Some social consequences of partial prohibition in Auckland, New Zealand

Information was gathered from two hospitals, Police, and Traffic Departments in Auckland, New Zealand, for a 4-week period during which beer supplies were erratic or stopped and compared with 4 weeks during normal beer production. Reductions occurred in the mean weekly numbers of accident and emergency admissions at one hospital, in the number of Friday road traffic accidents and injuries reported by the Traffic Department, and in the weekly number of arrests for drunkenness and other alcohol-related offences made by the Police. A larger effect might have been expected in this country, where beer drinking has become an important part of the male lifestyle.