Cheap Alcohol Appeals to Problem Drinkers, Study Finds

Cheap Alcohol Appeals to Problem Drinkers, Study Finds
November 3, 2009

Research Summary

About 70 percent of the alcohol consumed by a group of problem drinkers in Scotland had been bought at a discount, according to a study that concluded that heavy drinkers actively seek out cheap alcohol and that setting minimum alcohol prices could cut overconsumption.

The BBC reported Nov. 1 that researchers from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital surveyed 377 people being treated for alcohol problems and found that they paid an average of 43 Scottish pence per unit of alcohol, compared to an average of 72 pence among the general public.

"Because the average unit price paid by these chronically ill patients was considerably lower than the rest of the Scottish population, it is likely that eliminating the cheapest alcohol sales by minimum pricing will result in reduced overall consumption by this group of drinkers with a fairly immediate reduction in serious alcohol-related illnesses in our community," said study co-author Jonathan Chick of Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Hermann T. Meyer on 04 Nov 09 09:16 AM EST

Minimum prices should be combined with alcohol taxes, in order to pay for treatment and prevention.

Posted by Barry McMillen, MA on 04 Nov 09 09:35 AM EST

I must say this is a simplistic answer to a problem that needs to be addressed at the source, the problem drinker. The United States and it's failure prone, "War on Drugs" is a prime example and exemplifies the faulty thinking of foisting a problem off on a substance instead of the behavior. The problem is not cheap alcohol, the problem is alcoholism and a desire to deny the responsibility of treating the problem drinker.

Posted by crabbieman56 Ma. on 04 Nov 09 11:10 AM EST

when has price stopped a drunk!

Posted by joshua on 04 Nov 09 11:55 AM EST

the conclusions here don't match what the research is telling. the researchers found that problem drinkkers tend to favor drinks that are high in alcohol content and cheap, like vodka and whiskey, then make the conclusion that increasing the price would save millions of lives. basic economics says that when price increases, consumers will shift consumption to the closest available substitute, not a reduction in consumption when the product is a necessary good, which alcohol is to an alcoholic. the only real effect of increasing the price of vodka and whisky is a shift to a wider variety of drinks. makes me wonder if it isn't a push by somone in the industry that would like to get more heavy drinking customers. and it will probably work on a few government officials who are impressed by fancy sounding statistics, but i don't see anyone in the prevention community falling for logic this backwards.

Posted by Bill Godshall on 04 Nov 09 02:13 PM EST

This study confirms the findings of previous studies and common sense. Just as cigarette tax increases have significantly reduced cigarette consumption in the US during the past decade, alcohol tax hikes can/will reduce alcohol consumption. Similar to the cigarette taxes, the fairest alcohol tax method (and most effective for reducing excessive drinking) is to impose the same tax on each ounce of alcohol sold (regardless if its hard liquor, wine, beer or other beverage alcohol product). Unfortunately, many governments tax alcohol products as a percentage of price, which imposes a far greater tax on premium priced brands than on discount brands, which also encourages heavy drinkers to switch to the cheaper/cheapest brands. The only drawback of taxing alcohol by the ounce is that the tax rate needs to be increased every few years to account for inflation.

Posted by Diane on 04 Nov 09 02:18 PM EST

It is probably true that alcohol is a "necessary good" to alcoholics and they will most likely switch to a cheapter substitute, so this policy would have very little effect on them. However, we do know that a higher price point discourages use by new customers, especially young ones.

Posted by Laurey Jaros on 04 Nov 09 04:14 PM EST

Excuse me. I dutifully respect previous posts regarding this research, but I must comment on what I see to be the obvious .... it cost how much money to conduct research that has concluded that "problem drinkers" sought out cheap booze? Well, yeah --the fact that they are problem drinkers means that they drink quite a bit more than the usual bloke, and most likely have begun to suffer some ill effects of being a problem drinker such as financial problems. Of course they seek out cheap booze. Wouldn't you? This is the type of research that has me sitting on the fence wondering whether to ROFL at the stupidity of the question, or be angry at the thousands of dollars that were spent, that could have been used to treat these people. What an incredible waste.

Posted by Yale Cohen on 05 Nov 09 02:16 AM EST

I get terribly amused when otherwise intelligent researchers miss the obvious. As L.Jaros says above, why shouldn't heavy consumers of anything look for the best price? If prices are raised, they'll still look for the best discounts! Sometimes I get stunned by the overthinking that's done in the name of public health policy!

Posted by LewBryson on 06 Nov 09 09:31 AM EST

Kudos, Laurey: this ranks up there with "Study finds teenagers eager for sex." As to the booze industry being "behind" the move for minimum prices; the Scotch whisky industry is fighting this tooth and nail, as are retailers. My question: who gets the increased revenue generated by minimum pricing? Answer that, and you'll find the true origin of this questionable idea.

Posted by joshua on 06 Nov 09 10:11 AM EST

any conpany producing liquor that isn't currently the cheapest standt to benefit. say that the minimum price brings vodka prices on par with rum, the rum producers then get to share in the market of problem drinkers that now have more options at the same price.

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