March 23, 2022 LocalNewsOnly
- New Mexicans are most in favor of stricter alcohol sale laws.
- Montanans the least.
- Infographic showing partial prohibition views across the nation.
In the past, drinking was an activity typically associated with establishments like bars, restaurants, nightclubs, the local liquor store, and, during Prohibition times, hidden speakeasies that were meant to be difficult to detect. Nowadays, however, alcohol is available to consume in places where one might least expect it… like the supermarket: in Washington, there’s a Whole Foods store that has a bar and even a self-serve wine machine for shoppers to use during their trip. And, although it’s definitely not recommended to mix alcohol and pills according to medical guidelines, some drugstores like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid sell liquor. Theme parks and zoos also typically have bars on site, including beers, cocktails, wine and sometimes even stronger spirits on the menu.
Despite the uniform drinking age across the US, alcohol sale laws aren’t the same across the entire country. In some states, like most of those in the Southwest, you’ll find beer, wine and other liquor at the grocery store, but in other regions, like the South, you might only be able to find beer at the supermarket, so you’ll need to make a separate trip to the liquor store for harder drinks. While this may be an inconvenience for some shoppers, it does limit others in terms of impulsive or excessive alcohol purchases that they might not necessarily need during the week.
Desert Hope Treatment Center conducted a survey of 6,143 people across the US to determine their views on implementing stricter alcohol sale laws. In 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment banned alcohol sales, transportation, importation and production entirely across the country. It wasn’t until 1933, that the 21st Amendment was ratified and Prohibition was repealed. Today, given the ease of accessibility and affordability of alcohol, if such a concept were to be hypothetically introduced, how many people would support the implementation of stricter alcohol sale laws? The survey uncovered that overall, more than 1 in 5 (21%) Texans said they would support stricter laws on the sale of alcohol, such as limiting sales to certain days of the week or times of the day (compared to a national average of 22%).
When these figures were analyzed across states, the highest number of supporters of stricter alcohol sale laws were in New Mexico – nearly one-half (48%) of respondents here said they would support more stringent liquor laws. Comparatively, this figure was lowest in Montana where 10% of people said they’d be in support of tougher state liquor sales laws.
These national results were further broken down by age group among the respondents and it was found that those aged 65 and older were most in favor of stricter alcohol sale laws with 32% who said this was the case. This was followed by 31% of those aged 55 – 64 in support and 25% of 18 – 24-year-olds.
Infographic showing partial prohibition views across the nation
The research found that more than one-third (39%) of consumers also believed alcohol is too freely available in public spaces, including airplanes, where stories and videos of drunken passengers inciting drama regularly go viral. Moreover, nearly one-half (41%) of respondents think alcohol should be prohibited entirely in venues where children are present in order to prevent incidents of drunk and disorderly behavior.
This survey also found that more than one-quarter (29%) of people said they feel alcohol companies market their products too aggressively and perhaps, consequently, 16% admit to buying alcohol at the store purely because there was a special offer – even if they had no intention of buying it beforehand. This kind of marketing and sales strategy also adds to the accessible and affordable nature of alcohol. For those who may have a problematic relationship with alcohol, these kinds of sales tactics can have negative effects as cheaper costs mean the products might appear more attractive to purchase unnecessarily.
