Pricing

There is now a significant body of evidence that has examined the policies that are most effective in reducing alcohol-related harm.

A review of 32 alcohol strategies and interventions has found that in terms of the degree of effectiveness, the breadth of research support, the extent to which they have been tested cross-culturally, and the relative expense of implementation, the most effective alcohol policies include regulatory interventions (controls on price and availability of alcohol); brief interventions for hazardous and harmful drinkers; and drink-driving laws.

The relationship between alcohol price and the level of consumption and associated harm is one of the most researched areas of alcohol policy. Many individual and aggregate level studies have examined the effects of price changes on overall consumption of alcohol, and on the consumption of different types of alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, and spirits).

Essentially, what the weight of evidence from all these studies and reviews indicates is that alcohol appears to behave like most other consumer goods in the market. That is, when all other factors remain the same, an increase in the price of alcohol generally leads to a decrease in consumption, and vice versa.