Higher Alcohol Prices May Lower Consumption
Because of the global financial crisis and continued high unemployment rates, people are forced to make sacrifices.
Budgeting is now very important in many households. Maybe they don’t go out to dinner as much as they had previously. Perhaps they bring lunch to work in a brown bag instead of going out to a fast food restaurant. Maybe manicures, pedicures, cafe lattes and housecleaning are no longer luxury items they purchase on a regular basis. Certainly vacations are cut back and travel to exotic places is replaced by more local driving vacations.
Do people really cut back everything when there is financial trouble? Do they cut back on their drinking of alcohol when they don’t have as much money in their wallet? As a counselor for both in-class and online alcohol classes I often discuss the cost of booze with my alcohol awareness class students. Does inexpensive alcohol keep them drinking or do they limit their drinking? Do they drink less often or drink less quantity on the days that they do choose to drink?
In a survey of last week’s class, out of 20 students, 15 said they would stop drinking if the price of alcohol became too high. At what price? Is a $10 beer too much? Or a $20 beer. I think I’ve seen those high prices at at sporting events.
According to my informal survey, if six packs of beer cost $25, 75% of the class would not indulge. If the least expensive wine was $25 a bottle, then 90% of the class would not partake.
Basically, if the price is going to actually affect drinking habits and cause people to drink less alcohol then the price of alcohol will need to be drastically increased. That is not likely to happen any time soon. Therefore, the best way to decrease alcohol consumption is stricter punishments and more alcohol classes.
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