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Minimum purchasing age for alcohol and traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds in New Zealand

Author

Listed:
  • Kypri, K.
  • Voas, R.B.
  • Langley, J.D.
  • Stephenson, S.C.R.
  • Begg, D.J.
  • Tippetts, A.S.
  • Davie, G.S.

Abstract

Objectives. In 1999, New Zealand lowered the minimum purchasing age for alcohol from 20 to 18 years. We tested the hypothesis that this increased traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds. Methods. Poisson regression was used to compute incidence rate ratios for the after to before incidence of alcohol-involved crashes and hospitalized injuries among 18- to 19-year-olds and 15- to 17-year-olds (20- to 24-year-olds were the reference). Results. Among young men, the ratio of the alcohol-involved crash rate after the law change to the period before was 12% larger (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 1.25) for 18-to 19-year-olds and 14% larger (95% CI = 1.01, 1.30) for 15-to 17-year-olds, relative to 20- to 24-year-olds. Among young women, the equivalent ratios were 51% larger (95% CI = 1.17, 1.94) for 18-to 19-year-olds and 24% larger (95% CI = 0.96, 1.59) for 15- to 17-year-olds. A similar pattern was observed for hospitalized injuries. Conclusions. Significantly more alcohol-involved crashes occurred among 15- to 19-year-olds than would have occurred had the purchase age not been reduced to 18 years. The effect size for 18- to 19-year-olds is remarkable given the legal exceptions to the pre-1999 law and its poor enforcement.

Suggested Citation

  • Kypri, K. & Voas, R.B. & Langley, J.D. & Stephenson, S.C.R. & Begg, D.J. & Tippetts, A.S. & Davie, G.S., 2006. "Minimum purchasing age for alcohol and traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds in New Zealand," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(1), pages 126-131.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.073122_4
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.073122
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    Cited by:

    1. Datta Gupta, Nabanita & Nilsson, Anton, 2020. "Legal Drinking, Injury and Harm: Evidence from the Introduction and Modifications of Age Limits in Denmark," IZA Discussion Papers 13401, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Kamalow, Raffael & Siedler, Thomas, 2019. "The Effects of Stepwise Minimum Legal Drinking Age Legislation on Mortality: Evidence from Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 12456, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Boes, Stefan & Stillman, Steven, 2013. "Does Changing the Legal Drinking Age Influence Youth Behaviour?," IZA Discussion Papers 7522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Kabir Dasgupta & Christopher Erwin & Alexander Plum, 2020. "The Devil is in the Details: Identifying the Unbiased Link between Access to Alcohol and Criminal Behavior," Working Papers 2020-12, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    5. Conover, Emily & Scrimgeour, Dean, 2013. "Health consequences of easier access to alcohol: New Zealand evidence," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 570-585.
    6. Kabir Dasgupta & Alexander Plum & Christopher Erwin, 2022. "The Devil is in the Details: Identifying Unbiased Link between Alcohol Purchasing Rights and Youth Delinquency," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(6), pages 1380-1431, December.
    7. Boes, Stefan & Stillman, Steven, 2017. "You Drink, You Drive, You Die? The Dynamics of Youth Risk Taking in Response to a Change in the Legal Drinking Age," IZA Discussion Papers 10543, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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