Changes in the availability of alcohol affect drinking levels and problems and thus the rates of health and social problems. Whose drinking is affected by such changes, and how much and under what circumstances, are important but understudied questions for public health policy. The project studies the short- and medium-term effects of (1) a 45% reduction in Denmark and 44% reduction in Finland in taxes on spirits, along with lesser reductions in other alcohol taxes in Finland; and (2) substantial increases in traveler's allowances for personal alcohol imports in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Cross-border purchasing by those near a neighboring country is expected to increase substantially in southern Sweden, and to change also in Denmark and Finland, with changes hypothesized to follow a gravity model of decrease with distance from the border. Probability samples of the population aged 16-80 in Denmark, Sweden and Finland are to be interviewed concerning alcohol purchasing and drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems prior to the changes, and then reinterviewed annually one, two and three years after the initial interview. New ? samples are also interviewed at each wave of interviewing to control for interview effects and attrition in the longitudinal samples. The northern part of Sweden is used as a control site to study the effects of the changes in taxes in Finland and Denmark and of the changes in traveler's allowances in southern Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Short-run and longer-run effects of changes in taxes and availability will be estimated for different segments of the population, including heavier vs. lighter drinkers. The compatibility of the results with theories of rational addiction will be tested. The longitudinal data in a period of expected overall change in drinking levels will test and contribute to refining the theory of the collectivity of drinking cultures -- that, when changes occur, population groups move in concert up and down the consumption scale. ? ?
Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications
