Preventing Excessive Alcohol Use: Maintaining Limits on Days of Sale

Task Force Finding*

On the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness, the Task Force recommends maintaining existing limits on the days on which alcoholic beverages are sold as one strategy for the prevention of excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

Evidence for this recommendation is based on studies assessing the effects of repealing limits on sales of alcoholic beverages on weekend days in “off-premises” settings (i.e., for consumption off premises, such as grocery, convenience, or liquor stores) and in “on-premises” settings (i.e., for consumption on premises, such as restaurants, bars, or ballparks). Removal of limits on days of sale in off-premises settings resulted in small increases both in consumption of alcohol and in motor vehicle fatalities. Removing limits on days of sale in on-premises settings found small increases in levels of consumption and substantial increases in motor vehicle–related harm.

Too few studies evaluated imposing new limits on days of sale; the Task Force therefore had insuffıcient evidence to determine the effectiveness of this intervention on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

*From the following publication:

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations on maintaining limits on days and hours of sale of alcoholic beverages to prevent excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. [PDF - 112KB] Am J Prev Med 2010;39(6):605-6.

Review completed: June 2008