The impact of broad-based vs targeted taxation on youth alcohol consumption in Lebanon

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-634
Author(s):  
Ali Chalak ◽  
Lilian Ghandour ◽  
Sirine Anouti ◽  
Rima Nakkash ◽  
Nasser Yassin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Ethanol Intake ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Taxation Policy ◽  
Ethanol Content ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Ethanol

Abstract This study aims to model youth’s off-premise alcohol demand and forecasts ethanol intake responsiveness to alcohol taxes. Using stated preference alcohol purchase data from a survey of 1024 university students in Lebanon, we derive price elasticities that we use to forecast the effects of two excise tax scenarios on overall ethanol intake. The first scenario imposes a broad-based 20% tax on all types of alcoholic beverages, and the second scenario imposes a targeted 20% tax only on the high ethanol content, while exempting the lower ethanol beverages. Overall, targeted taxes are found to achieve a reduction in ethanol intake that is nearly three times that achieved by broad taxes (15.7% vs 5.3%). For ‘past-month binge drinkers’, targeted taxes would decrease alcohol intake by 16.3%, while broad taxes increase it by 3.3%. Finally, ethanol intake among participants who prefer low ethanol content would decrease under targeted taxes by more than five times as much as under broad taxes. For ‘high-ethanol drinkers’, targeted taxes decrease alcohol intake by an even larger proportion than for ‘low-ethanol drinkers’ (19.0% vs 15.6%), while broad taxes increase their ethanol intake by ∼16.0%. This study contributes evidence that taxation policy substantially reduces alcohol consumption and that alcohol consumption patterns should be accounted for when designing taxes.

Activation of Melanocortin-4 Receptor by a Synthetic Agonist Inhibits Ethanolinduced Neuroinflammation in Rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (45) ◽  
pp. 4799-4805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osvaldo Flores-Bastías ◽  
Gonzalo I. Gómez ◽  
Juan A. Orellana ◽  
Eduardo Karahanian
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Ethanol Intake ◽  
Neuroinflammatory Response ◽  
Agonist Peptide ◽  
Melanocortin 4 Receptor ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
High Ethanol ◽  
The Brain

Background: High ethanol intake induces a neuroinflammatory response resulting in the subsequent maintenance of chronic alcohol consumption. The melanocortin system plays a pivotal role in the modulation of alcohol consumption. Interestingly, it has been shown that the activation of melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) in the brain decreases the neuroinflammatory response in models of brain damage other than alcohol consumption, such as LPS-induced neuroinflammation, cerebral ischemia, glutamate excitotoxicity, and spinal cord injury. Objectives: In this work, we aimed to study whether MC4R activation by a synthetic MC4R-agonist peptide prevents ethanol-induced neuroinflammation, and if alcohol consumption produces changes in MC4R expression in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. Methods: Ethanol-preferring Sprague Dawley rats were selected offering access to 20% ethanol on alternate days for 4 weeks (intermittent access protocol). After this time, animals were i.p. administered an MC4R agonist peptide in the last 2 days of the protocol. Then, the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex. It was also evaluated if ethanol intake produces alterations in the expression of MC4R in the hippocampus and the hypothalamus. Results: Alcohol consumption increased the expression of MC4R in the hippocampus and the hypothalamus. The administration of the MC4R agonist reduced IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α levels in hippocampus, hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex, to those observed in control rats that did not drink alcohol. Conclusion: High ethanol consumption produces an increase in the expression of MC4R in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. The administration of a synthetic MC4R-agonist peptide prevents neuroinflammation induced by alcohol consumption in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and prefrontal cortex. These results could explain the effect of α-MSH and other synthetic MC4R agonists in decreasing alcohol intake through the reduction of the ethanol-induced inflammatory response in the brain.

scholarly journals Estonia: Problems created by border-trade for applying high-tax alcohol policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Täht ◽  
H Laarmann
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Border Trade ◽  
The Government ◽  
Over Exploitation

