Marie-Claude Lavoie1, Patricia Langenberg2, Andres Villaveces3, Patricia C Dischinger4, Linda Simoni-Wastila5, Kathleen Hoke6, Gordon S Smith7. 1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: marieclavoie@gmail.com. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 3. Social, Urban, Rural & Resilience Global Practice, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia; Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 4. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 5. School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 6. Francis King Carey School of Law, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 7. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase from 6% to 9% provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact on rates of alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes. METHODS: Maryland police crash reports from 2001 to 2013 were analyzed using an interrupted time series design and a multivariable analysis employing generalized estimating equations models with a negative binomial distribution. Data were analyzed in 2014-2015. RESULTS: There was a significant gradual annual reduction of 6% in the population-based rate of all alcohol-positive drivers (p<0.03), and a 12% reduction for drivers aged 15-20 years (p<0.007), and 21-34 years (p<0.001) following the alcohol sales tax increase. There were no significant changes in rates of alcohol-positive drivers aged 35-54 years (rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI=0.89, 1.09). Drivers aged ≥55 years had a significant immediate 10% increase in the rate of alcohol-positive drivers (rate ratio, 1.10; 95% CI=1.04, 1.16) and a gradual increase of 4.8% per year after the intervention. Models using different denominators and controlling for multiple factors including a proxy for unmeasured factors found similar results overall. CONCLUSIONS: The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase led to a significant reduction in the rate of all alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes especially among drivers aged 15-34 years. This is the first study to examine the impact of alcohol sales taxes on crashes; previous research focused on excise tax. Increasing alcohol taxes is an important but often neglected intervention to reduce alcohol-impaired driving.
INTRODUCTION: The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase from 6% to 9% provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact on rates of alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes. METHODS: Maryland police crash reports from 2001 to 2013 were analyzed using an interrupted time series design and a multivariable analysis employing generalized estimating equations models with a negative binomial distribution. Data were analyzed in 2014-2015. RESULTS: There was a significant gradual annual reduction of 6% in the population-based rate of all alcohol-positive drivers (p<0.03), and a 12% reduction for drivers aged 15-20 years (p<0.007), and 21-34 years (p<0.001) following the alcohol sales tax increase. There were no significant changes in rates of alcohol-positive drivers aged 35-54 years (rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI=0.89, 1.09). Drivers aged ≥55 years had a significant immediate 10% increase in the rate of alcohol-positive drivers (rate ratio, 1.10; 95% CI=1.04, 1.16) and a gradual increase of 4.8% per year after the intervention. Models using different denominators and controlling for multiple factors including a proxy for unmeasured factors found similar results overall. CONCLUSIONS: The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase led to a significant reduction in the rate of all alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes especially among drivers aged 15-34 years. This is the first study to examine the impact of alcohol sales taxes on crashes; previous research focused on excise tax. Increasing alcohol taxes is an important but often neglected intervention to reduce alcohol-impaired driving.
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