The Australian alcopops tax revisited.

摘要

In 2008, the newly elected Australian Government increased taxes on ready-to-drink spirits-based alcoholic beverages (alcopops) to reduce their harmful use by young Australians. The alcohol industry and some critics argued that the tax would encourage young drinkers to consume more hazardous forms of alcohol, such as spirits. Effects of the policy became evident with release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates of alcohol consumption per head between 2004 and 2009 for the Australian population aged 15 years and older. These estimates confirmed that the alcopops tax reduced consumption of alcopops; consumption of spirits did increase, but not by enough to offset the reduction in alcopops drinking. The result was a 2% reduction in alcohol consumption per head, the first in Australia for 4 years. This decrease was almost completely due to the reduction in alcopops drinking (apart from a 0.4% decrease in beer). Alcohol use did not decrease for all beverage types, which suggests the global financial crisis was not responsible.