MMA Viewpoint
Higher Alcohol Tax Will Cut Underage Drinking
Alcohol is a key factor in the four leading causes of death among young people: traffic crashes, homicides, injuries, and suicides.
Alcoholism is a serious chronic disease that touches many Minnesotans. Often, the first steps toward alcoholism are taken early. Youths who drink before they are 15 years of age are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who start drinking at age 21.
In addition to increasing the risk of alcoholism, underage drinking is a major health and safety problem. Alcohol is a key factor in the four leading causes of death among young people in America: traffic crashes, homicides, injuries, and suicides. The earlier children drink, the more likely they are to drive drunk or ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking, drop out of school, or engage in risky sexual behavior.
We know that kids are drinking. A survey of Minnesota high school students in 2004 found that 40 percent of ninth graders drank alcohol during the previous year. Underage drinkers consume almost 20 percent of all alcohol drunk in the United States. Alcohol is too easy for kids to get—and too affordable.
That’s why the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) is proposing that the tax on beer, wine, and spirits be increased by 10 cents a drink and that these funds be used for prevention, treatment, and public safety services related to alcohol abuse.
Our rationale is the same as it is for our support for higher cigarette taxes—to deter people, especially young people, from behaviors that threaten their health and safety. Teenagers and young adults are influenced by price. Even a small cost increase can make a difference in their buying habits. One study found that a 10 percent increase in the price of beer reduced the number of kids who drank three to five beers a day by 15 percent.
It will be interesting to see the effect of a higher tax if lawmakers approve such an increase. Personally, I believe that studies should be done before and after the imposition of the tax to look at alcohol use rates among teenagers and young adults. We need good research in this area.
It is probably true that a higher tax will not make any difference to chronic alcoholics or those who can afford to pay it. But earmarking funds raised by such a tax for treatment and prevention programs as well as public safety services related to alcohol abuse will benefit all Minnesotans. It will also save the state money in the long run. Alcohol abuse cost Minnesotans $4.5 billion in 2001—$900 for every person in the state.
Support seems to be growing for raising the alcohol tax. Recent surveys by the American Association of Retired Persons and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation show strong support for an increase in the alcohol excise tax to pay for public safety, prevention, treatment, and law enforcement. The MMA will be working with Minnesota Join Together, a coalition of individuals and organizations trying to reduce underage drinking in Minnesota.
The 2006 MMA House of Delegates made seeking a higher tax on alcohol a public health priority for the MMA. It fits with our health care reform plan, which calls for incentives for healthy behaviors. As we work for a healthy Minnesota, we will support laws that will reduce smoking, reduce alcohol abuse, and protect against traffic injuries and deaths.