Can vendors' age limit control measures increase compliance with the alcohol age limit? An evaluation of measures implemented by three Dutch liquor store chains.

Background: Dutch liquor store (off license) chains have voluntarily developed and implemented age limit control measures to increase compliance with the Licensing and Catering Act (LCA), aimed at prohibiting vendors from selling alcohol to minors (<18 years old). This study investigates differences between three liquor store chains in their style of self-regulation and how that affects compliance with the LCA in four domains (capturing processes in age verification, instructing staff, monitoring performance/providing feedback and imposing consequences).

Methods: A mixed-method design was used.

Increased minimum legal age for the sale of alcohol in the Netherlands as of 2014: The effect on alcohol sellers' compliance after one and two years.

Background: As of January 2014, the Dutch minimum legal age for the sale and purchase of all alcoholic beverages has increased from 16 to 18 years of age. The effectiveness of a minimum legal age policy in controlling the availability of alcohol for adolescents depends on the extent to which this minimum legal age is complied with in the field. The main aim of the current study is to investigate, for a country with a West-European drinking culture, whether raising the minimum legal age for the sale of alcohol has influenced compliance rates among Dutch alcohol vendors.

Alcohol and Tobacco Sales to Underage Buyers in Dutch Supermarkets: Can the Use of Age Verification Systems Increase Seller's Compliance?

Purpose: Age limits are effective in reducing alcohol- and tobacco-related harm, however, their effectiveness depends on the extent to which they are complied with. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different age verification systems (AVSs) implemented by 400 Dutch supermarkets on requesting a valid age verification (ID) and on sellers' compliance.

Methods: A mixed method design was used.

The effect of alcohol intake on cardiovascular disease and mortality disappeared after taking lifetime drinking and covariates into account.

Background: Current alcohol intake has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The effect of past and lifetime drinking has received less attention. In the present study, the impact of current, past and lifetime drinking on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality has been assessed.

Coping style mediates impact of stress on alcohol use: a prospective population-based study.

Aims: This study examines the relationship between stressful life-events and alcohol use in a longitudinal cohort study, and investigates whether gender, coping style and social support modify this relationship.

Design, Setting And Participants: Data analysed in this paper come from a sample of 1608 men and 1645 women drawn randomly from the cohort known as the Dutch Lifestyle and Health Study, consisting of 16,210 men and women aged 45-70 years, who were followed-up for 4 years (1996-2000).

Measurement: Alcohol use (recent and in the more distant past), occurrence of threatening life-events, coping style (action, cognitive and emotion coping), social support (perceived, actual support and social contacts) and other potential confounding factors were assessed with five annual self-administered questionnaires.

A literature overview of the relationship between life-events and alcohol use in the general population.

Aims: A critical review of the evidence of effects of stressful life-events on alcohol use in the general population, with a particular focus on study design.

Methods: A literature search in Medline was conducted, covering the period from 1990 to 2005, to identify articles in which the relationship between life-events and alcohol use in the general population (i.e.