Decreases in off-premises or on-premises alcohol outlets, or
both, are expected to decrease access to alcoholic beverages
by increasing the distance to alcohol outlets, increasing
alcohol prices, reducing exposure to on-premises alcohol
marketing, and potentially by changing social norms around
drinking, thereby decreasing excessive alcohol consumption
and related harms. Decreases in outlet density are expected
to decrease social aggregation in and around on- and offpremises
alcohol outlets which, in turn, may decrease aggressive
behavior potentially exacerbated by alcohol consumption.
17 Finally, decreased density increases distances traveled
to and from alcohol outlets, thus increasing the potential for
alcohol-related crashes. However, this potential harm could
be mitigated by decreased alcohol consumption and hence
decreased alcohol-impaired driving.18,19 Thus, the expected
effect of outlet density on motor-vehicle crashes may be
mixed.20