Hyperconvenience

The by-word of recent attempts to expand the availability of alcohol – whether it’s Walgreens’ reversal on alcohol sales* or the renewed attempts to sell wine (and/or liquor) in New York State in grocery (and other stores) – has been that mantra of corporate consumerism: “convenience.”

But at what point does convenience become hyperconvenience, from a public health standpoint, i.e. when availability of potentially unhealthy goods and services becomes problematic?  Can there be pathogenic market supersaturation?

Environmental factors play a key role in many behavioral health issues that were once seen to be a matter of self-control, including obesity (Cohen & Farley, 2008), problem/pathological gambling (Messerlian, Gillespie, & Derevensky, 2007) and alcohol problems (Anderson, Chisholm, & Fuhr, 2009).

These factors need to be considered as we measure the costs and benefits of proposed changes in business practices and related public policy.

Simplistic cries for increased convenience are a poor substitute for reasoned action.

* It should be noted that while increased convenience is the publicly stated rationale, Walgreens’ President and CEO Greg D. Wasson has admitted the true motivation is an increase in “basket size” and “traffic.”  This begs the question: should a pharmacy have different ethical standards than a 7-11 or LiquorMart?

References:

Anderson, P., Chisholm, D., & Fuhr, D. C. (2009). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. Lancet, 373(9682), 2234-2246.

Cohen, D., & Farley, T. A. (2008). Eating as an automatic behavior. Preventing Chronic Disease, 5(1), A23. [free full text]

Messerlian, C., Gillespie, M., & Derevensky, J. L. (2007). Beyond drugs and alcohol: Including gambling in a high-risk behavioural framework. Paediatrics & Child Health, 12(3), 199-204.  [free full text]