Chronic liver diseases are responsible for 1.8% of all deaths in Europe and, in the absence of policies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption, this percentage should increase.
Over the past three decades, deaths from chronic liver disease has increased by 25% and those due to liver cancer by 70%. If several factors contribute to it, such as bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, alcohol is the main aggravating factor. A study presented at the Congress of the European Association for the study of the liver (EASL) suggests that the increase in prices and taxes on alcohol could potentially reduce liver cancer by around 5% and chronic diseases of 7% liver by 2023.
The increase in alcohol taxes poses a significant public health problem, as indicated by research using epidemiological and consumption data in France, the Netherlands and Romania. According to María Buti, public health counselor at EASL, Europe has the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world. The study model assesses the potential reduction in alcohol consumption on the basis of three different scenarios* and assesses their impact on liver disease. Among the various policies examined, the most effective approach was to implement a minimum unit price (PUM) of 1 euro per "standard alcohol unit", equivalent to 12.7 ml of pure alcohol or 10 g alcohol. If this pricing model was applied, a bottle of alcohol distilled with an alcoholic volume of 40 % could not be sold at less than 24 euros and a bottle of wine could not be sold for less than 7 euros.
The alcohol industry expresses its dissatisfaction
In response to the criticisms that describe these measures as "intrinsically regressive" (imposing a higher tax burden on low -income households), the public health advisor retorts that alcohol -related issues also follow this model. The alcohol industry often uses this argument to oppose the implementation of these policies, claiming that they would have a negative impact on the poorest communities and that they would be unfair. However, the counter-argument is that health problems related to alcohol and food also affect populations with low incomes in a disproportionate manner. These populations are more likely to suffer from chronic liver disease and therefore benefit from such taxation, explains María Buti, public health advisor.
The taxation of alcohol as a way to save lives has proven to be effective in Scotland and Wales. These countries have implemented a minimum price policy in 2018 and 2020, which led to a reduction in sales of 3.5% the year following the price increase. A study published in The Lancet has shown that the minimum price of 50 pence per unit of alcohol in Scotland has made it possible to avoid around 150 deaths related to alcohol per year. Dr. Jean-Pierre Thierry, medical advisor to France Assos Santé, says that the relationship between the increase in prices and the reduction in consumption is a mathematical certainty. This principle also applies to tobacco, where successive price increases, neutral packaging and reimbursement of nicotine substitutes have contributed to lowering smoking, especially among young people.
*Three pricing models were analyzed: € 1 minimum unit price (MUP) on alcohol; A € 0.7 combination of MUP and a tax on sugary drinks; A combination of € 0.7 MUP, SSB tax and a volumetric tax on alcohol.
