Enact dram shop liability laws: Sales to underage
This type of dram shop liability law is enacted at the state level to hold the owner or server(s) at a bar, restaurant, or other location responsible for damages caused by an underage drinker who was sold alcohol at that location.
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Effectiveness: = Moderate effectiveness
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Cost: $$ = Mid-range
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Research Amount: *** = 5 or more cross-sectional studies or 1 to 4 longitudinal studies
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Public Health Reach: Broad
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Staffing Expertise Needed: Policy advocate
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Target Population: Underage students
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Research Population: General
Effectiveness ratings are based on estimated success in achieving targeted outcomes. Cost ratings are based on a consensus among research team members of the relative program and staff costs for adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a strategy. Actual costs will vary by institution, depending on size, existing programs, and other campus and community factors. Barriers to implementing a strategy include cost and opposition, among other factors. Public health reach refers to the number of students that a strategy affects. Strategies with a broad reach affect all students or a large group of students (e.g., all underage students); strategies with a focused reach affect individuals or small groups of students (e.g., sanctioned students). Research amount/quality refers to the number and design of studies.
- Review:
Rammohan V, Hahn RA, Elder R, Brewer R, Fielding J, Naimi TS, et al. Effects of dram shop liability and enhanced overservice law enforcement initiatives on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms: Two Community Guide systematic reviews. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(3):334–43, 2011.
References from 2019 update
- Fell, J.C.; Scherer, M.; Thomas, S.; and Voas, R.B. Assessing the impact of twenty underage drinking laws. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 77(2):249–260, 2016.
- Romano, E.; Scherer, M.; Fell, J.; and Taylor, E. A comprehensive examination of U.S. laws enacted to reduce alcohol-related crashes among underage drivers. Journal of Safety Research 55:213–221, 2015.
- Scherer, M.; Fell, J.C.; Thomas, S.; and Voas, R.B. Effects of dram shop, responsible beverage service training, and state alcohol control laws on underage drinking driver fatal crash ratios. Traffic Injury Prevention 16:S59–S65, 2016.
National Conference of State Legislatures (examples of legislation, by state, Dram Shop Civil Liability and Criminal Penalty State Statutes
For more information about intervention designs and implementation, check the articles in the References tab.
