Plenary 3
Presenter: Mike Marshall
U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance

Presenter:Jacqueline Hackett
National Alcohol Prevention Strategy Consultant

Abstract:This plenary introduces the first stakeholder-driven National Alcohol Prevention Strategy, a roadmap for reducing alcohol-related harm through coordinated national action. Presenters will unveil the NAPPS, walk through the collaborative process that shaped it, and outline priorities for implementation at the federal, state, and local levels.

Oral Presentation
Subsidized Ridesharing, Alcohol-Impaired Driving, and Alcohol Consumption: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial Christopher Morrison, PhD
Yale University

Abstract: Ridesharing is available in many cities and may reduce alcohol-impaired driving but increase alcohol consumption at licensed venues. The aim of this study was to test the effects of rideshare vouchers on alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol consumption. In this two-arm, parallel-group single-blinded randomized controlled trial, participants were recruited digitally across 156 cities in the United States. Individuals eligible for inclusion were aged ≥21 years, had a valid driver’s license, had access to a motor vehicle, and consumed alcohol at a bar in the past 30 days. The treatment group received a $35 rideshare voucher, and the control group received a $35 online shopping voucher. Outcomes were self-reported alcohol-impaired driving behavior and alcohol consumption (frequency and continued volume, separated by drinking venue). A total of 7,034 participants were enrolled between August 1, 2022, and March 12, 2025, of whom 5,856 were randomized (2,921 treatment; 2,935 control). The odds of driving after drinking decreased from pre- to post-intervention in the treatment group (OR=0·89, 95% CI: 0·81–0·97), but this reduction did not differ significantly between the treatment and control groups (p = 0·133). Alcohol consumption frequency also decreased in the treatment group (RR = 0·94, 95% CI 0·93–0·96), with a significantly greater reduction than that observed in the control group (p=0·001), though absolute reductions were small and were detectable only for drinking at places other than licensed venues. Providing rideshare vouchers alone is not an effective strategy to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and does not affect alcohol consumption at bars and restaurants.

Leveraging Impaired Driving Plans to Advance Prevention Policy and Strategy Nicole Holt
Texans for Safe & Drug-Free Youth

Abstract: Impaired driving is one of the most concrete, data-rich entry points for excessive alcohol use and youth alcohol use prevention policy conversations. Decision makers who may not respond to public health framing alone often understand this public safety lens. With substance use prevention funding sources under pressure, traffic safety funding often represents underutilized streams that can be tapped for population and primary prevention strategies. Connecting prevention of excessive and underage alcohol use to impaired driving data and population level prevention strategies can open doors with decision makers and funders. Many states and local communities have impaired driving and traffic safety plans, taskforces, and work groups, whose resources can provide support for strategies that reach beyond preventing impaired driving. This presentation will highlight how TxSDY has established and maintained this cross-sector partnership to get proven strategies, such as excise tax increases, as recommendations in the State’s impaired driving prevention plan, gain access to underutilized crash data, support policy changes, and increase organizational funding.

Unintended Benefits of Lower BAC Limits: Associations Between Stricter BAC Limits and Alcohol Consumption Meenakshi Subbaraman, MS, PhD
Public Health Institute

Abstract: Stricter BAC limits for driving unequivocally reduce alcohol-related crashes. Yet whether they have unintended benefits on other alcohol-related outcomes has been less studied. Understanding these potential benefits is especially timely given ongoing legislative efforts to further reduce BAC limits in states like Alaska, Illinois, Hawai'i, and Michigan. To inform these efforts, we examined how stricter BAC limits relate to state per capita alcohol consumption and individual-level drinking. Per capita consumption (PCC) data came from the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (1977-2023). We examined beverage-specific (total, beer, wine, and spirits) PCC for all 50 U.S. states and for Utah separately, as it is the only state to have reduced the BAC limit from .08 to .05. We used fixed effects models to examine national PCC and interrupted time series to examine Utah PCC. Individual-level drinking data came from the National Alcohol Survey and cover all 50 states (8 waves of data, 1984-2020). We examined individual-level overall drinking (drinks/year), heavy drinking (days of 5+ or 8+ drinks), and alcohol-related problems using fixed effects models.

Buffer Zone Policies Preventing Underage Substance Use: A State-Level Analysis of Buffer Zone Policies for Alcohol, Cannabis, and Tobacco Outlets Ziming Xuan, SD, SM, MA
Boston University School of Public Health

Kieran Heffernan, MS
Boston University School of Public Health

Abstract: Underage substance use remains a critical public health challenge, as physical proximity to commercial retail outlets significantly increases the risk of youth consumption. While buffer zones are common interventions designed to maintain distance from youth-oriented facilities, state-level buffer zone policies remain understudied. This study builds a state-level policy database of buffer zone statutes across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (n=51) for liquor stores, cannabis dispensaries, and tobacco ""smoke shops."" Using Thomson Reuters Westlaw and supplemental government archives, we applied targeted Boolean searches to identify statutory buffer zone requirements. Results indicate a notable disparity in policy coverage: 32 states (63%) maintain buffer zones for alcohol, and 29 states (57%) for cannabis. In contrast, only 9 states (18%) have buffer zone policy for tobacco outlets. Distance requirements also varied significantly by substance. While 66% of alcohol buffer zones were under 500 feet, 56% of tobacco and 48% of cannabis zones required a distance of at least 1000 feet. Only 4 states (8%) implemented protections across all three substance categories.

Cities for Safer Alcohol Sales: What CityHealth Learned over a Decade of Policy Promotion Katrina Forrest, JD
CityHealth

David Jernigan, MA, PhD
Boston University School of Public Health

Abstract: Multiple studies have found that more homicides, aggravated assaults, sexual assaults, and robberies are committed in areas with more alcohol outlets. 1-3 Alcohol outlets are more likely to be located in low-income neighborhoods, despite the fact that alcohol consumption rises with income, and in majority non-white communities.