Effects of alcohol control measures on alcohol consumption.

This paper first very briefly discusses different kinds of alcohol control measures, and after that reviews the available studies of the effects of control measures on alcohol consumption. During recent years the field of evaluation of alcohol control measures has matured and drawn on new technologies. The new prevention evaluation literature has also taken several directions. Taken together, the results of various studies have very clearly shown that control measures can influence drinking patterns, and in turn the rate of drinking problems. However, effects of changes in alcohol prices and availability are also determined by the social, cultural, and economic circumstances characteristic to each country and period.