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Raising The Price Of Alcohol

Cheers! We're killing ourselves

A massive hike in alcohol prices is the key solution to a national booze problem which kills nearly three people every day and injures many more, say doctors and counsellors. Ref. Source 8

Alcohol Price Raising

I have found that I drink less and less as the price of alcohol keeps rising. I believe as it keeps rising in price more and more people are going to stop drinking because they will not be able to afford it.

Raising The Price Of Alcohol Health & Special Psychology

The solution is simple: Put alcohol prices up and reduce advertising

A battle is under way over New Zealand's future alcohol policies, with the police, health professionals and many ordinary New Zealanders arguing that urgent action is needed to reduce the country's destructive heavy drinking culture. Ref. Source 2

Alcohol Price Raising

Those with a drinking problem wouldn't stop just because of the price. The only people this may affect are casual drinkers.
I mean when all it takes is a jug of juice, a sticky bun and a couple of cups of sugar to make you own booze, how many problem drinkers are really going to care? Slightly inconvenienced but that's about it. I think they need to find a better solution. I certainly don't have one though.

Alcohol Price Raising

Dead2u is absolutely right with what he said but I have the feeling this may be to deter those thinking about starting to drink. In reading about drinking in that country they have a serious problem with many of their youths getting hooked from early.

Raising The Price Of Alcohol

Good point and reminder that I should"ve read the story first but if you can't change the culture of drinking with the parents which this won't, you won't affect the children either.
Reading the source material, I found a bit odd. One quote in particular stands out,

This is idiotic. Are the writers that impressed with themselves that they truly believe heavy drinkers will think this way? If they do, then they are the wrong people to fix the problem. They need to educate the young and their parents. It needs to be shown how the behaviour is destructive to them, personally and not in the patronising way of the above quote. All they will do is put people on the defensive.
We have a big youth drinking problem in Australia as well. We have little to no advertising or sponsorship and pretty high tax rates on alcohol. The problem is still there and getting worse.
In the town I live there are 45 stores in the local shopping strip. Included in this are 2 bottle shops & 5 bars. All this in only 400 meters. Perhaps they could reduce the saturation of product rather than just upping the tax bought in from the sale.

Raising Price Alcohol

Maybe some New Zealander will get me for this but after covering news from there so much I think it is a cultural problem where vice, crime and drugs are becoming more frequent and so the government is trying to 'pull at straws' to fix it, this being one of those straws.

See some of these for examples:

* Crime in New Zealand: Source 4
* New Zealand Drunks: Source 3
* New Zealand Gangs: Source 9
* New Zealand Teens: Source 8

Raising Price Alcohol Psychology Special & Health

I know some people will not be able to stop even if they can not afford the price of alcohol. Just like we saw back when gas prices were over $4 a gallon we had a rise in gas thefts at many stations. You can see this by the added number of stations that now require a credit card or prepay for gas just to fill your tank.