Alcohol Policy Making at the Local Level

Abstract

Several effective alcohol policy measures take place at the local level, yet little is known about local policy-making processes. In Norway, on-premise closing hours are much debated and they were subject to a liberalization wave in 2004 and a restriction wave around 2008. This study addresses the processes that underlie the changes in closing hours. We use data from 24 Norwegian cities where such changes occurred. Data include newspaper articles, city council documents, and brief interviews with key informants. Changes in on-premise closing hours were generally small. The extensions occurred when the interests of the industry were countered by other interests and arguments but only to a limited extent. The restrictions around 2008 occurred when the police frequently expressed strong concerns about the problems of violence and nuisance, and recommended restrictions. The findings suggest that local alcohol policy-making is formed between opposing values and competing interests. Similarities in the complex processes underlying the policy changes were found across heterogeneous local contexts.Key words: local level, alcohol policy, alcohol availability, on-premise closing hours, Norway 3 Alcohol policy can be defined as measures put in place to control supply and/or affect demand for alcoholic beverages in a population (Babor, 2002). Governing agencies at all levels -international, national, provincial, regional, and local -make decisions on alcohol policies (Babor et al., 2010).Alcohol policy-making at the local level is of increasing importance (Giesbrecht, 2007;Holmila & Warpenius, 2007) and several effective policy measures are decided on and enforced at the local level (Treno, Marzell, Gruenewald, & Holder, 2014). The efficacy and effectiveness of alcohol policies at the local level have been assessed in many studies (Babor et al., 2010;Treno et al., 2014). In particular, policies that regulate the availability of alcohol in terms of outlet density and trading hours have been shown to be effective in reducing drinking and related harm (Babor et al., 2010; Campbell et al., 2009; Hahn et al., 2010;Popova, Giesbrecht, Bekmuradov, & Patra, 2009). Therefore, it is noteworthy that so far, little is known about policy-making processes at the local level (Maclennan, Kypri, Room, & Langley, 2013). The actors involved in these processes may often have conflicting interests. Public health and safety interests may be in conflict with the interests of the industry (Babor et al., 2010). Improved understanding of conflicting interests and values in these processes is important for improved political debate and decisions.Our focus is on local alcohol policy-making in Norway, where local government has a long tradition in alcohol policy issues (Andersen, 2000;Horverak, 1979). Here, decisions on trading hours and outlet density are made by authorities at the municipality level. Therefore, local authorities have the power to exercise policy measures that have been shown in international research literature to be effect...

An extra hour wasted? Bar closing hours and traffic accidents in Norway

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An Extra Hour Wasted? Bar Closing Hours and Traffic Accidents in Norway

“…Changes to on-premise closing hours in Norwegian municipalities are frequent and are often subject to political debate and media attention (Rossow & Baklien, 2014). These changes often, but not exclusively, take place shortly after a new council has been elected, suggesting that alcohol policy often is part of local election campaigns.…”