Minimum purchasing age for alcohol and traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds in New Zealand

K. Kypri, R.B. Voas, J.D. Langley, S.C.R. Stephenson, D.J. Begg, A.S. Tippetts and G.S. Davie

American Journal of Public Health, 2006, vol. 96, issue 1, 126-131

Abstract: Objectives. In 1999, New Zealand lowered the minimum purchasing age for alcohol from 20 to 18 years. We tested the hypothesis that this increased traffic crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds. Methods. Poisson regression was used to compute incidence rate ratios for the after to before incidence of alcohol-involved crashes and hospitalized injuries among 18- to 19-year-olds and 15- to 17-year-olds (20- to 24-year-olds were the reference). Results. Among young men, the ratio of the alcohol-involved crash rate after the law change to the period before was 12% larger (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 1.25) for 18-to 19-year-olds and 14% larger (95% CI = 1.01, 1.30) for 15-to 17-year-olds, relative to 20- to 24-year-olds. Among young women, the equivalent ratios were 51% larger (95% CI = 1.17, 1.94) for 18-to 19-year-olds and 24% larger (95% CI = 0.96, 1.59) for 15- to 17-year-olds. A similar pattern was observed for hospitalized injuries. Conclusions. Significantly more alcohol-involved crashes occurred among 15- to 19-year-olds than would have occurred had the purchase age not been reduced to 18 years. The effect size for 18- to 19-year-olds is remarkable given the legal exceptions to the pre-1999 law and its poor enforcement.

Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.073122_4

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.073122

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