Abstract
Background. On July 1st, 1999, the spirits market in Switzerland was reformed based on the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement. The tax reform, in addition to increased competition, has resulted in a 30–50% decrease in price for foreign spirits (liquor). The purpose of the present study is to examine whether decreased prices due to the tax reform and the liberalized spirits market in Switzerland have had an effect on spirits consumption, and whether the effect differs by demographic and other correlates.
Methods. The present study uses data from a longitudinal study on changes in alcohol consumption in Switzerland’s resident population. The baseline survey was conducted three months before the tax reform and the follow-up was conducted 28 months after the tax reform. A randomly selected sample of 4007 residents aged 15 years or older participated in the baseline survey and 73% in the follow-up survey. The data were obtained by computer-assisted telephone interview, including detailed questions on alcohol consumption, drinking habits, problem drinking, purchase of spirits and socio-demographic characteristics.
Results. Consumption of spirits increased after the price of spirits decreased. The increase in spirits consumption was consistent across sub-groups, with the exception of the group aged 60 or older. Moreover, the increase in spirits consumption persisted even after adjustment for significant correlates of spirits consumption. Apart from age, there was no evidence that the increase in spirits consumption differed between sub-groups as defined by sex, region, working status, education, smoking, drinking frequency, or average number of drinks.
Conclusions. The findings demonstrate that younger people are more affected by price than older persons. This study demonstrated that price should be considered an effective policy to reduce alcohol misuse and alcohol-related problems, especially among the younger population.
This article originally appeared in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2003: pp. 720–725, and is reprinted with permission of the publisher.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) (1994). Swiss Health Survey — Initial Findings. Neuchâtel: Bundesamt für Statistik.
Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) (1998). Swiss Health Survey–Initial Findings. Neuchâtel: Bundesamt für Statistik.
Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) (2001). Statistisches Jahrbuch der Schweiz 2001. Zürich: Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Chaloupka, F. J., Grossman, M., & Saffer, H. (1998). The effects of price on the consequences of alcohol use and abuse. In M. Galanter (Ed.), The Consequences of Alcoholism (Vol. Vol. 14, pp. 331–346). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
Chaloupka, F. J., & Wechsler, H. (1996). Binge drinking in college: the impact of price, availability, and alcohol control policies. Contemporary Economic Policy, 14 (4), 112–124.
Clements, K. W., & Selvanathan, S. (1991). The economic determinants of alcohol consumption. Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 35, 209–231.
Coate, D., & Grossman, M. (1988). Effects of alcoholic beverage prices and legal drinking ages on youth alcohol use. Journal of Law and Economics, 31 (1), 145–171.
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand-McNally.
Cooper, A. M., Sobell, M. B., Sobell, L. C., & Maisto, S. A. (1981). Validity of alcoholic’s self-reports: duration data. International Journal of the Addictions, 16 (3), 401–406.
Edwards, G., Anderson, P., Babor, T. F., Casswell, S., Ferrence, R. G., Giesbrecht, N., et al. (1994). Alcohol Policy and the Public Good. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gmel, G., Truan, P., & François, Y. (1999). Alcoholic beverage preferences and self-reported problems in Switzerland. Substance Use and Misuse, 34 (12), 1619–1645.
Godfrey, C. (1997). Can tax be used to minimise harm? A health economist’s perspective. In M. A. Plant, E. Single & T. Stockwell (Eds.), Alcohol: Minimising the Harm. What Work’s? (pp. 29–42). London: Free Association Books.
Greenfield, T. K. (2000). Ways of measuring drinking patterns and the difference they make: experience with graduated frequencies. Journal of Substance Abuse, 12 (1–2), 33–49.
Grossman, M., Coate, D., & Arluck, G. M. (1987). Price sensitivity of alcoholic beverages in the United States: Youth alcohol consumption. In H. Holder (Ed.), Advances Abuse Prevention: Strategies for States and Communities. Greenwich CT: JAI.
Gruenewald, P. J. (1993). Alcohol availability and the ecology of drinkign behaviour. Alcohol Health and Research World, 17 (2), 39–45.
Her, M., Giesbrecht, N., Room, R., & Rehm, J. (1998). Implications of privatizing/deregulating alcohol retail sales: Projections of alcohol consumption in Ontario. Journal of Substance Abuse, 10 (4), 355–373.
Her, M., Giesbrecht, N., Room, R., & Rehm, J. (1999). Privatizing alcohol sales and alcohol consumption: evidence and implications. Addiction, 94 (8), 1125–1139.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1993). PRELIS 2 User’s Reference Guide. Chicago, IL: SSI.
