Changes in alcoholic beverage sales after reductions in the legal drinking age

This study reports changes in the sales of beer, wine, and spirits in 25 states which lowered legal drinking ages and adjacent states which did not. Most of the states which changed drinking ages had an increase in beer sales whereas the unchanged ones did not. The increase for beer in the changed over the not changed states was 5.7%. The differences for wine and spirits are not statistically significant. The variations in changes from one state to another are considerable. Analyses of the effects of new age laws on traffic accidents should take account of changes in sales and other preventive efforts occurring simultaneously. Whether the increases will be permanent is uncertain.