The 70 per cent tax increase on alcopops have been criticised ever since the Rudd Government introduced it in April this year. The latest verdict is that young Queenslanders turn to harder drugs such as ecstasy for a cheaper buzz. Is a few dollars saved really a good enough reason to ditch the liquid for the chemicals?
Firstly I would like to make it clear to anyone in doubt; alcohol is a drug. Just like ecstasy. The main difference is that ecstasy is illicit. One would think ecstasy is banned because it is more harmful than alcohol, but apparently not. According to a report by the UK’s Science and Technology Committee ecstasy is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco. It was rated the 18th most harmful drug, compared to alcohol on number four, after heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and street methadone. So if young Queenslanders are popping pills instead of slurping “pops” it seems Rudd might be leading his war on binge-drinking.
Surely many young, cash-strapped merrymakers are tempted to try a happy-pill. But is this really a problem strengthened by the increased alcopop prices? I don’t think so. Ecstasy was in style in Australia long before Mr Rudd was. Australia has topped the ecstasy category in the UN’s Drug Reports for the last four years, proving there were many keen ecstasy-poppers around before the announced binge-drinking epidemic.
On the question as to whether the expensive pre-mixes discourage youth from getting hammered, the answer is no. There are other alcohols out there. We have to give the party-goers a little more credit. They are binge drinkers after all and spirits are spirits, whether you buy it premixed or mix one part whiskey with two parts of coke. According to The Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) people bought 30 per cent less alcopops in June than they did before the tax-hike. However sales of full strength bottled spirits rose 46 per cent. They’ve figured it out. I’ve heard goon does the trick as well…
I’m not saying binge-drinking is no big deal. It is. In fact alcohol is the second biggest contributor to Australia’s chronic disease burden. Harm caused by alcohol is estimated to cost the community more than $15billion per year. I am from Norway; a country where the government have made money off people’s love for alcohol for as long as I can remember and believe me binge-drinking still exists. Like with tobacco, alcohol is taxed because it is harmful. It doesn’t stop people from drinking excessively though; rather, it provides money to clean up the mess that follows. So stop whinging, learn to mix your own cocktail and educate yourself on what you consume and how to be a responsible drinker.
By Live S. Pedersen
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