Australia: Parliament is urged to review alcohol taxes to stop binge drinking

Australia's Alcohol and Rehabilitation Foundation said a comprehensive review of the alcohol taxation system is needed to help control binge drinking, according to Xinhua, June 11.

The foundation CEO Daryl Smeaton told a parliament hearing in Canberra that a uniform tax on all alcohol was needed rather than varying taxes based on how alcoholic beverages were produced.

The Senate's community affairs committee is conducting an inquiry into the Rudd government's tax hike on ready-to-drink (RTD) alcohol beverages, more popularly known as alcopops.

"They (governments) must tax the alcohol as alcohol, not as wine or beer or spirits," Smeaton said.

"There is no difference in the alcohol in beer, or wine or spirits, in terms of potential harm, excessive consumption can cause. And that's the fundamental reason for a comprehensive review of the taxation system," he added.

A review was needed from a public health perspective, and it shouldn't be based on how the alcohol is made, who makes it, what its economic benefits or disbenefits are, he said.

13 June, 2008