Recommendations for reducing health harms
Alcohol consumption is linked to more than 5000 cases of cancer in Australia each year. Increasing the price of alcohol through taxation would be one of the most effective ways to reduce alcohol consumption and associated health harms, including the development of alcohol-related cancers.
Cancer Council Australia therefore recommends:
1. The introduction of volumetric-based excise taxes, to be applied to all alcohol products at the stage of production or implementation, together with abolition of the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET).
2. Continuation of the current practice of adjusting the alcohol excise and customs duty every six months, with reference to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
3. A proportion of alcohol tax revenue allocated for the purpose of recovering the costs of alcohol-related harm and funding education, harm prevention and alcohol treatment programs – i.e. hypothecation.
4. Improved access to wholesale and retail alcohol sales data, an essential indicator of consumption levels and patterns, and of the impact of prevention policies and programs.
5. Continual monitoring and evaluation of the alcohol taxation system, and research into potential improvements.
6. Investigating a public interest case for the introduction of minimum pricing of alcohol.
This position statement documents the evidence base for these recommendations.