Alcohol evidence and policy

Editor—Plant discussed the alcohol harm reduction strategy for England.¹ Large tax increases may be politically unacceptable, but who could cavil at a progressive application of tax according to the amount of alcohol in the purchased item?

If alcohol were taxed at so many pence per gram (instead of per pint or bottle, as at present), then consumers could choose more readily between inexpensive low alcohol drinks and pricey high alcohol items. The price mechanism, which is known to work, would be used and a modicum of consumer education would take place with every visit to the bar or off-licence.

Analogous arguments apply to energy taxation policy—if energy were uniformly taxed at so many pence per kwh contained (whether the fuel be solid, liquid, gaseous, or electric current) then the true cost of our energy exploiting lives would become apparent and behaviour would change—rapidly.