Abstract In early 2000s, Estonia had one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption globally. In 2008, the average salary could buy 62 litres of strong spirits, compared with 28 litres in 2000; the increase of affordability was one of the highest in the EU. Since then, alcohol consumption per capita has been reduced by a third, which has also led to a reduction in related problems: mortality from alcohol-related illnesses has fallen by 40%. This was achieved with the progressive adoption of measures that rely heavily, but not exclusively, on increasing excise taxes. In 2014 a comprehensive alcohol policy document was adopted, paving the way to the measures in all 10 areas of WHO global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol. Since then Estonia has launched treatment programme and awareness campaigns, restricted advertising and the exposure of alcohol in the public sphere. By 2017, the over-exploitation of the tax-based measures backfired. The twofold alcohol price difference between Estonia and Latvia, resulting from doubling the excise tax for beer and raising significantly those for other alcoholic beverages, caused an unintended increase in cross-border trade between the two countries. This, in turn, caused a new wave of public discussion around pricing policies, and a loss of popular support for tax increases. As a first step to address the problem, the government halved the tax increase planned for February 2018, thus increasing beer tax by 9% and spirits tax by 5%. Tax increases scheduled for 2019 and 2020 were cancelled, and taxes on spirits, beer and cider were cut by 25% instead. This resulted in Latvia decreasing their spirits taxes by 15% in turn. This development forces health promoters to seek new ways to reduce harm to public health and win back support to healthy policy choices.

Norwegians and cheap alcohol: Consumption in a low price area

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Georg Høyer ◽  
Odd Nilssen ◽  
Tormod Brenn ◽  
Helge Schirmer
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Average Amount ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Frequency Of Alcohol Intake ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Although the archipelago of Svalbard is a part of Norway (situated 78 degrees north), the area is subject to a different alcohol policy than on the Norwegian mainland. In Svalbard, the prices of alcohol are low (in comparison to those on the mainland): however, personal quotas are in force in order to control sales. This study compares the level of alcohol consumption on Svalbard and on the Norwegian mainland. The comparison is based on self-reports of alcohol consumption. In Svalbard all of the residents eighteen years or older were screened by a self-administered questionnaire: alcohol consumption was recorded as an intake of alcohol measured in units during the last week before filling in the questionnaire. On the mainland, the recording was carried out through personal interviews in which respondents were asked about the frequency of alcohol intake and the average amount of intake for each episode in representative periods. The results showed that men in Svalbard consumed 1.7 times more alcohol then the men consumed on the mainland: women, 1.4 times more. The increased level of alcohol consumption can primarily be explained by the lower prices of alcohol in Svalbard. Thus this study strongly confirms the results of other studies which stress the impact of prices on the levels of alcohol consumption.

scholarly journals Before and After the Pandemic: Alcohol Consumption and Related Problems in Argentina

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. e1444
Author(s):  
Karina Conde ◽  
Paula Victoria Gimenez ◽  
Tomás Salomón ◽  
Raquel Inés Peltzer ◽  
Sebastián Laspiur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Heavy Episodic Drinking ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and isolation measures on alcohol consumption remains unknown among Latin-American countries. This paper characterizes differences in alcohol consumption and related problems before and after the pandemic among Argentinians from different genders, age groups, income levels, and behaviors regarding the acquisition of alcoholic beverages. Through an online survey 1446 participants were assessed regarding four alcohol consumption dimensions (frequency, quantity, heavy episodic drinking -HED- and alcohol-related problems) three months prior and after the first cases in the country and subsequent lockdown measures. Overall, participants reported small reductions for usual consumption and moderate ones for HED and related problems. As expected, very high reductions were found for those underage (14 to 18 years), and young adults (19 to 24 years). Those who had an increase in income after the pandemic did not report changes in consumption, while those whose income remained equal or lowered reported reductions. Those who did not report special behaviors to acquire alcohol (e.g. pre-stocking) informed decreases in consumption compared to those who did. This study provides new evidence on the impact of environmental factors in public health, suggesting restricted access to alcohol generates a significant decrease in alcohol consumption and related problems.

scholarly journals The Impact of Cigarette Excise Tax Increases on Regular Drinking Behavior: Evidence from China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3327
Author(s):  
Zili Zhang ◽  
Rong Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Daily Smoking ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Excise Taxes ◽  
Smoking Quantity ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Regular Alcohol Consumption

(1) Background: Many studies have shown that increasing taxation on cigarettes does play a role in tobacco control, but few studies have focused on whether increasing cigarette excise taxes significantly affects alcohol consumption. In this article, we aim to examine the effects of China’s 2015 increase in the cigarette excise tax on residents’ regular drinking behavior. (2) Methods: Using survey data from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we performed a panel logit regression analysis to model the relationship between the cigarette excise tax and regular drinking behavior. The Propensity Score Matching with Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) approach was adopted to determine the extent to which the cigarette excise tax affected residents’ drinking behavior. To test whether the cigarette excise tax could change regular drinking behavior by decreasing daily smoking quantity, we used an interaction term model. (3) Results: China’s 2015 increase in the cigarette excise tax had a significant negative effect on the probability of regular alcohol consumption among smokers, and the cigarette excise tax worked by reducing the average daily smoking of smokers. We also found that the regular drinking behavior of male smokers was more deeply affected by the increased cigarette excise tax than females. (4) Conclusions: Our research results not only give a deeper understanding of the impact of the cigarette excise tax, but also provide an important reference with which to guide future decisions concerning excise taxes imposed on cigarettes.

