The World Health Organization (WHO) is campaigning for minimum prices for alcoholic beverages in Europe. WHO Europe’s region is the region with the highest percentage of alcohol-related deaths worldwide — about 12 percent for men and 8 percent for women, the organization’s regional office in Copenhagen said in a report published Tuesday. Raising prices could severely limit access to cheap spirits, they say.
Excessive consumption leads to higher health expenditures and indirect costs through lost income and productivity. The experts emphasized in their report that minimum alcohol prices and targeted taxation are among the most effective and cost-effective measures to reduce alcohol consumption and its harmful effects on health. Yet in Europe and the world too little use is made of minimum prices. Above all, a minimum price could limit access to cheap alcohol, which is mainly associated with heavy alcohol use.
Effective in the fight against alcoholism
The WHO report is titled “No Room for Cheap Alcohol: The Potential Value of Bottom Prices in Protecting Lives”. In it, the organization left no doubt that it considers the minimum pricing and taxation of alcohol to be extremely effective in the fight against alcoholism and its health consequences. In particular, the WHO considers a minimum unit price (MUP), which sets a level below which a certain amount of alcohol may not be sold, useful.
Since this measure is linked to the alcohol content of a drink, the price for stronger spirits will always be higher than for drinks with less alcohol. This is the most effective approach to countering cheap, high-proof drinks, which are most associated with major alcohol damage, the WHO said. This is especially important to protect heavier drinkers, especially those on low incomes.
“Protect especially heavy drinkers”
“Price floors represent an effective approach to reducing alcohol consumption and harm,” said University of Sheffield researcher Colin Angus, who was involved in the report. Their main advantage is that they focus on cheap, high-proof products and can therefore protect especially heavier drinkers.
The WHO has 53 countries in the European region, including the EU and large parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Only 11 of the states have some form of minimum price for certain alcoholic drinks, most for vodka and other spirits – the EU only includes Ireland and Slovakia. On average, the minimum price in these 11 states in 2020 was two to five dollars per liter of beer, five to $12.50 per liter of wine, and $12.50 to $40 per liter of vodka.
Alcohol tax hardly adjusted for inflation
According to the report, all European countries have some form of alcohol tax. But often it is not carried out in a way that is likely to contribute to the health of the population. Most countries have also not adjusted alcohol taxes for inflation – according to the WHO, this ultimately means that alcohol will become cheaper over time. In contrast, Germany regularly adjusts the tax rate for beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages according to the WHO list to keep up with inflation and wage increases – unlike Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
According to the WHO, alcohol is responsible for an estimated three million deaths per year worldwide, of which almost a million are in the WHO’s Europe region. In other words, about 2,500 people die every day from alcohol use in Europe.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
