Florida study says to tax alcohol to decrease alcoholic deaths

William Atkins
Saturday, 15 November 2008 21:37

Science - Health

The Anchorage Daily News article “Study: As alcohol taxes go up, deaths go down” talks about opposing viewpoints on the conclusion of the Florida study.

Within the article Dale Fox, president of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association, stated, "The basis of their conclusion -- that taxes were raised and consumption was down and therefore lives were saved -- is erroneous on its face.”

Fox added, “A hard-core alcoholic -- the type of person likely to die of a disease such as cirrhosis -- isn't going to cut back because of a tax increase that promoters in 2002 said would cost just "a dime a drink.”

And he concluded with the statement, “Do we think a dime a drink changed his drinking patterns? I don't.”

Author's note: I think it is accurate to say that a large increase in price of any consumer product will cause a decrease in the number purchased. Most consumers will not pay the extra price, either forgoing the use of the product or purchasing cheaper products. The determination is usually the amount of available money for each consumer in the purchase of such products.

With the global recession, articles have been written on how fast-food restaurants, such as MacDonald's, have seen in increase in business because people are opting for cheaper foods. I would imagine that the same is true for alcohol.

Drinkers are probably buying cheaper beverages (going from an expensive grade of Vodka to a cheaper brand, with a corresponding decrease in the amount of the tax) or purchasing fewer numbers of drinks or containers.

And, without checking statistics, I am pretty sure that most drinkers are not "hard-core" alcoholics, only a few-drinks-a-day drinkers, so most people would, indeed, modify their drinking habits in the face of price increases.

This study, as with all studies, are validated with other related studies. One study does not usually make a definite conclusion--many such conclusions are necessary, which is why, for example, many, many research studies are being done on global warming and climate change.

There are always two, or more, sides to any story. And, most stories have underlying undertones that never get told. For instance, a research study might say 33% of people die from eating peanut butter sandwiches, but only three people were surveyed, and one person happened to choke and die from eating a peanut butter sandwich. Not very accurate scientifically speaking, but often times newsworthy in these days and times!?!

Personally, this Florida article seems to have merit, and I have trouble believing an organization that has a vested intererst, say, in this case in the alcohol industry. (What are they going to say: "Hey, we agree!")

To prove the author's conclusions, further studies should be conducted. No doubt, previous studies have also been conducted on other populations of people with respect to alcohol use and frequency of diseases and death.