A study in the March 2005 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that malt liquor beer drinkers are more likely to be homeless, unemployed, receive public assistance, and tend to drink more alcohol, more often, than other types of drinkers.
"Measuring malt liquor beer consumption is difficult because malt liquor beers differ from other beer beverages in two important aspects: container size and alcohol content by volume," said Ricky Bluthenthal, assistant professor at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and corresponding author for the study. "We found that the combination of these differences resulted in the average malt liquor drinker in our study consuming 80 percent more alcohol per drink than the average regular beer drinker. Although we did not report consequences in this paper, typically the more alcohol consumed the greater the probability of negative alcohol-related consequences for an individual and their community."
"Malt liquor beers can be sold in containers as large as 40-ounce bottles, or 'forties' as they are referred to," said Rhonda Jones-Webb, associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. "'Forties' are commonly sold chilled and wrapped in brown paper bags for immediate consumption, and independent web sites devoted to malt liquor as well as rap lyrics and movie scripts encourage 'chugging' the bottles before they get warm. The combined effects of higher alcohol content, larger serving size, and faster consumption can result in higher blood alcohol levels, an increased risk of aggressive behavior, and other alcohol-related problems."
Jones-Webb added that malt liquor beers are largely targeted to African American and Hispanic youth, and young adults.
"Malt liquor brands such as Steel Reserve, Hurricane, Magnum, and Panther are used by the alcohol industry to connote power and machismo and lure youth and young adults into the market. Rap artists have been popular images in malt liquor advertising and 'gangsta' rap performers portray malt liquor as a sign of masculinity. The targeting of minority youth for malt liquor sales is of particular concern because alcohol advertising has been shown to influence brand choice, and brand choices during youth can influence beverage choices as adults."
South Los Angeles Study
For this study, researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with 329 drinkers recruited from randomly selected alcohol outlets in south Los Angeles, gathering information on items that included socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol-use history, drinking patterns, and drinking context."Based on previous research," said Bluthenthal, "we know that malt liquor beers because of price per volume and availability are likely to be more attractive to lower-income drinkers. In addition, advertising and popular culture references to malt liquor beers are more prevalent in media that is likely to be seen or used by African Americans. In short, south Los Angeles seemed to fit the profile we needed."
Malt Liquor Drinking Patterns
The sub-sample that reported drinking in the previous 90 days (n=297) was 88 percent African American, 72 percent male, and 35 percent unemployed. Compared to regular beer and hard-liquor consumers, malt liquor beer drinkers were more likely to be homeless, receive public assistance for housing, and not be employed; malt liquor beer drinkers reported significantly higher rates of daily or near daily drinking, drinks per day on drinking days, and daily average alcohol consumption; malt liquor beer drinkers were also more likely to smoke while drinking, drink with same-sex friends, and drink outdoors."The drinking levels we observed among malt liquor beer consumers were on average higher than the amount of alcohol consumed by individuals who are entering alcohol treatment programs," said Bluthenthal. "The study also confirms that malt liquor beers are consumed in potentially more hazardous amounts and settings than regular beers, and that grouping malt liquor beer drinkers with regular beer drinkers is likely to result in underestimates of alcohol consumed among malt liquor beer drinkers as well as the consequences of this consumption."
