Lowering the drinking age: The New Zealand example

描述(由申请人提供)：2003年9月，美国国家科学院(NAS)制定减少和防止未成年人饮酒战略委员会应国会要求发布了一份报告，报告称，美国未成年人饮酒的社会成本估计为每年530亿美元。报告指出，“该委员会在现行国家政策范围内开展工作，将21岁确定为各州的最低法定饮酒年龄。”尽管美国国家公路交通安全管理局声称，最低法定饮酒年龄法每年挽救900人的生命，但其有效性仍然存在相当大的争议：45个州的未成年人持有物权法有例外，5个州的立法规定，如果国会不延长《统一饮酒年龄法》，他们的饮酒年龄将立即降至18岁。1999年12月，新西兰将饮酒年龄从20岁降至18岁，这是过去25年来考察饮酒年龄提高影响的最好机会。太平洋研究与评估研究所和新西兰奥塔哥大学正在加入R21申请，对饮酒年龄变化进行二次分析。新西兰拥有非同寻常的完整的国家、事故、警察和医院记录，其中包含有关受影响年龄段的数据。此外，该大学还可以获得法律修改前后的两项全国性酒精调查。将分析酒精消费和问题、交通和非交通伤害以及高速公路撞车这三个主要领域的变化，以确定与20至24岁的对照组相比，受影响的18岁和19岁的司机与酒精相关的问题是否增加。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In September 2003, a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking released a report requested by Congress stating that the societal cost of underage drinking in the United States is estimated to be $53 billion per year. The report notes, "The committee conducted its work within the current national policy establishing 21 as the minimum legal drinking age in every state." Despite the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that the minimum legal drinking age laws save 900 lives a year, there is still considerable controversy over their effectiveness: 45 states have exceptions to their minor-in-possession laws and 5 states have legislation that would immediately lower their drinking age to 18 if Congress fails to extend the Uniform Drinking Age Act. In December 1999, New Zealand lowered its drinking age from 20 to 18, providing the best opportunity in the last quarter century to examine the affect of such an increase. The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation and the University of Otago in New Zealand are joining in an R21 application to conduct a secondary analysis of drinking age change. New Zealand has unusually complete national, crash, police, and hospital records with ICD9 codes that contain data on the affected age groups. In addition, the university has access to two national alcohol surveys before and after the law changed. Changes in three major domains--alcohol consumption and problems, traffic and nontraffic injuries, and highway crashes--will be analyzed to determine whether alcohol-related problems increased for the affected 18- and 19-year-old drivers in comparison to a 20- to 24-year-old comparison group.