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Introduction: Variation in alcohol availability is an important driver of levels of consumption and harm, with recent increases in online alcohol home delivery use expanding availability. There is limited research on the impacts of these changes and the characteristics of consumers who use alcohol home delivery. Methods: This study presents findings from an online survey (n = 465) of Western Australian adults who had purchased alcohol for home delivery within the past 6 months. Analyses compared high‐risk and low‐risk drinkers on use of, and exposure to, alcohol home delivery. Results: Compared to low‐risk drinkers, high‐risk drinkers were significantly more likely to make more frequent online purchases (odds ratio 5.42), utilise same day delivery (odds ratio 2.91) and purchase through specialised online‐only retailers (odds ratio 2.69). High‐risk drinkers also reported receiving deliveries while intoxicated more often (odds ratio 11.62), and ordering alcohol for delivery to continue a current drinking session (odds ratio 7.47). High‐risk drinkers also received advertising for alcohol home delivery more frequently (odds ratio 1.60) than low‐risk drinkers. High‐risk drinkers also ordered larger quantities of alcohol than low‐risk drinkers (M = 49 vs. 32 standard drinks). Discussion and Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that these services are popular with high‐risk drinkers and potentially undermine other policy efforts to reduce drinking. Within Australia, stronger legislation (such as mandatory delay between order and delivery) and monitoring (e.g., test purchasing for compliance) are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: From October 1, 2018, the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol of AU$1.30 per standard drink. The MUP was introduced to address the high alcohol consumption rates and harms within the NT. This study aimed to investigate the unique short-term impact of the MUP on alcohol-related assaults across the NT, for the NT overall and separately for four key regions (Darwin and Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, and Tennant Creek); which allowed for the consideration of differences in concurrent alcohol interventions and population (e.g., Alice Springs had Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs) introduced on October 1, 2018, whereas Darwin and Palmerston only had the MUP introduced in this period). PALIs effectively equate to a police officer being stationed in every off-premise liquor vendor. Method: Using data from January 2013 to September 2019, interrupted time series (ITS) analyses assessed the short-term impact of the MUP on the monthly rate of police-recorded alcohol-related assaults. Results: A 14% reduction (B = -3.07 [-5.40, -0.74], p < .010) was found for alcohol-related assault offenses per 10,000 in Darwin/Palmerston. Significant reductions were also noted in Alice Springs and the NT overall, although PALIs are likely to have contributed to these reductions in addition to the MUP. Conclusions: This short-term impact warrants longer-term follow-up to determine whether the reductions in alcohol-related assaults following the introduction of MUP are maintained, and the extent to which assault rates are influenced by other alcohol-policy interventions in the NT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Assess the impact of Northern Territory alcohol policy changes to ED utilisation at Royal Darwin‐Palmerston Regional Hospitals. Methods: Interrupted time series analysis explored trends in monthly ED attendance numbers and the proportion self‐discharging prior to policy changes (September 2016 to August 2017) and after three sequential interventions; the Banned Drinker Register, introduced September 2017, system changes to the sobering shelter, January 2018, and the minimum unit floor price (MUFP), October 2018. A targeted cohort of attendances transported by police as an alternative to the sobering shelter or police watch‐house when there is a medical concern was selected as they are likely impacted by all policy changes. Results: Police transported 1176 patients on 2070 occasions from September 2016 to March 2019. There was a downward trend in monthly attendances across the study period, with no significant change attributable to the Banned Drinker Register, a significant step decrease with the sobering shelter changes (P = 0.002), and a significant gradual decrease following the MUFP (P = 0.025). This represented an immediate decrease of 3.82 attendances per month/10 000 residents following the sobering shelter changes and a gradual decrease of 0.92 attendances/10 000 residents after the MUFP. Rates of self‐discharge were high, 45% in the pre‐intervention phase, decreasing to 28% following the MUFP but this trend did not reach significance with any intervention. Conclusion: The sequential introduction of broad sweeping alcohol policy changes introduced by the Northern Territory government was associated with significant reductions in ED utilisation. The proximity of the introduction of interventions creates difficulties identifying individual policy influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There are inconsistent research findings regarding the impact of rurality on adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substance use. Therefore, the current study reports on the effect of rurality on alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among adolescents in 2 state representative samples in 2 countries, Washington State (WA) in the United States and Victoria (VIC) in Australia. Participants: The International Youth Development Study (IYDS) recruited representative samples of students from Grade 7 (aged 12 to 13 years) and Grade 9 (aged 14 to 15) in both states. A total of 3,729 students responded to questions about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other illicit substance use (n[subscript VIC] = 1,852; n[subscript WA] = 1,877). In each state, males and females were equally represented and ages ranged from 12 to 15 years. Methods: Data were analyzed to compare lifetime and current (past 30 days) substance use for students located in census areas classified as urban, large or small town, and rural. Findings were adjusted for school clustering and weighted to compare prevalence at median age 14 years. Findings: Rates of lifetime and current alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use were significantly higher in rural compared to urban students in both states (odds ratio for current substance use = 1.31). Conclusions: In both Washington State and Victoria, early adolescent rural students use substances more frequently than their urban counterparts. Future studies should examine factors that place rural adolescents at risk for alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use.