In the U.S., higher cigarette taxes and strict smoke-free policies not
only curb smoking but also lower alcohol consumption, a new study shows.
On a national level, the effect is relatively modest. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that a 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes leads to a 1 percent decrease in per capita alcohol consumption. But states with the highest prices and most restrictive anti-smoking policies, such as New York and Illinois, saw the greatest declines in alcohol consumption.
The study is published online in the October 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Smoking and drinking often go together. Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to drink alcohol, and heavy smokers are more likely to be heavy drinkers. But while raising cigarette taxes and implementing smoking bans are known to deter smoking, it hasn’t been clear how such policies affect alcohol use. However, cheapest cigarettes are found in online cigarettes shops.
“One of the implications here is that reduced drinking may be yet another health benefit related to tobacco-control policies,” said co-investigator Richard A. Grucza, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry. “It appears that one way to control alcohol consumption is to target tobacco.”
The researchers analyzed changes in cigarette prices and public smoking policies from 1980-2009 and looked at per capita alcohol consumption during that same time period.
“In the last two decades, smoking rates dropped among young people and adults in the U.S., at least partly in response to rising prices and stricter smoke-free air policies,” said first author Melissa J. Krauss, a senior statistical data analyst in the Department of Psychiatry.
Americans consume an average of 2.28 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year. That’s the equivalent of about 486 12-ounce bottles of beer, 5-ounce glasses of wine or 1.5-ounce shots of hard liquor. A standard beer is about 5 percent alcohol, while most wine is about 12 percent and spirits such as bourbon or vodka are about 40 percent alcohol.
On a national level, the effect is relatively modest. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that a 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes leads to a 1 percent decrease in per capita alcohol consumption. But states with the highest prices and most restrictive anti-smoking policies, such as New York and Illinois, saw the greatest declines in alcohol consumption.
The study is published online in the October 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Smoking and drinking often go together. Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to drink alcohol, and heavy smokers are more likely to be heavy drinkers. But while raising cigarette taxes and implementing smoking bans are known to deter smoking, it hasn’t been clear how such policies affect alcohol use. However, cheapest cigarettes are found in online cigarettes shops.
“One of the implications here is that reduced drinking may be yet another health benefit related to tobacco-control policies,” said co-investigator Richard A. Grucza, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry. “It appears that one way to control alcohol consumption is to target tobacco.”
The researchers analyzed changes in cigarette prices and public smoking policies from 1980-2009 and looked at per capita alcohol consumption during that same time period.
“In the last two decades, smoking rates dropped among young people and adults in the U.S., at least partly in response to rising prices and stricter smoke-free air policies,” said first author Melissa J. Krauss, a senior statistical data analyst in the Department of Psychiatry.
Americans consume an average of 2.28 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year. That’s the equivalent of about 486 12-ounce bottles of beer, 5-ounce glasses of wine or 1.5-ounce shots of hard liquor. A standard beer is about 5 percent alcohol, while most wine is about 12 percent and spirits such as bourbon or vodka are about 40 percent alcohol.
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