Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Professional sports stadiums sell alcohol to pseudo-underage and -intoxicated buyers

Professional sports stadiums sell alcohol to pseudo-underage and -intoxicated buyers

August 21, 2008

* Alcohol and sports do not mix well.
* Recent findings show that individuals appearing to be underage and intoxicated can purchase alcohol at professional sports stadiums.
* Location was key: the odds of a sale to pseudo-underage and -intoxicated buyers in the stands were 2.9 times larger than the odds of a sale at the concession booths.

Alcohol problems at sports stadiums received considerable media coverage in the early 1980s, leading to several reforms in alcohol-service and enforcement practices. But problems still exist. A recent study of alcohol use at professional sports stadiums across the United States has found that alcohol sales continue at an alarming rate to pseudo-underage and -intoxicated patrons.




Results will be published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

"Despite media coverage of alcohol-related problems at sporting events, there has been surprisingly little published research addressing alcohol use, sales or problems at professional sport stadiums in the U.S.," said Traci L. Toomey, associate professor in the school of public health at the University of Minnesota and corresponding author for the study. "This is the first study that we know of that looked systematically at the likelihood of illegal alcohol sales at professional sport stadiums across a larger number of stadiums."

"Alcohol problems at sports stadiums received considerable press attention in the early 1980s as there were several incidents involving violence in the stadiums and drinking/driving incidents stemming from intoxicated fans leaving sporting events," added James Mosher, senior policy advisor at the CDM Group in Felton, California. "As a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration developed a Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training program for alcohol servers in stadium venues. In addition, a large number of colleges and universities have banned alcohol sales at their sporting venues and events - and many campuses are now instituting policies to address the problem of alcohol consumption before games, commonly known as 'tailgating.'"

Unfortunately, Mosher added, efforts made two decades ago did not apparently "take." As an example, he cited a recent horrific drunk driving crash in New Jersey caused by an intoxicated fan who left a New York Giants football game after being served while obviously intoxicated. "Many sports stadiums are known to condone alcohol-related rowdy behavior that can easily lead to violence as well as a likely location to begin drinking-driving incidents," he said.

For this study, researchers had individuals who appeared younger than 21 years old - but were, in fact, age 21 or older - and individuals feigning intoxication attempt to purchase alcohol at 16 professional hockey, basketball, baseball, and football venues in five states. There were 159 pseudo-underage and 159 pseudo-intoxicated purchase attempts. Researchers also collected seller, purchase-attempt, and event characteristics.

Results showed that the overall sales rate to the pseudo-underage buyers was 18 percent, and to the pseudo-intoxicated buyers was 74 percent. The best predictor for either type of illegal sale was location: the odds of a sale to a pseudo-underage buyer and a pseudo-intoxicated buyer in the stands were 2.9 times larger than the odds of a sale at the concession booths.

"Nearly one out of five youth who appeared under age 21 could purchase alcohol without age identification at the 16 professional hockey, football, basketball, and baseball stadiums in the U.S. that we assessed," said Toomey. "Approximately three out of four fans who appeared obviously intoxicated could easily purchase alcohol at these professional sporting events. What this indicates to me is that we have had some success in emphasizing the importance of not selling alcohol to underage people. The likelihood of alcohol establishments selling alcohol to underage youth was 50 to 99 percent across communities during the early 1990s. However, we still need to get the likelihood of sales to underage youth even lower across all venues, and we have significantly more work to do to address sales to obviously intoxicated patrons."

Mosher strongly agreed. "A 74 percent violation rate is simply unacceptable and demonstrates that even basic steps to insure compliance with the law are not being taken. Second, the study confirms what prevention specialists have long suspected, that alcohol sales in the stands - as opposed to the concessions - create high risk for illegal sales."

Toomey speculated that there are several reasons for why people in the stands may have a better chance of "flying under the radar" than people at the concession booths. "One reason may be that when alcohol is sold in the stands, it may be more difficult for the servers to hear or to see the customer to assess their age and level of intoxication," she said. "The servers may feel pressure to make the sale quickly in the stands, to get to all of the customers, and to get out of the way of fans who are trying to watch the game, giving the server less time to do the proper assessment. Also, we have found that alcohol sales are less likely when managers are present - the servers in the stands may feel that they are not being watched as closely by managers compared to the servers located in the booths."

Mosher added that observation, or the lack thereof, is the very reason that RBS training may not work to reduce illegal sales by vendors in the stands. He also questioned whether serving alcohol in the stands made sense strictly from a business point of view.

"We have found here in California that banning alcohol at beaches has had very positive effects, not only in terms of reducing alcohol-related violence and rowdiness at the beaches but also for local businesses that initially opposed the bans," he said. "Instead of reducing the number of beachgoers, as was feared, it actually increased use of the beaches, and increased sales in nearby businesses. With the reduction in intoxicated beachgoers, people put off by the disruption started coming in greater numbers, particularly families. I believe the same phenomenon will occur at sports stadiums."

Meanwhile, Toomey said there is an important message here for entire communities. "Illegal alcohol sales affect more people than just those who are served the alcohol," she said. "As youth and adults become more intoxicated, they may cause disruptions, get into arguments, or injure other fans attending the games. After leaving the events, they may damage property surrounding the stadiums or get behind the wheel and crash into other fans or individuals in the community. This really is a larger problem that needs to be addressed by every community that houses a professional sport stadium."

