A new study highlights a correlation between increased alcohol sales in communities and the aftermath of mass shootings.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, by June 2024, there were 261 mass shootings in the United States, with 71 occurring in June alone. Regions such as Illinois and Texas are examples of American states affected by the increase in gun violence, with a recent study from the University of Wisconsin–Madison showing how these areas will have an increase in alcohol sales for years to come.
The new findings convey how mass shootings impact not only victims of violence and their families, but also the overall wellness of communities and their well-being. As an example, the states consuming the most beer in 2023 were California and Texas, which appear to align with the data in the recent study.
“Alcohol is a pretty classic American approach to dealing with distress,” says Nick Buttrick, the UW–Madison psychology professor who led the study. “When we’re not feeling great, people drink.”
The research team reviewed 326 FBI-related mass shootings that were intentional and killed four or more people in a 24-hour span from 2016 to 2019.
“The distinction between public and private shootings is really important,” Buttrick said in a press release. “It’s not something in the air that spreads this distress from person to person. A mass shooting has effects on the community in as much as the community knows about it.”
By reviewing both mass shooting data and weekly beer, wine, and liquor sales collected in major retailers using the Nielsen Retail Scanner to examine sales within the area around each shooting (identified as the area covered by the ZIP-3 code). The study included 350,000 people, covering about 3,000 square miles.
For a period of two years following all mass shootings observed in the data, weekly alcohol sales increased overall by approximately 3.5% in the affected ZIP-3 area. However, no such increase was observed in communities following shootings that occurred in private settings or homes.
The researchers found that in direct relation to the 121 mass shootings that occurred in public areas, weekly alcohol purchases rose by an average of 5.5% over the next two years — often remaining elevated for years afterward.
“Because alcohol is freely available, we’re looking at a behavior change that can happen quickly and easily in response to distress. And we can see the difference in that behavior depending on different kinds of exposure to mass shootings,” Buttrick says. “If we want to figure out how to intervene and how to help communities heal, knowing how these happen and why is really important.”
Increased alcohol use puts its own personal and public health pressures on a community, including acting as “an accelerant for violence, especially firearm-related violence,” the study authors point out.
The group’s findings were published in a paper, “Mass shootings durably increase the sale of alcohol in American communities,” published in PNAS Nexus.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.