This month, the NT brought in a minimum unit price on alcohol. This is being lauded as great leadership in the battle against alcohol related harms, but what price based strategies like this seem to miss, is that problem drinking is not just a "let's have another drink" choice. These people are drinking as a result of other issues in their lives and they have an addiction. They will keep drinking until they are able to find healthy, functional ways of dealing with the issues in their lives, and they will need to come off alcohol slowly, under medical supervision. They already spend a fortune on alcohol. What bright spark thinks they will just stop because it costs a little bit more? Do we drive less because petrol costs a lot more than it used to? Did increasing the price of alcopops reduce teen binge drinking? Anyone noticed the current smoking rates despite the massive increase in cost? Similarly, sugar taxes are a crap way of addressing obesity. Drinking coke and eating mars bars already cost a lot more than water and fruit. That does not stop people who want to drink coke and eat mars bars from choosing them. Does the illegality and cost of smack stop an addict using it? Do people only drink because it's cheap? What a ridiculous concept.
Those of us who do not a a drinking problem are mostly capable of rational thought about it. We can think, shit, I can't really afford another drink tonight. But imagine if you have an addiction. Physical symptoms that kick in if you don't drink enough. A mental health problem you are self medicating. You feel like you can't cope with the world if you don't have another drink. Are you going to think, oh dear, this all costs a bit much, I might just stop now? Of course not. You are going to drink away all the money you have available, then probably feel even worse about yourself, your life, your drinking, letting down your family or friends and want to drink more.
Price targeted interventions are like the GST. They are touted as fair things, effecting everyone, regardless of income. Did no one stop to think about the relative impacts? A bottle of cheap wine in the NT will cost $10 instead of $6. That $4 will be meaningless to a well off alcoholic, but a much bigger issue for someone in poverty. For an impoverished person with a drinking problem, they are going to keep drinking, except now they will have even less money for food, housing, clothing, medication, you know, life essentials. They will resort to crime or begging in order to get the money to keep drinking, lose any housing they have managed to hold onto, forego food, because continuing drinking is not really a choice until the underlying issues are addressed. Price increases only add to the socioeconomic costs of problem drinking.
Price related interventions are a classic example of individualising problems in our society. We will punish the people who make poor choices by increasing the cost. If that has other negative impacts on their life, that's their fault because they made that choice. They should realise the consequences of their decision. The underlying message of individualising broader social problems is that people who drink are bad, people who are poor are bad, people who are obese are bad.
Truly great leadership would promote social and structural change. It would address poverty, violence, dispossession, isolation, mental health issues, racism and homophobia. It would fund support services and rehabilitation. It would challenge toxic masculinity. It would target the companies making money out of alcohol. It would restrict advertising. It would challenge the Australian culture of drinking. It would work to disassociate binge drinking from sport, parties, nights out, bbqs and other celebrations. Increasing the price of alcohol is an easy way of looking like they are doing something about the problem without actually addressing any of the fundamental causes that take drinking from a recreational pastime into a problem and not stepping on the toes of big business who make money out of alcohol.
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