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research



Related Alcohol Current Events and Alcohol News Articles Alcohol Current Events and Alcohol News RSS Alcohol Current Events and Alcohol News RSS
Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments
Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Study suggests attending religious services sharply cuts risk of death
A study published by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, strongly suggests that regular attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by approximately 20 percent.

Routine Testing After Aneurysm Coiling Carries Low Risk
A very low risk of complication is associated with a routine test that determines whether a brain aneurysm treated with endovascular coiling has started to recur, a study led by the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute has shown.

Methamphetamine abuse linked to underage sex, smoking and drinking
Teens who have never done drugs, but engage in other risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and being sexually active, are more likely to use crystal meth, medical researchers at the University of Alberta have concluded.

Report finds extensive use of illicit alcohol
The consumption of illicit or noncommercial alcohol is widespread in many countries worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease, according to a new report released today by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP).

Bottoms up: Individualists more likely to be problem drinkers
What makes residents of certain states or countries more likely to consume more alcohol? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, high levels of individualism lead to more problem drinking.

Mental health linked to stillbirth and newborn deaths
Women with a history of serious mental illness are much more likely to have babies that are stillborn or die within the first month of life, new research reveals.

Pregnancy diabetes doubles the risk of language delay in children
Children born to mothers with pregnancy-related diabetes run twice the risk of language development problems, according to a research team directed by Professor Ginette Dionne of Université Laval's School of Psychology. Details of this discovery are published in the most recent issue of the scientific journal Pediatrics.

Impulse control area in brain affected in teens with genetic vulnerability for alcoholism
A new study suggests that genetic factors influence size variations in a certain region of the brain, which could in turn be partly responsible for increased susceptibility to alcohol dependence.

Gene variations alter risk of esophageal cancer
Variations in a common gene pathway may affect esophageal cancer risk, a dangerous and rapidly increasing type of cancer, according to research by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
More Alcohol Current Events and Alcohol News Articles


Alcohol Can Be a Gas!: Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century
by David Blume

Alcohol Can Be a Gas! is the only comprehensive book ever written on alcohol fuel production and use for home and farm. Until now, it has been very difficult for farmers, contractors, alternative energy aficionados, those concerned about Peak Oil, and small-scale entrepreneurs to obtain good, accurate information on producing alcohol, or on converting vehicles to run on alcohol fuel. And with all...



The Secrets of Building an Alcohol Producing Still.
by Vincent R. Gingery



Convert Your Car to Alcohol
by Keat B. Drane

In this book, the author shows how he eliminated the use of gasoline by converting a car to operate on pure alcohol. He shows how the reader can easily do the same during a day. This is a step-by-step guide to one person's conversion of an older car to run on alcohol. In this guide, he uses photos, instructions and keeps a list of costs of each procedure so the reader can easily duplicate his...

Drug and Alcohol Abuse (Dantes Subject Standardized Tests, Vol. 78)
by Jack Rudman



Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, Third Edition (Buzzed)
by Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, Wilkie Wilson

The third edition of the essential, accessible source for understanding how drugs work and their effects on body and behavior.Together, the first two editions of Buzzed have sold over 120,000 copies—and now the authors have revised and updated the book to include the most recent discoveries about drugs, including new information on the energy drinks craze, prescription drugs such as OxyContin...



Overcoming Your Alcohol or Drug Problem: Effective Recovery Strategies Therapist Guide (Treatments the Work)
by Dennis C. Daley, G. Alan Marlatt

This expanded edition of the successful Graywind title, Managing Your Drug and Alcohol Problem: Therapist Guide provides an evidence-based treatment protocol for all types of substance use disorders. Designed to accompany the Managing Your Addictive Behavior: Workbook, Second Edition, this guide provides clinicians with valuable strategies for working with substance use disorders by focusing on...



Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol
by Iain Gately

A spirited look at the history of alcohol from the dawn of civilization to the twenty first century For better or worse, alcohol has helped shape our civilization. Throughout history, it has been consumed not just to quench our thirsts or nourish our bodies but also for cultural reasons. It has been associated since antiquity with celebration, creativity, friendship, and danger, for every...



Clinical Supervision in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling: Principles, Models, Methods
by David J. Powell, Archie Brodsky

"The perfect handbook for the clinical supervisor." —Nancy Waite-O’Brien, director, Education and Training, Betty Ford Center "An outstanding contribution to the professional well-being of the addiction field." —Thomas McGovern, editor, Addiction Treatment Quarterly "Forever useful." —S. Beckett, education and training coordinator, National Association of Alcohol...



Alcohol: How to Give It Up and Be Glad You Did
by Philip Tate

This practical, comprehensive, and easy to use book helps alcohol abusers understand their behavior, but provides practical steps that anyone can use to solve an alcohol problem. Written by a cognitive-behavioral psychologist, this book includes chapters on overcoming low self-esteem, depression, stress, attending self-help groups, and living a better life after quitting. Each chapter contains...



7 Weeks to Safe Social Drinking: How to Effectively Moderate Your Alcohol Intake
by Donna J. Cornett

Drink less, crave less and nip your problem drinking in the bud with the easy Drink/Link Moderate Drinking Program in this book! Drink/Link has helped thousands of drinkers worldwide to control drinking and prevent alcoholism since 1988. Over 80% of the drinkers who have completed this program have either cut their drinking in half or significantly reduced it! No meetings, drugs, belief in a...

© 2008 BrightSurf.com