Interview - Dr Bill Glasson, AMA President - ABC Radio 'AM' - AMA Lobbies for tax changes on alcohol

LINDA MOTTRAM: The Australian Medical Association is again pressing for an overhaul of tax on alcohol as one way of tackling alcohol abuse, particularly in indigenous communities.

The Association wants to see a volumetric tax imposed on alcohol sales, meaning a tax based on alcohol content and volume rather than price.

Researchers agree the evidence is conclusive, that the more alcohol you can buy for your dollar, the more likely you are to abuse it.

Tanya Nolan reports.

TANYA NOLAN: A recent survey has found around 10 per cent of Australians are drinking at levels considered dangerous to their health, and that's estimated to be costing taxpayers more than $8 billion a year, and Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Bill Glasson, has his sights now set on cheap cask wine. He wants to see those drinks with higher alcohol contents taxed more.

BILL GLASSON: Well, I think to some extent the proof is in beer, where the higher strength beer is taxed at a higher rate than the low strength beer and on some of those figures it would suggest that people will tend to, you know, prefer to drink beer, or low strength beer that is because it somewhat cheaper and also you drink it for the pleasure hopefully of the drink rather than necessarily for the effects of the alcohol.

TANYA NOLAN: Are you convinced that price has everything to do with alcohol consumption though?

BILL GLASSON: No, I don't think that's right. I think it's only part of the answer, but I think it's an important part of trying to get a solution. We don't feel this is the panacea for the abuse of alcohol. There's many reasons why alcohol is abused and obviously by putting a higher tax on it won't prevent them drinking it, but essentially we feel it at least sends a signal in the right direction to try and encourage people to drink the lower alcohol content drinks or drink it in moderation.

I think we know that alcohol, in moderation, is good for you and it's a way of socialising and we encourage that. We don't encourage the abuse of alcohol and the social consequences that arise from that. We see it in our casualties every night, where people come in, you know, abused, beaten up, families being destroyed, et cetera, et cetera and I think that we've just got to try and address that as a community.

TANYA NOLAN: Under the current system, wine from flagons is taxed at around six cents per standard drink compared to beer which is slugged at around 43 cents, and there's long been consternation over the wine equalisation tax which came into effect in July 2000, which clearly favours the production of large quantities of cheaper cask wine.

The Alcohol and Other Drug Council of Australia has conducted wide-ranging research on how taxation impacts on alcohol consumption and past president, Professor Ian Webster says the findings are conclusive.

IAN WEBSTER: I mean, the evidence is that the taxation system that exists at present, which is extraordinarily complicated and you almost require a PhD to understand it, tends to favour or does favour the consumption of cask wine. That's the cheapest way to get drunk for your buck, so to speak, and we, we regard that as a major public health issue in general in the public health community.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Professor Ian Webster, who's a member and past president of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia. Tanya Nolan with that report.

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