A recent study has found that the number of liquor outlets near residential areas affect the drinking habits of people. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and was conducted by researchers at the University of Otago.

According to researchers in the study, there was a clear indication between the number of people affected with alcohol related problems and the number of alcohol outlets in an area. It was further pointed out that the increase in the number of liquor shops in the past 20-years had somewhat become a hazzard to the health of people in the country.

While talking about the findings of the research, the Lead Author, Professor Jennie Connor stated that the chances of a person taking to binge drinking increased by 4%, with the addition of a new liquor shop within a kilometer radius of a person's home. Apart from the liquor shops, clubs were found to be more harmful, with the odds increasing to 6% from 4%.

The Team Leader for the Police Alcohol Strategy and Enforcement, Sergeant Al Lawn while talking about the study, stated that the research had concluded what had been observed by the police department since a long time. He expressed that an increasing number of liquor sales license were responsible for the increasing number of binge-drinkers, as the prices werebeing slashed by sellers to compete with other sellers.

It has been stated in the study that the number of licenses in 1990 were 6,295 all over New Zealand in comparison to 14,183, last June.