EDMONTON - The key to getting people to drink less may lie in hiking the minimum price of alcohol, according to a new study out of B.C.'s University of Victoria.
The research, out of the Centre for Addictions, is based on 20 years of data from 1989 to 2010, and suggests that a 10 percent increase in the minimum price of an alcoholic beverage leads to a more than 16 percent decrease in its consumption compared to other beverages. Researchers argue that this, in turn, can have an impact on public health and safety.
Broken down, increasing prices of alcoholic sodas and ciders saw the biggest drop in drinkers - at nearly 14 percent less. Higher wine prices reduced consumption by nearly 9 percent, and spirits and liquers by almost 7 percent. Raising the cost of beer made the least difference - seeing only a 1.5 percent decrease.
"Beer is huge because it's the thing that consumers drink the most of, particularly by problem drinkers," says researcher Tim Stockwell. "It's a testament to the fact that the more hazardous heavy consumers of alcohol are purchasing the cheaper stuff."
In Alberta, where the government is looking at boosting tax on liquor and cigarettes to generate revenue and improve health, at least one buyer doesn't think hiking prices in any way is the answer.
"You go after the people that aren't causing the problem and end up making life difficult for the people who aren't causing the problem," says Sherbrooke Liquor's Jim Pettinger. "If you're on a limited budget and you're buying a bottle of wine a week do you really need the price raised? But if you're going through a bottle a day, if this helps curb your problem, that's great, but I'm not sure at the end of the day that will happen."
Social drinker Richard Kosinkski says higher prices would just make him shop around more, though.
"There may be some cutback, but I think people are still going to drink no matter what the price is."
Currently, Canada is one of the only countries in the world that sets minimum pricing on alcohol; however, it's a policy many others are now considering, including Australia and the US, as well as countries in Europe and the UK.
You can find the full study below.
Does Minimum Pricing Reduce Alcohol Consumption?
With files from Laurel Clark, Global News
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