The impact of a 25-cent-per-drink alcohol tax increase.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Excessive alcohol consumption causes 79,000 deaths annually in the U.S., shortening the lives of those who die from it by approximately 30 years. Although alcohol taxation is an effective measure to reduce excessive consumption and related harm, some argue that increasing alcohol taxes places an unfair economic burden on "responsible" drinkers and socially disadvantaged people.

Purpose

To examine the impact of a hypothetic tax increase based on alcohol consumption and sociodemographic characteristics of current drinkers, individually and in aggregate.

Methods

Data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey were analyzed from 2010 to 2011 to determine the net financial impact of a hypothetic 25-cent-per-drink tax increase on current drin

SUBMITTER: Daley JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3794433 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature