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）制定减少和预防未成年人饮酒战略委员会应国会要求发布了一份报告，指出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，“委员会在当前的国家政策范围内开展工作，每个州都将21岁定为最低合法饮酒年龄。”尽管美国国家公路交通安全管理局（National Highway Traffic Safety Administration）声称，最低法定饮酒年龄法每年能挽救900人的生命，但对其有效性仍存在相当大的争议：45个州的未成年人持有法有例外，5个州的立法规定，如果国会不能延长《统一饮酒年龄法》（Uniform drinking age Act），将立即将饮酒年龄降至18岁。1999年12月，新西兰将其饮酒年龄从20岁降至18岁，这为过去25年来研究这种增加的影响提供了最好的机会。太平洋研究与评估研究所和新西兰奥塔哥大学正在加入一项R21申请，对饮酒年龄的变化进行二次分析。新西兰拥有异常完整的国家、事故、警察和医院记录，其中包含受影响年龄组的数据。此外，该大学还可以在法律改变前后进行两次全国酒精调查。研究人员将分析三个主要领域的变化——酒精消费和问题、交通和非交通伤害以及公路事故——以确定与20至24岁的对照组相比，受影响的18岁和19岁司机的酒精相关问题是否有所增加。

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.