Citation

Kisely SR, Crowe E, Lawrence DM, White A, Connor J. Australas. Psychiatry 2013; 21(4): 383-388.

Affiliation

Professor, School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1039856213486307

PMID

23671225

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In response to concerns about the health consequences of high-risk drinking by young people, the Australian Government increased the tax on pre-mixed alcoholic beverages ('alcopops') favoured by this demographic. We measured changes in admissions for alcohol-related harm to health throughout Queensland, before and after the tax increase in April 2008. METHODS: We used data from the Queensland Trauma Register, Hospitals Admitted Patients Data Collection, and the Emergency Department Information System to calculate alcohol-related admission rates per 100,000 people, for 15 - 29 year-olds. We analysed data over 3 years (April 2006 - April 2009), using interrupted time-series analyses. This covered 2 years before, and 1 year after, the tax increase. We investigated both mental and behavioural consequences (via F10 codes), and intentional/unintentional injuries (S and T codes). RESULTS: We fitted an auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, to test for any changes following the increased tax. There was no decrease in alcohol-related admissions in 15 - 29 year-olds. We found similar results for males and females, as well as definitions of alcohol-related harms that were narrow (F10 codes only) and broad (F10, S and T codes). CONCLUSIONS: The increased tax on 'alcopops' was not associated with any reduction in hospital admissions for alcohol-related harms in Queensland 15 - 29 year-olds.

Language: en