Kenkel, D. S. (1993). Prohibition versus taxation: reconsidering the legal drinking age. Contemporary Policy Issues, 11 (3), 48–57.
Laixuthai, A., & Chaloupka, F. J. (1993). Youth alcohol use and public policy. Contemporary Policy Issues, 11 (4), 70–81.
Levy, D., & Sheflin, N. (1983). New evidence on controlling alcohol use through price. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 44 (6), 929–937.
Liang, K. Y., & Zeger, S. L. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika, 73, 13–22.
Manning, W. G., Blumberg, L., & Moulton, L. H. (1995). The demand for alcohol: the differential response to price. Journal of Health Economics, 14 (2), 123–148.
Midanik, L. T. (1988). Validity of self-reported alcohol use: a literature review and assessment. British Journal of Addiction, 83 (9), 1019–1030.
Midanik, L. T. (1994). Comparing usual quantity/frequency and graduated frequency scales to assess yearly alcohol consumption: results from the 1990 US National Alcohol Survey. Addiction, 89 (4), 407–412.
Morgenstern, H. (1998). Ecologic studies. In K. J. Rothman & S. Greenland (Eds.), Modern Epidemiology (2nd ed., pp. 459–480). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
Muthén, B. O., & Muthén, L. K. (2000). Development of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems from ages 18 to 37 in a U.S. national sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61 (2), 290–300.
Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (1999). Alcohol and the EU: On Policies, Drinking Patterns, Harm and Benefits (Vol. 16, English Suppl.). Helsinki: National Research and Development Centre of Welfare and Health.
Österberg, E. (1995). Do alcohol prices affect consumption and related problems? In H. Holder & E. Griffith (Eds.), Alcohol and Public Policy (pp. 145–163). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Perkins, H. W. (2002). Surveying the damage: a review of research on consequences of alcohol misuse in college populations. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Suppl. 14, 91–100.
Plant, M. A., Single, E., & Stockwell, T. (Eds.) (1997). Alcohol: Minimising the Harm. What Works? London: Free Association Books Ltd.
Rehm, J. (1998). Measuring quantity, frequency and volume of drinking. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 22 (2 Suppl), 4S–14S.
Rehm, J., & Gmel, G. (2001). Aggregate time-series regression in the field of alcohol. Addiction, 96 (7), 945–954.
Rehm, J., Gmel, G., & Her, M. (2000). Alcohol consumption, time-series methodology and disease outcomes. Addiction, 95 (3), 352–353.
Rehm, J., & Strack, F. (1994). Kontrolltechniken [Control techniques]. In T. Hermann & W. Tack (Eds.), Methodologische Grundlagen der Psychologie [Methodology to Control for Inferring Causality] (Vol. Enzyklopädie der Psychologie, Themen bereich B, Serie 1, Band 1, pp. 508–555). Göttingen: Hogreve.
Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol-und andere Drogenprobleme (SFA) (1999). Zahlen und Fakten zu Alkohol und anderen Drogen [Data and Facts about Alcohol and Other Drugs]. Lausanne: Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol-und andere Drogenprobleme (SFA).
Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol-und andere Drogenprobleme (SFA) (2001). Zahlen und Fakten zu Alkohol und anderen Drogen [Data and Facts about Alcohol and Other Drugs]. Lausanne: Schweizerische Fachstelle für Alkohol-und andere Drogenprobleme (SFA).
Skog, O.-J. (1985). The collectivity of drinking cultures: a theory of the distribution of alcohol consumption. British Journal of Addiction, 80, 83–99.
Wagenaar, A. C., Maynard, A., Moskalewicz, J., West, D. S., Romanus, G., Giesbrecht, N., et al. (1999). Comments on Her et al.’s “Privatizing alcohol sales and consumption evidence and implications”. Addiction, 94 (8), 1141–1153.
Wald, A. (1943). Test of statistical hypotheses concerning general parameters when the number of observations is large. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, 54, 426–482.
Wechsler, H., Kuo, M., Lee, H., & Dowdall, G. W. (2000). Environmental correlates of underage alcohol use and related problems of college students. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 19 (1), 24–29.
Zeger, S. L., Liang, K. Y., & Albert, P. S. (1988). Models for longitudinal data: a generalized estimating equation approach. Biometrics, 44, 1049–1060.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kuo, M., Heeb, J.L., Gmel, G., Rehm, J. (2004). Does Price Matter? The Effect of Decreased Price on Spirits Consumption in Switzerland. In: Müller, R., Klingemann, H. (eds) From Science to Action? 100 Years Later — Alcohol Policies Revisited. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2605-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2605-6_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1801-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2605-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive