15/01/2009 - Tax effective at reducing drinking
Increasing tax on alcohol could be the best solution to the rising problem of excessive consumption, according to a study from the US.
Researchers at the University of Florida found that the more expensive alcoholic drinks are, the less likely people are to drink.
The findings, published in the Addiction journal, also showed when consumers did drink the dearer products, they tended to drink less.
The report utilised 112 studies from across the world looking at the relationship between tax, price levels and alcohol consumption over a period of 40 years.
Lead author Alexander Wagenaar, professor of epidemiology and health policy research, said: "Results from over 100 separate studies reporting over 1,000 distinct statistical estimates are remarkably consistent, and show without doubt that alcohol taxes and prices affect drinking.
"When prices go down, people drink more, and when prices go up, people drink less."
Tax as a deterrent was also found to be more effective than legal enforcement, media campaigns or educational programmes, he said.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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