The Raising of Minimum Alcohol Prices in Saskatchewan, Canada: Impacts on Consumption and Implications for Public Health

Stockwell, Tim; Zhao, Jinhui; Giesbrecht, Norman; Macdonald, Scott; Thomas, Gerald; Wettlaufer, Ashley

doi:10.2105/ajph.2012.301094

Cited by 115 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…25 The Sheffi eld Alcohol Policy Model 17 predicts that an MUP delivers a greater reduction in alcohol-related harm than overall increases in taxation, with almost double the number of deaths prevented. 26 Further evidence for the effectiveness of an MUP comes from long-running natural experiments in Canada, where signifi cant reductions in alcohol consumption followed increases in minimum prices in government liquor stores, despite these outlets representing only a minority of the retail market, 27,28 with a 10% increase in minimum price resulting in a 32% fall in deaths directly attributable to alcohol. 29 as a result, they purchase the cheapest alcohol it is possible to buy, paying less than one-third of the price paid by low-risk drinkers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK

et al. 2014

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The slow epidemic of liver disease in the UK over the past 30 years is a result of increased consumption of strong cheap alcohol. When we examined alcohol consumption in 404 subjects with a range of liver disease, we confi rmed that patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis drank huge amounts of cheap alcohol, with a mean weekly consumption of 146 units in men and 142 in women at a median price of 33p/unit compared with £1.10 for low-risk drinkers. For the patients in our study, the impact of a minimum unit price of 50p/unit on spending on alcohol would be 200 times higher for patients with liver disease who were drinking at harmful levels than for low-risk drinkers. As a health policy, a minimum unit price for alcohol is exquisitely targeted at the heaviest drinkers, for whom the impact of alcohol-related illness is most devastating.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK

et al. 2014

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“…The relationship has been interpreted to indicate that average consumption causally determines heavy drinking prevalence, possibly through a contagious social environment or "drinking culture." This view is expressed in the continuing interest in alcohol taxes [11], recent interest in minimum pricing of alcohol [30,31], and concern with the increased "affordability" of alcohol beverages over time or across countries [32,33]. However, as explained by Duffy [34], heavy drinkers account for a large proportion of total alcohol consumption, so a statistical relationship between average consumption in a country and the percentage of heavy drinkers should be expected, and does not necessarily imply a causal relationship.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-Analysis of Alcohol Price and Income Elasticities – With Corrections for Publication Bias

Nelson

2013

SSRN Journal

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“…This means that when the price of alcohol products increase, sales decrease if other factors such as income are kept constant. Several decades of international research show that increasing the price of alcohol is one of the most effective approaches for reducing consumption and, importantly, alcohol-related harm at the population level Wagenaar, Tobler, & Komro, 2010;Stockwell et al, 2012). Associated policy measures assessed in the scoring rubric, which primarily target heavy drinkers and risky products, include the following:…”

Section: Appendix Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms and costs in Canada: A comparison of provincial policies

Giesbrecht¹,

Wettlaufer²,

Simpson³

et al. 2016

IJADR

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Aims: To compare Canadian provinces across 10 research-based alcohol policy and program dimensions. Design and Measures:The 10 Canadian provinces were assessed on the following 10 policy dimensions: alcohol pricing; alcohol control system; physical availability; drinking and driving; marketing and advertising; legal drinking age; screening, brief intervention, and referrals; server training, challenge, and refusal programs; provincial alcohol strategy; warning labels and signs. Data were collected from official documents, including provincial legislation, regulations, and policy, and strategy documents. Three international experts on alcohol policy contributed to refining the protocol. Provincial scores were independently determined by two team members along a 10-point scale for each dimension, and the scores were expressed as a percentage of the ideal. Weighting of dimensions according to scope of impact and effectiveness was applied to obtain the final scores. National and provincial scores were calculated for each dimension and consolidated into overall averages.Findings: Overall, the consolidated national mean is 47.2% of the ideal, with Ontario scoring highest at 55.9%, and Québec lowest at 36.2%. Across dimensions, Legal Drinking Age and Challenge and Refusal Programs scored highest at 75% and 61%, respectively, while Warning Labels and Signs scored lowest at 18% of the ideal. Pricing, rated third highest among dimensions at 57%, should nevertheless remain a priority for improvement, given it is weighted highest in terms of effectiveness and scope. Conclusions and Implications:Policy dimension scores vary among the provinces, with substantial room for improvement in all. Since spring 2013, several provinces have taken steps to implement specific alcohol policies. Concerted action involving multiple stakeholders and alcohol policies is required to reduce the burden of alcohol problems across Canada.

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The Raising of Minimum Alcohol Prices in Saskatchewan, Canada: Impacts on Consumption and Implications for Public Health

Abstract: Minimum pricing is a promising strategy for reducing the public health burden associated with hazardous alcohol consumption. Pricing to reflect percentage alcohol content of drinks can shift consumption toward lower alcohol content beverage types.

Cited by 115 publications

References 21 publications

Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK

Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK

Meta-Analysis of Alcohol Price and Income Elasticities – With Corrections for Publication Bias

Strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms and costs in Canada: A comparison of provincial policies

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