EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POLICY Hours and Days of Sale and Density of Alcohol Outlets: Impacts on Alcohol Consumption and Damage: A Systematic Review

of alcohol: hours and days of sale and density of alcohol outlets. Methods: Systematic review. Results: Forty-four studies on density of alcohol outlets and 15 studies on hours and days of sale were identified through a systematic literature search. The majority of studies reviewed found that alcohol outlet density and hours and days of sale had an impact on one or more of the three main outcome variables, such as overall alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and damage from alcohol. Conclusions: Restricting availability of alcohol is an effective measure to prevent alcohol-attributable harm. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) has indicated that in developed countries the harm from alcohol is ranked third out of 26 risk factors examined in terms of their contribu-tion to disease, disability or mortality. The top two were tobacco and blood pressure, respectively. Alcohol was third, and ahead of the following risk factors: high cholesterol, body mass index, low intake of fruit and vegetables, physical inactivity and illicit drugs. However, in contrast, in recent years, there are initiative