Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - WHO Western Pacific Region

3.
Reducing affordability
Rationale
The price of alcohol is a key factor influencing levels of consumption and subsequent
alcohol-related harm. There is considerable evidence that low alcohol prices encourage
higher consumption, including heavier drinking per occasion and underage drinking, leading
to increased alcohol-related harm. When prices rise, the use of alcohol and other drugs
decreases, and vice versa (Babor et al. 2010).
National statistics over recent decades reveal a strong relationship between increased alcohol
affordability – that is, price relative to income – and patterns of consumption, including
increased underage drinking (Academy of Medical Sciences 2004; Scottish Government 2008;
Wall 2009).
Young people and heavy drinkers are particularly sensitive to the price of alcohol (Chaloupka
et al. 2002; Chaloupka and Wechsler 1997). There is also evidence that the heaviest drinkers
seek out cheaper drinks, giving them a unit of alcohol at a lower cost than the drinks more
moderate drinkers buy. This means that population-based policies to influence price are also
effective for targeting the groups that drink most heavily.
Both alcohol taxes and minimum pricing strategies have a broad reach and are relatively low
cost to implement or strengthen, so the impact to be expected from these policies is high
relative to other policies. 1 Regulation or taxes that differentially affect lower-priced drinks may
be more effective at reducing heavy drinking and harm (Babor et al. 2010).
The policies and legislative examples addressed in this section are:
• alcohol taxation affecting price;
• dedicated funding from alcohol taxes; and
• minimum pricing.
1 Note, taxes have the benefit of raising revenue for government health promotion programmes, which is
not the case for minimum price schemes where price increases are retained by industry.
10 Return to TOC