scholarly journals Alcohol intake, specific alcoholic beverages, and risk of hip fractures in postmenopausal women and men age 50 and older

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa T Fung ◽  
Kenneth J Mukamal ◽  
Eric B Rimm ◽  
Haakon E Meyer ◽  
Walter C Willett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hip Fracture ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Postmenopausal Women ◽  
Hip Fractures ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Red Wine ◽  
Alcoholic Beverage ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Health Lifestyle

ABSTRACTBackgroundAlthough a number of studies have examined the association between alcohol intake and hip fractures, few have considered specific alcoholic beverages separately.ObjectivesWe prospectively assessed total alcohol and specific alcoholic beverage consumption and risk of hip fractures in US men and women.MethodsHealth, lifestyle information, and hip fractures were self-reported on biennial questionnaires between 1980 and 2014 in 75,180 postmenopausal women from the Nurses’ Health Study, and between 1986 and 2014 in 38,398 men aged ≥50 y from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Diet was assessed approximately every 4 y with a semiquantitative FFQ. RRs were computed for hip fracture using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsWe ascertained 2360 incident low trauma hip fractures in women and 709 in men. Among women, RRs for low trauma hip fractures compared with nondrinkers were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99) for an average daily consumption of <5.0 g, 0.81 (95% CI: 0.70, 0.94) for 5.0 to <10.0 g, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.71, 0.96) for 10.0 to <20.0 g, and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.10) for ≥20.0 g. Among men, risk declined linearly with higher alcohol consumption (P-trend = 0.002). Multivariable RR compared with nondrinkers was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.59, 1.01), 0.69 (0.49, 0.96), and 0.67 (0.48, 0.95) for an average intake of 10 g/d to <20 g/d, 20 g/d to <30 g/d, and 30.0 g/d or more, respectively. In women, the alcoholic beverage most significantly associated with hip fracture risk was red wine (RR per serving = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.79). In men, there was no clear association with specific alcoholic beverages.ConclusionIn these 2 US cohorts, low to moderate alcohol consumption, when compared with no consumption, was associated with a lower risk of hip fractures, particularly with red wine consumption among women.

Changing University Students’ Alcohol Culture with a web-based intervention: Clustered Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Greve ◽  
Rune Vammen Lesner ◽  
Stefan Bastholm Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
University Students ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Benefit ◽  
Drinking Culture ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND In most Western countries, excessive alcohol intake among university students is a cause of concern. The majority of students view drinking as a cornerstone of university life, and many find it difficult to go against the dominant drinking culture. While digital health interventions have been shown to reduce drinking among university students, no intervention has been aimed at changing the overall university drinking culture. This intervention provided the students with tools that helped them make pre-commitment strategies and change their views on the social norms that prevent excessive alcohol intake. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to evaluate the impact of an intervention aimed at reducing the excessive drinking culture among Danish university students. As a secondary outcome, we measured the impact of the intervention on two individual motivational factors for participating in the drinking culture at the university: alcohol consumption as both a personal benefit and a facilitator of socialization. METHODS To evaluate the impact of the intervention, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled experiment among university students at Aarhus University. The students were stratified by gender and self-reported binge drinking. Each student was assigned to either a control or an intervention group. A baseline questionnaire was sent to the participants when school started in September 2019, and a follow-up questionnaire was sent out two months later. The primary outcomes were measured with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (questions 1-3). To examine the mechanisms underlying the effect, we analyzed two motivational factors for participating in the drinking culture at the university: alcohol consumption as both and a personal benefit and a facilitator of socialization. RESULTS In total 961 students signed up, and 509 of them completed the follow-up questionnaire. Compared to the students in the control group, the students in the intervention group had a 15.8% (P<.001) reduction on their monthly level of alcohol intake two months after the intervention. The result is driven by a large effect on male and first-year students. The intervention had no effect on binge drinking, alcohol addiction, or severely harmful alcohol consumption. Our results also showed that while the students in the intervention group found it less difficult to say “no” to drinking there were no difference in the assessment of being part of the student environment between the students in the intervention and control Group. CONCLUSIONS The intervention had a significant and reducing impact on the students’ monthly alcohol intake. That the effect of the intervention was largest among the young and first-year students, who will be the responsible for the drinking culture at the University in the coming years, suggest that small nudging-based interventions can potentially have significant long-term beneficial effects. CLINICALTRIAL American Economic Association’s registry for randomized trials with RCT ID: AEARCTR-0004703. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4703.

