ABSTRACT
Alcohol consumption has been increasing for the last two decades across the population
and rates are rising considerably among women, Black individuals, and those over age 50.
Alcohol related deaths are the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.
Despite these trends, during the COVID-19 pandemic onset (i.e., March 2020) many states
relaxed alcohol sales policies. Specifically, many states began to allow alcohol for home
delivery, including packages of beer, wine, and spirits, sometimes delivered by third-party
entities (e.g., Door Dash).
Limiting alcohol availability is an evidence-based strategy for reducing alcohol-related
harms; home delivery alcohol expansions may seriously exacerbate alcohol related harms
across the lifespan. The rapid growth of online ordering and home delivery of alcohol is posited
to increase alcohol risk in three ways. First, alcohol regulatory agencies may not have the
resources to monitor and enforce age related policies in delivery to private homes. Second,
online ordering may increase the likelihood of receiving digital advertisements for alcohol. Third,
the convenience and anonymity of home delivery may contribute to riskier alcohol consumption
patterns.
We propose three integrated aims aligned with these risks. (1) Assess alcohol home
delivery risks and regulatory non-compliance, by engaging 300 young adults (ages 21-26) from
6 states to document what happens and whether their ID was checked during a home delivery.
(2) Describe how purchasing alcohol by home delivery may increase receipt of digital alcohol
advertising by asking the young adult volunteers from Aim1 to report how much alcohol
advertising they see prior and after purchasing alcohol for home delivery. (3) Describe how
purchasing alcohol by home delivery may be associated with increased risk of alcohol
consumption, by conducting longitudinal surveys among 1430 adults from population-based
survey panels in the same six states to assess alcohol purchasing and alcohol consumption
risks at two time points, six months apart.
An advisory group of alcohol policy experts and community-based organizations from six
states will assure that investigative questions are those of greatest interest for alcohol
prevention policymakers. Findings will rapidly disseminate results through online and video
formats, as well as in scientific journals.