off-sale of alcohol and antisocial/unwanted behaviour and the concept of alcohol promotions and their impact on alcohol related problems.
- Selling to underage people at off-licences is prevalent, however, there is less evidence surrounding selling to those who are already intoxicated.
- Literature suggests that stronger enforcement of law could reduce incidents of irresponsible selling.
- Promotions vary in style and effectiveness across the differing types of alcoholic drinks.
- The impact of 'value', and 'own brand' drinks needs to be explored.
- Alcohol groups need to give a consistent and cohesive message concerning alcohol promotions.
- In US literature, density and presence of off-sales outlets has been shown to contribute to levels of assault. In the UK, there is a link between alcohol and disorder, however, the route of obtaining that alcohol is unclear.
- There is limited published material discussing the impact of recent changes to English licensing laws.
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