Short ReportThe socio-spatial distribution of alcohol outlets in Glasgow city
Introduction
Alcohol is a significant and growing problem in Scotland. Alcohol-related death rates in 2002–2004 for males and females in Scotland were around double the rate for the UK as a whole (Office for National Statistics, 2007). Cirrhosis mortality rates in Scotland are now among the highest in western Europe (Leon and Mccambridge, 2006). At a local level, Glasgow City had the highest alcohol-related death rate among both men and women in the UK in 1998–2004 (Office for National Statistics, 2007). Alcohol-related problems are estimated to cost Scotland over £1 billion every year (Scottish Executive, 2004a).
UK sales of alcohol are rising, in 1995 an average of 9 L of pure alcohol was sold per head of population aged 15 and over in the UK, this had risen to 11 L per head by 2005 (British Beer and Pub Association Statistical Handbook 2007 cited in Catto and Gibbs, 2008). Paradoxically, population surveys conducted during that period suggested a decline in alcohol intake rather than an increase. However, a recent study reported that alcohol intake has been underestimated in UK studies, and currently it is estimated that over a third of male adults and just under a quarter of adult females in Scotland usually consume more that the recommended limit of units per week (Scottish Government, 2008). Among women in Scotland, weekly levels of consumption are highest in women in managerial and professional households; whereas for Scottish men there is no consistent pattern by socioeconomic classification. Binge drinking is also more common in the most deprived areas in Scotland with 46% of men and 34% of women reporting exceeding recommended maximum levels (8 units for men, 6 units for women) in one day (Scottish Executive, 2005).
Alcohol problems occur in all social groups but there is a marked socioeconomic gradient in alcohol-related morbidity. People from the most deprived areas in Scotland are three times more likely to be admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis than people from the most affluent areas, while men from the most deprived areas are six times more likely to die from an alcohol-related condition than men from the most affluent areas (Information Services Division, 2007).
Sales from supermarkets and off-licenses now account for nearly half the amount of alcohol sold in the UK (Euromonitor, 2007). Some studies at the city level, mainly North American, have suggested that the density of alcohol outlets may be higher in poorer neighbourhoods (Duncan et al., 2002, Gorman and Speer, 1997; Pollack et al., 2005; Romley et al., 2007). Studies across nations (New Zealand) showed a similar pattern (Hay et al., 2009; Pearce et al., 2008). However, little is known about the extent to which alcohol outlets are more prevalent in deprived areas in the West of Scotland. Living near alcohol outlets might encourage higher intake of alcohol or expose residents to the anti-social behaviour of others who come to buy alcohol (Forsyth et al., 2007; Scribner et al., 1999; Treno et al., 2001). There have been recent calls for a better understanding of the places where problem drinkers and drinking are produced (Holloway et al., 2008; Kneale and French, 2008).
In this study we set out to examine the distribution of alcohol outlets by deprivation across the city of Glasgow, in the West of Scotland. We explore this by a variety of spatial scales (small areas and larger neighbourhoods or localities), as it has been noted that the extent to which area of residence may be important for health may depend on the spatial scale and neighbourhood boundaries used (Flowerdew et al., 2008). This work builds on a programme of research we have been conducting on features of neighbourhoods that might influence health and the ability to lead a healthy life, including access to fast food outlets, supermarkets, shops and recreation facilities (Ellaway et al., 1997, Ellaway et al., 2007; Ellaway and Macintyre, 1996, Ellaway and Macintyre, 2000; Macdonald et al., 2007; Macintyre et al., 2008; Sooman et al., 1993).
Section snippets
Methods
A list of alcohol outlets in Glasgow City with street addresses was obtained from Glasgow City Council in 2006 and unit postcodes were found for every outlet. The list included seven categories of outlet: public houses, off-sales (including supermarkets), private members’ clubs (e.g. social clubs, sports clubs, student unions, etc.), entertainment (e.g. bingo halls, casinos, concert halls, nightclubs, etc.), restaurants, refreshment (café style premises where alcohol may be served with food)
Results
The analysis included 2221 alcohol outlets; 792 pubs, 732 off-sales and 763 other outlets (162 clubs, 227 entertainment outlets, 234 restaurants, 49 refreshment outlets and 91 hotels).
Discussion
Our study has shown that the socio-spatial distribution of alcohol outlets across Glasgow does vary by deprivation but not systematically. Some deprived areas contain the highest concentration while others with a similar deprivation score contain very few. It is therefore important to examine the local context of deprivation. The monolithic social housing schemes on the periphery of Glasgow are not particularly well served with opportunities to buy alcohol in their local area. This may be due
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2018, Health and PlaceCitation Excerpt :Previous research used a more traditional approach of comparing densities across geographical areas (Chaiton et al., 2013; Ellaway et al., 2010; Thornton et al., 2016; Wiggins et al., 2010; Shortt et al., 2016; Hay et al., 2009; Wardle et al., 2014; Wilson et al., 2006). Within these studies densities of outlets were generally calculated for pre-defined geographical and administrative boundaries e.g. density of alcohol outlets across Scottish ‘Data Zones’ (Ellaway et al., 2010), fast food outlet density at Australian ‘Local Government Area’ (Thornton et al., 2016), density of tobacco outlets at Canadian ‘Public Health Unit’ level (Chaiton et al., 2013), or gambling outlet density within US ‘Census Tracts’ (Wiggins et al., 2010). The benefit of this approach was the potential to link these boundaries to additional key data such as poverty rates (Ellaway et al., 2010; Thornton et al., 2016), indicators of urbanicity/rurality (Thornton et al., 2016), population ethnicity (Wiggins et al., 2010), or number of smokers (Chaiton et al., 2013).
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2015, Journal of Criminal JusticeCitation Excerpt :These features may directly impact crime or increase the likelihood of crime-related behavior. For example, alcohol outlets (built environment) are known to increase crime in an area (see Day, Breetzke, Kingham, & Campbell, 2012; Groff, 2011; Grubesic & Pridemore, 2011) and are also most likely to be located in deprived areas (social environment) (see Ellaway, Macdonald, Forsyth, & Macintyre, 2010; Hay, Whigham, Kypri, & Langley, 2009), at least in a New Zealand context. While this may be true in some neighborhoods; the question remains whether other features of the social and built environment can reduce crime levels in neighborhoods despite various risk factors.
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2015, Preventive Medicine ReportsCitation Excerpt :Furthermore, the feeling of social abandonment generated by areas of decay, seems to induce a tendency towards alcoholism through anxiety and depression (Hill and Angel, 2005). Ellaway et al. (2010) showed a socio-spatial distribution of outlets in some UK areas, non systematically favouring consumption in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods. The situation seems to be clearer in the study of Schneider and Gruber (2013) in Germany, where the availability of addictive substances seems to have a contextual effect on individual lifestyles.