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The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) is an NIAAA- sponsored Web site that provides detailed information on alcohol-related public policies at both the State and Federal levels. Updated annually, the APIS information can be used to identify policy changes in 33 policy areas. Up to two-thirds of these policies can be tracked back to 1998, and data on the remaining one-third are available since 2003.
APIS provides a tool for conducting research on the effectiveness of alcohol policies in reducing alcohol-related harm. Natural experiments on the impact of a policy are possible when- ever a State makes a change in some aspect of alcohol policy. To conduct such an experiment, scientists obtain a series of regularly collected data on an outcome of interest, compare problem levels before and after a policy change, and report this comparison for both the "experimental" State and a "control" State that did not change its policy. As described in other articles in this issue, measures of policy outcomes can be taken from a number of existing data series that report rates of mortality, mor- bidity, accidents, crimes, and the like. APIS provides an accurate and consistently maintained source of the "independent variable" of interest in these studies, showing changes in codified statutes and regulations.
As the lead Federal agency responsible for research into alcohol use and its related consequences, NIAAA believes that providing this research tool is critically important. A vigorous program of research on the effects of various drinking-and-driving policies has been a key factor in reducing alcohol-related traffic fatalities to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians, ages 16 to 20 by 50 percent since 1982. By providing information on other aspects of alcohol policy, APIS can lead to similar advances in research knowledge and...