Chronic liver diseases are responsible for 1.8% of all deaths in Europe and, in the absence of policies to reduce alcohol consumption, this percentage is expected to increase.
Over the past three decades, deaths from chronic liver disease have increased by 25% and those from liver cancer by 70%. While several factors contribute, such as poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, alcohol is the main aggravating factor. A study presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) congress suggests that increasing alcohol prices and taxes could potentially reduce liver cancer by around 5% and chronic liver disease by 7% by 2023.
Increasing alcohol taxes poses a significant public health problem, as indicated by research using epidemiological and consumption data from France, the Netherlands and Romania. According to María Buti, public health advisor at EASL, Europe has the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the world. The study model evaluates the potential reduction in alcohol consumption based on three different scenarios* and assesses their impact on liver disease. Among the different policies examined, the most effective approach was to implement a minimum unit price (MUP) of 1 euro per "standard alcohol unit", equivalent to 12.7 ml of pure alcohol or 10 g of alcohol. If this pricing model were applied, a bottle of distilled alcohol with an alcoholic volume of 40% could not be sold for less than 24 euros and a bottle of wine could not be sold for less than 7 euros.
The alcohol industry expresses its discontent
In response to critics who call these measures "inherently regressive" (imposing a higher tax burden on low-income households), the public health advisor counters that alcohol-related issues also follow this pattern. The alcohol industry often uses this argument to oppose the implementation of these policies, claiming that they would negatively impact poorer communities and be unfair. However, the counterargument is that alcohol and diet-related health problems also disproportionately affect low-income populations. These populations are more likely to suffer from chronic liver diseases and would therefore benefit from such taxation, explains María Buti, public health advisor.
Taxing alcohol as a way to save lives has proven effective in Scotland and Wales. These countries implemented a minimum pricing policy in 2018 and 2020, which resulted in a 3.5% drop in sales the year following the price increase. A study published in The Lancet showed that the minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol in Scotland prevented around 150 alcohol-related deaths per year. Dr Jean-Pierre Thierry, medical advisor to France Assos Santé, says that the relationship between increasing prices and reducing consumption is a mathematical certainty. This principle also applies to tobacco, where successive price increases, plain packaging and reimbursement of nicotine substitutes have contributed to reducing smoking, particularly among young people.
*Three pricing models were analyzed: €1 minimum unit price (MUP) on alcohol; a combination of €0.7 MUP and a tax on sugary drinks; a combination of €0.7 MUP, SSB tax and a volumetric tax on alcohol.
