www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Tax on alcohol should rise by ten per cent to reduce deaths, fund treatment and discourage the production of extra strong beer, Alcohol Concern has said.
The issue of alcohol pricing has been a thorny one for the coalition government with the Liberal Democrats supporting a minimum price per unit while the Conservatives have rejected the idea.
In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the charity highlights the Treasury’s own figures showing that a ten per cent rise in tax would cut deaths from alcohol-related conditions by a third.
Sir Liam Donaldson, former Chief Medical Officer, called for minimum pricing in his final annual report but before the publication was even released, the idea was slapped down by Gordon Brown, then Prime Minister. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 8/28/10) quedit.com, 28.8.10

E.g. Privatizing Alcohol Sales Could Cost Washington State $500M – Marin Institute

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) welcomes the Government’s new policies to address the many problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption, but would have liked the Government to implement additional measures such as a tax increase on alcohol, says NZMA Chair Dr Peter Foley. …“We acknowledge that the evidence supports age as a significant factor in the problems of inappropriate and excessive alcohol consumption. We support the split purchase age whereby people from the age of 18 can purchase alcohol at an on license premise but must be age 20 or over to purchase alcohol at an off license premise. We will be actively encouraging politicians to vote in favour of this measure,“ says Dr Foley. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/24/10)

The British Medical Association (BMA), Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) have endorsed the updated findings of researchers at Sheffield University on the impact that a minimum price per unit of alcohol will have on Scotland’s drinking culture. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/22/10)

City authorities in Moscow have announced a ban on the sale of spirits between 10pm and 10am, in the most recent of a series of measures designed to break the country’s drinking habit. …Medvedev announced a war on alcohol last summer saying he was shocked by the „colossal“ level of consumption. He ordered the government to draw up measures to discourage excessive drinking and cut off supplies of bootleg liquor.
Russia has since increased excise on beer, raised the minimum price of a bottle of vodka to 89 roubles (£1.87) and announced plans to cut sales at kiosks. Legal changes to make it a criminal rather than an administrative offence to sell alcohol to minors are also in the pipeline and last month police began enforcing a zero drink-drive limit.
Shops and other outlets in Moscow had been banned from selling alcohol over 15% in strength between 11pm and 8am but a legal loophole allowed them to acquire permission for 24-hour sales from district authorities. Establishments serving food are not affected. (Source: Harvard World Health News, 8/20/10) guardian.co.uk, 8/18/10

The PM David Cameron supports plans by 10 councils in the North West to create a by-law making it illegal to sell alcohol for less than 50p.
The Prime Minister said he would look sympathetically at local initiatives to tackle “deep discounting”. However, he said he would not go so far as to support proposals for a tax to increase alcohol prices to a minimum level. (Source: Google Alkohol New, 8/12/10) telegraph.co.uk, 8/12/10

Adjusting the alcohol tax in Florida to account for inflation since 1983 would prevent 600 to 800 deaths each year in that state from diseases caused by chronic heavy alcohol use, according to a new study from the University of Florida. The Florida legislature last increased alcohol taxes in 1983.
The new study, which analyzed death rate and tax data from 1969 to 2004, is published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER). (Source: Medical News Today, 8/10/10)

Aside from the self-destructive and Walter F. Mondale, politicians don’t generally run on a promise to raise taxes. They’re more inclined to run from that prospect. So health care advocates probably shouldn’t expect to hire extra mail sorters for all the candidates returning pledge forms committing themselves to a proposed „dime a drink“ liquor tax increase.
Members of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative are probably aware of this. They’ve not even bothered with the governor’s race and instead directed the campaign entirely at those running for the House of Delegates and state Senate. There are primaries in hardcore Democratic districts where such a pledge might actually make a difference. (Source: Marin Institute, 8/10/10) healthcareforall.com, 7/20/10

Economic Analysis Shows Zero Job Impact While Raising Millions for City.
In an enthusiastic display of solidarity, 200 people rallied on the steps of San Francisco City Hall yesterday in support of a groundbreaking “Charge for Harm” alcohol-related fee ordinance. (Source: Marin Institute, 8/05/10

says BMA Scotland.
Commenting in advance of the cross party meeting of politicians to discuss areas of consensus on alcohol policy, Dr Brian Keighley, Chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said: „I am pleased that the political parties are coming together to discuss alcohol policy but it will not be possible to reach consensus until public health is put before party politics…“ (Source: Medical News Today, 8/4/10)