News
Minimum pricing reducing consumption in Canada
06/07/2012
A provincial government policy in Canada that dramatically increased the price of high-alcohol booze is helping to curb problem drinking. The price of 34 products with disproportionately high alcohol content rose by as much as 40% in 2010.
Most provinces mandate minimum retail prices or "social reference prices" for alcohol across different categories, but Saskatchewan is the only province to employ a policy that links price to a formula accounting for the amount of pure alcohol in the product.
In the first full year of the new pricing structure, sales of high-alcohol beer products dropped 62%, targeted ciders and coolers dropped 6%, and wine and sherry products dropped 25%.
Overall, Saskatchewan drinkers consumed 500,000 fewer litres of high-alcohol products in the first year of the price hike, a drop of 19.4%.
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Most provinces mandate minimum retail prices or "social reference prices" for alcohol across different categories, but Saskatchewan is the only province to employ a policy that links price to a formula accounting for the amount of pure alcohol in the product.
In the first full year of the new pricing structure, sales of high-alcohol beer products dropped 62%, targeted ciders and coolers dropped 6%, and wine and sherry products dropped 25%.
Overall, Saskatchewan drinkers consumed 500,000 fewer litres of high-alcohol products in the first year of the price hike, a drop of 19.4%.
Read more