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Raise Beer Tax to Reduce Teen Drinking - Report
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress and state legislatures should raise taxes on alcohol, especially beer, to discourage underage drinking, advisers to the government said on Tuesday.
The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council also recommended more careful advertising of alcohol to ensure children do not get bombarded with pro-drinking messages.
"More young people drink alcohol than use other drugs or smoke tobacco, and underage drinking costs the nation an estimated $53 billion annually in losses stemming from traffic fatalities, violent crime, and other behaviors that threaten the well-being of America's youth," the Institute, commissioned by Congress to write the report, said in a statement.
"Alcohol is much cheaper today, after adjusting for inflation, than it was 30 to 40 years ago," the Institute said. "Higher tax rates should be tied to the Consumer Price Index to keep pace with inflation."
It said many studies had shown that raising prices deters underage drinkers.
CHANGING THE WAY SOCIETY VIEWS DRINKING
The report recommends concerted efforts to change the way society views drinking.
"The Motion Picture Association of America, for instance, should consider content about alcohol use when rating films, and assign mature ratings for movies that portray drinking in a favorable light," the Institute said.
Congress and the Health and Human Services Department should monitor advertising, movies, television programs, music recordings, and videos that may be seen by teens and children.
"We think it is reasonable to expect the industry to do more than it is now doing," Richard Bonnie, a law professor at the University of Virginia who chaired the committee, told a news conference.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised the report,
"Underage drinking is our nation's No. 1 youth drug problem," MADD president Wendy Hamilton said in a statement.
She said drinking killed 6.5 times more children and teens than all illicit drugs combined. "Only $71 million of the federal fiscal year 2000 budget was spent on underage drinking prevention. This mere pittance pales in comparison to the $18 billion spent on the war on drugs," she added.
ADVERTISING RECOMMENDATIONS
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said it was already moving to tighten its advertising recommendations, saying drinking-related ads should only go into media with a readership or viewership made up of 70 percent adults or more.
"This is a significant increase and replaces the previous provision that required a 51 percent adult audience," the group said in a statement.
"This is a step in the right direction, but the committee believes that the adult threshold for viewers or listeners should be raised even further," Bonnie said.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a separate report on Tuesday saying the alcohol industry had improved its self-regulation on advertising. "The report also found no evidence of targeting underage consumers in the flavored malt beverage market," the FTC said.
But the Beer Institute said calls for tax increases were misguided. "Experience has shown that the only clear results from increasing beer excise taxes are higher unemployment and higher prices for responsible adults -- such measures do nothing to lower teen drinking," Jeff Becker, President of Beer Institute, said in a statement.
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress and state legislatures should raise taxes on alcohol, especially beer, to discourage underage drinking, advisers to the government said on Tuesday.
The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council also recommended more careful advertising of alcohol to ensure children do not get bombarded with pro-drinking messages.
"More young people drink alcohol than use other drugs or smoke tobacco, and underage drinking costs the nation an estimated $53 billion annually in losses stemming from traffic fatalities, violent crime, and other behaviors that threaten the well-being of America's youth," the Institute, commissioned by Congress to write the report, said in a statement.
"Alcohol is much cheaper today, after adjusting for inflation, than it was 30 to 40 years ago," the Institute said. "Higher tax rates should be tied to the Consumer Price Index to keep pace with inflation."
It said many studies had shown that raising prices deters underage drinkers.
CHANGING THE WAY SOCIETY VIEWS DRINKING
The report recommends concerted efforts to change the way society views drinking.
"The Motion Picture Association of America, for instance, should consider content about alcohol use when rating films, and assign mature ratings for movies that portray drinking in a favorable light," the Institute said.
Congress and the Health and Human Services Department should monitor advertising, movies, television programs, music recordings, and videos that may be seen by teens and children.
"We think it is reasonable to expect the industry to do more than it is now doing," Richard Bonnie, a law professor at the University of Virginia who chaired the committee, told a news conference.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised the report,
"Underage drinking is our nation's No. 1 youth drug problem," MADD president Wendy Hamilton said in a statement.
She said drinking killed 6.5 times more children and teens than all illicit drugs combined. "Only $71 million of the federal fiscal year 2000 budget was spent on underage drinking prevention. This mere pittance pales in comparison to the $18 billion spent on the war on drugs," she added.
ADVERTISING RECOMMENDATIONS
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said it was already moving to tighten its advertising recommendations, saying drinking-related ads should only go into media with a readership or viewership made up of 70 percent adults or more.
"This is a significant increase and replaces the previous provision that required a 51 percent adult audience," the group said in a statement.
"This is a step in the right direction, but the committee believes that the adult threshold for viewers or listeners should be raised even further," Bonnie said.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a separate report on Tuesday saying the alcohol industry had improved its self-regulation on advertising. "The report also found no evidence of targeting underage consumers in the flavored malt beverage market," the FTC said.
But the Beer Institute said calls for tax increases were misguided. "Experience has shown that the only clear results from increasing beer excise taxes are higher unemployment and higher prices for responsible adults -- such measures do nothing to lower teen drinking," Jeff Becker, President of Beer Institute, said in a statement.
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