Modelling the relationship between tax and price policies and impacts on alcohol consumption and harms in different socio-economic groups in Canada

Funding body

Public Health Agency of Canada

Duration of support

April 2022 to March 2023

Background

The harms caused by alcohol in population groups with different levels of socioeconomic status is marked with lower SES  groups experiencing much more alcohol-caused harm for the same amount of alcohol consumption. This finding, named the Alcohol Harms Paradox, has been universally found across many different countries and cultures. The Public Health Agency of Canada contracted our team to investigate this Harms Paradox through the lens of changes in alcohol tax and pricing policies; these policies are consistently top-ranked by the World Health Organization on its list of substance use policy “Best Buys.”

Progress to date

This project was completed in March 2023.