Action needed to curb alcohol harm in indigenous communities - AMA

Dr Glasson said that this week, Drug Action Week, is an appropriate time for the Government to signal that it is prepared to make changes - to put the health of whole communities ahead of taxation revenue.

"The current alcohol taxation system is unfair, is poor public policy, and contributes to the disproportionate levels of alcohol related harm experienced by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities," Dr Glasson said.

The AMA wants to see legislation introduced to make taxation directly reflect the total volume of alcohol in the product.

Our current wine tax is an ad valorem tax based on the price of the product and takes no account of the alcohol content. So the production and sale of cheap cask wine is favoured - even though this variety of product has been linked to serious levels of violence and alcohol related hospitalisations.

"A volumetric alcohol tax is good public health policy," Dr Glasson said.

"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.

"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 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.

Dr Glasson said there are sound arguments on public health grounds for the introduction of tax based on the alcohol content of a product.

"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 the higher alcohol ones."

Alcohol product	non GST tax per standard drink
Packaged Full strength Beer (av 5% alc volume)	32c
Packaged Mid Strength Beer (av 3% alc volume)	28c
Packaged Low strength Beer (< 3% alc volume)	21c
Ready to Drinks (Full strength, av 5%)	42c
Spirits	71c
Premium bottled wine (~$15 bottle)	28c
Cask wine (~$12.99 - 4 litre cask)	06c

Source: Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia - Alcohol Taxation (site:www.adca.org.au)

REFERENCE:

Brady, M. and Martin, D.F. 1999, Dealing with Alcohol in Alice Springs: an assessment of policy options and recommendations for action, CAEPR Working Paper No. 3, Canberra.

CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761

Judith Tokley (02) 6270 5471 / (0408) 824 306