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Malt liquor beer drinkers drink more

LOS ANGELES, March 14 (UPI) -- Malt liquor beer drinkers are more likely to be homeless, unemployed, receive public assistance and tend to drink more alcohol, according to a U.S. study.

"Measuring MLB (malt liquor beer) consumption is difficult because

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MLBs differ from other beer beverages in two important aspects: container size and alcohol content by volume," said Ricky Bluthenthal of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

"We found that the combination of these differences resulted in the average malt liquor drinker in our study consuming 80 percent more alcohol per drink than the average regular beer drinker."

In addition, MLBs can be sold in containers as large as 40-ounce bottles, known as "40s," commonly sold chilled and wrapped in brown paper bags for immediate consumption, according to Rhonda Jones-Webb of the University of Minnesota.

Based on previous research, we know that MLBs because of price per

volume and availability are likely to be more attractive to lower-income drinkers, according to Bluthenthal.

The findings are published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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