bk1983
Off too Kuwait..
- Oct 17, 2008
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One of the caveats of statistics is that correlation does not equal causation
Maybe not, but judging your entire beliefs on what your family does
is hardly reliable. I think the gas prices are proof that Americans adjust
consumption according to price. Also here is more data concerning alcohol.
A 2002 tax increase was followed by an 11 percent reduction, according to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
"Increasing alcohol taxes saves lives; that's the bottom line," said the study's lead author, Dr. Alexander Wagenaar, a professor at the University of Florida's Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research. "The tax increase caused some reduction in consumption of alcohol. The reduction saved lives."
The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, tracked the number of deaths for every quarter in Alaska from 1976 to 2004.
Using information from death certificates, Wagenaar and the co-authors compiled the number of deaths caused by alcohol, such as alcohol poisoning and alcoholic liver disease, and deaths linked to alcohol, such as cirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis. Deaths caused by alcohol-related car accidents or violence were not included.
Deaths from Alaska were compared with data from other states to control for nationwide factors, such as population growth and advanced medical care.
The authors found 23 fewer deaths per year after a 1983 tax hike and 21 fewer deaths per year after a 2002 increase.
Researchers chose to study Alaska after a political debate over the most recent alcohol tax increase in the Last Frontier state.
"No other state in recent years has increased alcohol taxes in the way that Alaska did in 2002," Wagenaar said. "Basically, they conducted the experiment, and we studied it."
Although Alaska has a population of fewer than a million people, the state "is not highly different when looking at epidemiological trends," he said, estimating that about two-thirds of Americans drink.
"There's no reason to think the experience in Alaska would be different than anywhere else," Wagenaar said. "The study looks at the responsiveness of drinking."
The Finland study
For years, Finland had high alcohol taxes. In March 2004, the Finnish government lowered the taxes nearly 33 to 44 percent to protect domestic sales because officials worried that patrons would flock to neighboring nations in search of cheaper booze.
Consumption levels in Finland increased 50 percent from the previous year. Finnish researchers also found that arrests for drunken and disorderly conduct increased by 11 percent after taxes were lowered.
Study: Paying more for alcohol saves lives - CNN.com
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