Lowered Rates of Binge Drinking Linked to High Cigarette Taxes

Investigators found out that cigarette tax hikes are associated with lowered rates of binge drinking or excessive alcohol consumption.

According to a study published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, cigarette tax hikes were directly linked to a drop in binge drinking rates among male smokers and drinkers.

According to Sherry McKee, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University Medical School, and one of the study's authors, said excessive drinking costs approximately $234 billion per year in the United States.

McKee expressed her surprise in an interview with MedPage Today saying the strength with these associations was not necessarily expected. She also confirmed the results of the investigation saying that the higher the taxes are for cigarettes, the less consumption of alcohol there will be.

However, McKee and her colleagues also said that as of late, there has been no longitudinal study that considers a crossover association between cigarette taxation and drinking outcomes in the United States.

The researchers looked into past surveys of 21,473 alcohol drinkers in the US which showed a before and after cigarette tax increase between the years 2001 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005. Fifty-one percent of the sample size lived in 31 states where higher cigarette taxes were implemented.

The respondents were asked about their drinking habits throughout the previous year and their habits ranged from drinking every day to zero consumption. Drinking habits were classified as hazardous among men who consume 14 drinks in one session and 7 drinks in one session among women.

Smoking habits along with gender, occupation, age, income, drinking level and sex were taken into account, the researchers said. 

Results showed that smokers are more likely to drink too much alcohol and young men were most susceptible to this kind of vice.

Researchers expressed the need for a more thorough research regarding the behaviors, drinking and smoking.