Citation

Voas RB, Romano EO, Kelley-Baker T, Tippetts AS. J. Stud. Alcohol 2006; 67(5): 746-753.

Affiliation

Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 11710 Beltsville Drive, Suite 125, Calverton, Maryland 20705-3102.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16847544

Abstract

Objective: On weekend evenings, thousands of youths (ages 20 and younger) and young adults (ages 21-25) residing in communities along the U.S. border cross into Mexico to patronize all-night bars where the drinking age is 18, rather than 21, and where the price of alcohol is considerably less than in the United States. On January 1, 1999, Juarez, Mexico, implemented a 2 AM (instead of 5 AM) bar-closing policy. The number of crossers and their blood alcohol concentration levels on return were reduced in the year following this policy change. The present study's objective was to determine the long-term (7-year) effect of the earlier-closing bar policy on cross-border drinking in Mexico. Method: Analyzed data (1998 to August 2005) were from quarterly breath-test surveys at the El Paso (Texas)/Juarez (Mexico) border, bar observations in Juarez, and trauma data in El Paso. Results: Bar surveys in Juarez show that the 2 AM closing policy, initiated 7 years ago, continues to be enforced, as has the reduction (89%) in youthful crossers returning after 3 AM. The number of underage youths returning earlier in the evening (before 3 AM), however, unchanged for 2 years after the policy change, has doubled recently. Conclusions: The early closing of bars in Juarez has a continuing positive impact on the reduction of the number of those returning after 3 AM. Although initially there appeared to be no displacement of the late returnees into the early hours (before 3 AM), the number of bar visitors crossing and returning earlier has been steadily increasing. Suggestions for reducing cross-border heavy episodic drinking are described.