Australian Medical Association repeats call for Volumetric Alcohol Tax
With today being the first day of Drug Action Week, Dr Glasson said it's a good time for the Government to act.
"The AMA called on the Government a year ago to protect the most vulnerable people in the community, such as Indigenous Australians, by implementing alcohol tax legislation," Dr Glasson said.
"Australia's current wine tax is based on the price and not the alcohol content of a product.
"The production and sale of cheap cask wine continues to be favoured by the wine industry despite evidence that cask products have been linked to serious levels of violence and alcohol related hospitalisations.
"A volumetric alcohol tax is good public health policy.
"It would tax wine and other alcohol products according to the amount of alcohol they contain and would encourage the consumption of lower alcohol products.
"The current WET system remains unfair and contributes to the disproportionate levels of alcohol related harm experienced by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
"We urgently need to change this legislation so taxation directly reflects the total volume of alcohol in the product.
"There are sound arguments on public health grounds for the introduction of such a tax.
"The AMA also recommends that excise on alcoholic drinks with less than 3.5 per cent alcohol be significantly reduced to encourage low alcohol products over products with higher alcohol content," Dr Glasson said.
Important Facts in the Alcohol Tax and Health Debate:
· A key study conducted in WA showed that local rates of per capita consumption of cask wine and full strength beer are more highly associated with violent incidents and alcohol related hospitalisations than other alcoholic beverages.
· In 1998-99, alcohol misuse cost the Australian community over $7.5 billion in health care, lost productivity and alcohol related crime and injury.
· Cheap wine - which is taxed at one-fifth the rate of light beer - accounts for more than half of domestic wine sales.
· Its price is kept artificially low because its wholesale price is cheaper than bottled wine and therefore attracts less tax.
· It is a major contributor to social problems, particularly in Indigenous communities.
· The proportion of Indigenous people who consume alcohol is less than the Australian average but the proportion of Indigenous people who consume harmful levels of alcohol is about double that for the rest of the Australian population - 20 per cent compared to 10 per cent of all alcohol consumers.
· Research by Dr Maggie Brady from the Australian National University, shows that in the Alice Springs region, a population of less than 35,000 people consumed over 1.2 million litres of cask wines in 1998. That was equivalent to over 5,500 four-litre casks a week. Since most of the population did not drink cask wine, these data indicate harmful consumption by drinkers of cask wine.
· With the sole exception of tobacco, alcohol misuse accounts for more preventable death, injury and illness than all other drugs combined.
· Excess alcohol consumption leads to an unacceptably high level of sickness and social disruption and constitutes a major public health issue.
· The social disruption associated with excessive alcohol consumption, particularly intoxication, is reflected in accidents (particularly motor vehicle), mental illness, family breakdown, unemployment, crime, and violence.
Drug Action Week is a national week of activities to raise awareness about alcohol and other drug issues and to promote the achievements of those who work to reduce drug related harm.
The week also aims to promote public debate about good practice strategies for reducing drug related harm in Australia.
CONTACT:
Judith Tokley (02) 6270 5471 / (0408) 824 306
Australian Medical Association
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