Alcohol sales and fatal alcohol poisonings: a time-series analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To discover whether the number of fatal alcohol peaks during festivities characterized by unrestrained drinking and relates to sales of alcoholic beverages.


METHODS
Time-series and cross-sectional.


METHODS
Fatal alcohol poisonings and retail alcohol sales in Finland in 1983-99.


RESULTS
Fatal alcohol poisonings were found to peak during weekends and in the May Day, Midsummer Day and Christmas celebrations. Regression analysis of quarterly series lead to a model showing that 1% increase in the sales of spirits increases the number of fatal alcohol poisonings by 0.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
At the population level, increases in the sales of spirits and periods of hard drinking seem to increase deaths from alcohol poisoning. The findings could be of use in efforts to decrease hard drinking.
Poikolainen
Kari
K
Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Helsinki, Finland. kari.poikolainen@stakes.fi
Leppänen
Kalervo
K
Vuori
Erkki
E
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000401:mortality; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000401:mortality*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000506:poisoning*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006693:Holidays / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D012044:Regression Analysis
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol