Study: Private liquor stores to blame for increase in deaths
Posted January 18, 2011 8:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS1130) – More people in BC have been dying from alcohol-related causes since the number of private liquor stores dramatically increased. That’s the finding of a study published by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research.
The study looked at deaths by disease, injuries and suicide related to alcohol, from 2003 to 2008. In that time, the number of private liquor stores rose by 40 per cent. The study estimates there were an extra 400 deaths in that time frame.
Director of the centre, Tim Stockwell, says it seems the drinkers were victims of convenience.
“The nearer, the easier to find, the more the people will use the private liquor store. The opening hours of private stores are longer than government stores and they’re way more flexible in what they stock,” explains Stockwell.
The findings have been shared with the ministries of health and public safety, and have been published in the international journal Addiction.