Alcohol Consumption is Associated With An Increased Risk of Microscopic Colitis: Results From 2 Prospective US Cohort Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake Niccum ◽  
Kevin Casey ◽  
Kristin Burke ◽  
Emily W Lopes ◽  
Paul Lochhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
Microscopic Colitis ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Higher Alcohol ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Incident Cases ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background No dietary factors have yet been shown to conclusively impact the incidence of microscopic colitis (MC). Here, we sought to examine the relationship between alcohol intake and the risk of MC. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of 209,902 participants (age range, 28.5–66.7 years) enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII). Validated data on alcohol consumption were collected at baseline in 1986 in the NHS and 1991 in the NHSII and updated every 4 years. Diagnoses of MC were confirmed via review of histopathology data. We used Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Through 2016 in the NHS and 2017 in the NHSII, we confirmed 352 incident cases of MC over 4,994,324 person-years. Higher alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of MC (Ptrend &lt; .001). Compared to non-users, the aHRs of MC were 1.20 (95% CI, 0.86–1.67) for consumers of 0.1–4.9 g/day of alcohol, 1.90 (95% CI, 1.34–2.71) for consumers of 5–14.9 g/day, and 2.31 (95% CI, 1.54–3.46) for consumers of ≥15 g/day. The associations were consistent across the histologic subtypes of collagenous and lymphocytic colitis (Pheterogeneity = .523). When stratified by alcohol type, the risk according to every 2 servings/week appeared to be strongest with consumption of wine (aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04–1.12) as compared to beer (aHR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.91–1.12) or liquor (aHR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.92–1.09). Conclusions Alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of MC. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanism underlying these associations, as well as the impact of reducing alcohol intake in patients with MC.

scholarly journals A comparison of five questionnaires to assess alcohol consumption in a Mediterranean population

2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Serra-Majem ◽  
JF Santana-Armas ◽  
L Ribas ◽  
E Salmona ◽  
JM Ramon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Alcoholic Beverage ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Mediterranean Population ◽  
Nutrition Survey ◽  
Food Records ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Low Alcohol ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractObjective:To evaluate the reliability of alcohol consumption measured by five different dietary methods in the Catalan Nutrition Survey (1992–1993).Design:The different questionnaires used were: (1) two 7-day food records, (2) five items addressing alcoholic beverages in a 76-item food-frequency questionnaire, (3) a 1-week recall of 13 alcoholic beverages, (4) a 13-item alcoholic beverages frequency questionnaire and (5) two 24-hour recalls.Subjects:Ninety-three of the 120 adults (aged 20 to 70 years) initially recruited completed the questionnaires and provided a peripheral blood sample.Results:Mean daily alcohol intakes as assessed by the questionnaires were very similar. Beer was the alcoholic beverage most frequently consumed, followed by wine and liquor. Eighty-two per cent of the study population consumed less than 20 g of alcohol per day. No biochemical parameters were significantly correlated with alcohol intake estimated from the questionnaires.Conclusions:We found a satisfactory level of reproducibility and validity in the pattern of alcohol consumption across different levels and types of alcoholic beverage intake. We also found that the self-administered 13-item questionnaire and the 1-week recall were the best techniques to measure moderate or low alcohol consumption, suggesting that the two methods are the most suitable to assess overall alcohol intake in the general population.

scholarly journals Measurement of Mood States Following Light Alcohol Consumption: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motohiro Ito ◽  
Naoyuki Matsuzaki ◽  
Jun Kawahara
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Implicit Association Test ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Mood State ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Association Test ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Implicit Association ◽  
Baseline Test ◽  
The Impact

As the problems of mood measurements during alcohol consumption of alcoholic beverages do not necessarily evoke interpretable physiological responses, explicit reports may be contaminated by various cognitive biases or expectations. The present study examined whether emotional responses induced by the consumption of beverages containing low concentrations of alcohol can be measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT can detect the estimates of internal proximity between bipolar target concepts (e.g., cheerfulness and fatigue). Participants (N = 30) received three IAT sessions, followed by drinking a beverage containing 0% (control), 1%, or 3% alcohol by volume, and three IATs (at 0, 30, and 60 min after the time of consumption). We also recorded the explicit responses regarding the extent of drunkenness. The analyses of variance with alcohol concentration and time reveal dissociation between implicit and explicit measures. The IAT scores under the alcohol conditions reflect a more cheerful mood state relative to the baseline test. This effect of enhanced cheerfulness was not observed under the non-alcohol control condition. These results demonstrate that the impact of the consumption of low-alcohol beverages on mood can be measured using the IAT.

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