Among those testifying in favor of the three-tier producer-wholesaler-retailer system, several claimed that increased deregulation of the alcohol industry would lead to alcohol abuse and underage drinking. Pamela Erickson, an Arizona-based public policy advisor and a former Oregon state regulator, claimed that an “alcohol epidemic” has beset the United Kingdom due to deregulation of its alcohol industry. Erickson testified that as the U.K. deregulated between 1980 and 2007, “numerous nightlife centers sprung up … These became scenes of drunken debauchery, with people spilling out at closing time vomiting, urinating and passing out.” She offered no explanation of how the three-tier system prevents “nightlife centers” from springing up.