Raise Alcohol Taxes

Home-

| Facts On Adolescent Binge Drinking | Strategies & Approaches | What You Can Do | Resources & Links

Reduce Availability: Introduction

Strategies and Approaches to Reduce Availability

What Communities Can Do

What Parents Can Do

What Agencies Can Do

What Schools Can Do

Strategies & Approaches › Reduce Availability › Raise Alcohol Taxes

Raise Alcohol Taxes

Alcoholic beverages are far cheaper (after adjusting for overall inflation) today than they were in the 1960s and 1970s. While raising excise taxes, and therefore prices, would have some effect on alcohol use by adults, price has been documented to have a differential affect on youth alcohol consumption patterns. Taxes can also be a source of revenue for funding strategies aimed at reducing underage drinking and its associated harms.

Issue

Alcoholic beverages are considered “cheap” by youth in the community.

Strategy

Encourage Congress and state legislatures to raise excise taxes to both reduce underage consumption and also to raise additional revenues for this purpose. Top priority should be given to raising beer taxes (since beer is the beverage of choice by youth), and excise tax rates for all alcoholic beverages should be indexed to the consumer price index so that they keep pace with inflation without requiring further legislative action.

For an example of an alcohol-related policy change in California that spurred a large debate among policymakers, prevention providers, and the public, go to the following: California, Alcopops, and AB 417.

For additional strategies and approaches for changing policies, see the following:

What You Can Do: Community
What You Can Do: Parents
What You Can Do: Agencies
What You Can Do: Schools

References:
Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

L Underage Drinking in California: California Town Hall Meetings. Community Prevention Institute. March, 2006. Available at: http://www.adp.cahwnet.gov/Prevention/townhall/pdf/CA%20Underage%20Drinking%20Survey%20Data%20Report.pdf. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, and Schulenberg JE. 2006. Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2005. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Bonnie, R.J. & M.E. O’Connell (eds). 2003. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

A Guide to Zero Tolerance and Graduated Licensing: Two Strategies that Work. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Available at: http://www.udetc.org/documents/Guide2zero.pdf#search=%22a%20guide%20to%20zero%20tolerance%20and%20graduated%20licensing%22. Accessed on [09/06/06]

Drinking in America: Myths, Realities, and Prevention Policy. U.S. Dept. of Justice. Available at: http://www.udetc.org/documents/Drinking_in_America.pdf. Accessed on [09/05/06]

The Relationship Between Alcohol Availability and Injury and Crime. Available at: http://www.alcoholpolicymd.com/alcohol_and_health/alc_availability.htm. Accessed on [01/09/06]

Alcohol Restrictions at Community Events. Alcohol Epidemiology Program. University of Minnesota. Available at: http://www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol/policy/atevents.shtm. Accessed on [08/29/06]

Wagenaar AC, Harwood EM, Toomey TL, Denk CE, Zander KM. 2000. Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Public Health Policy, 21(3):303-27.

Highlight on Underage Drinking. Alcohol Policy Information System. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Available at: http://www.alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BDA5E054D-FB8E-4F06-BBBC-6EED9F37A758%7D. Accessed on [09/08/06]

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Alcohol Home Delivery Restrictions. Alcohol Epidemiology Program. University of Minnesota. Available at: http://www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol/policy/homdeliv.shtm. Accessed on [09/01/06]

Johnson, K.D. Underage Drinking: Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Services. U.S. Dept. of Justice. Available at: http://www.popcenter.org/problems/PDFs/underage.pdf#search=%22statistics%20on%20alcohol%20free%20events%20and%20underage%20drinking%22. Accessed on [09/01/06]

Alcohol Epidemiology Program. Alcohol compliance checks: A procedures
manual for enforcing alcohol age-of-sale laws. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2000.

Shoulder Tap Program. 2003. Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Available at: http://www.abc.ca.gov/programs/Shoulder_tap.html. Accessed on [09/06/06]

A Practical Guide to Preventing and Dispersing Underage Drinking Parties. 2005. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation: Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.