Alcohol availability and neighborhood characteristics in Los Angeles, California and Southern Louisiana

Objective: To examine the association among shelf space, number of outlets, and relative price per ounce of alcoholic beverages and neighborhood characteristics of randomly selected census tracts in California and Louisiana. Methods: Data on outlet shelf space and price by beverage type (regular beer, malt liquor, and distilled spirits) was collected at all off-sale alcohol outlets in 189 census tracts. We examined whether these types of alcohol availability were associated with neighborhood characteristics. Results: Substantial variability among census tracts was observed in alcohol shelf space and alcohol outlet per tract. In multivariate analyses controlling for state, socioeconomic variables were associated with shelf space and outlet availability. Percent of households receiving public assistance was inversely associated with total per capita shelf space, per capita malt liquor shelf space, and per capita distilled spirit shelf space. In contrast, household poverty was associated with more per capita malt liquor shelf space. Household poverty was also positively associated outlets per roadway mile and outlets per capita. For price availability, African American population percent was inversely associated with malt beverage price. Discussion: Socioeconomic characteristics were associated with shelf space and outlets per tract measures of alcohol availability while price availability was associated with demographic characteristics. In general, lower income areas had less shelf space, but more outlets. African Americans appear to have access to lower priced beer and malt liquor. Examining different types of alcohol availability appears useful and provides important information for developing new policies and interventions that might reduce alcohol related harms.