Alcoholics in Recovery or Seeking Treatment

DryOutNow have the longest track record of drug and alcohol treatment provision in the UK using the Internet as a contact medium. Read some of the testimonials from those who have been helped..

You can receive free, independent, expert advice on alcohol treatment by telephoning DryOutNow.com on 0845 370 0203. We can provide fast, immediate access to alcohol treatment.

Article: Alcohol tax increases deter drinking

As leaders of many national, state and local governments debate whether to raise taxes on alcohol to boost revenues, their decisions also could influence how much their constituents drink in coming years, say University of Florida researchers.

In a study published online in the journal Addiction, UF researchers report that, the more alcohol costs, the less likely people are to drink it. And when they do drink, they drink less, a concrete association researchers documented after analyzing 112 studies spanning four decades.

"Results from over 100 separate studies reporting over 1,000 distinct statistical estimates are remarkably consistent, and show without doubt that alcohol taxes and prices affect drinking," said Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and health policy research at the UF College of Medicine and the senior author of the study. "When prices go down, people drink more, and when prices go up, people drink less."

The consistency of this association between cost and consumption indicates that using taxes to raise prices on alcohol could be among the most effective deterrents to drinking that researchers have discovered, better than law enforcement, media campaigns or school programs, said Wagenaar.

The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also determined that tax or price increases affect the broad population of drinkers, including heavy drinkers as well as light drinkers, and teens as well as adults.

Many studies have analyzed how tax or price increases affect people's drinking habits, but the UF study is the first to examine all of these findings as a whole, using a statistical procedure called meta-analysis. This technique allows researchers to draw conclusions that are not limited to specific policy changes or a single state or country, said Wagenaar.

Researchers scoured through decades of studies examining links between price and alcohol use. The studies were all reported in English, but not limited to any single country. The data resulting from these reports were compiled and analyzed to glean more precise answers than can be obtained from just one study, Wagenaar noted.

In a commentary in the same issue of Addiction, Frank Chaloupka, Ph.D., a professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, describes the research as a "true tour de force," and adds, "these findings provide a strong rationale for using increases in alcoholic beverage taxes to promote public health by reducing drinking."

References
Wagenaar A. C., Salois M. J., Komro K. A. Effects of Beverage Alcohol Price and Tax Levels on Drinking: A Meta-analysis of 1003 Estimates from 112 Studies. Addiction 2009; 104: 2
Chaloupka F. J. Alcoholic Beverage Taxes, Prices and Drinking. Addiction 2009; 104: 2

DryOutNow.com provides highly practical help for people with alcohol problems, their friends and relatives. DryOutNow.com also provides free resources for healthcare professionals such as medical information and alcohol treatment guidelines.

Alcoholics in Treatment or Recovery Articles

• Exercise can reduce Cannabis Use
• Hope for Treatment of Cocaine Addiction Block Memories
• Pablo and FRANK - the new cocaine campaign
• Cannabis upgraded to Class B drug
• Alcohol exposure in the womb affects adolescent drinking
• Technology improves treatment options for drug users
• Majority of teens discuss risky behaviours on MySpace, studies conclude
• Number of babies exposed to drugs effectively reduced by 'recovery coaches'
• NIDA releases a new research report on comorbidity of addiction and other mental illnesses
• Link between problem drinking among African-American women in NYC and outdoor alcohol advertising
• New research reveals groups reduce the effect of alcohol
• Socially stable individuals delay seeking help for alcohol problems
• Alcohol tax increases deter drinking
• Tougher health and safety law demands tougher drugs policies, says drug testing company
• Royal College of Nursing responds to new ONS alcohol statistics, UK
• Tis the season to be jolly
• Time's up for irresponsible drink deals
• Try science when 'just saying no' isn't enough
• UK gyms to make members aware of alcohol's impact on exercise and health
• Programme to deter youth alcohol use also reduces conduct problems