AUSTRALIAN drinkers have spent $4.5 billion in "alcopop" taxes that have failed to curb teen binge drinking.
A federally-funded study to be released today reveals the tax has not dinted the number of teenagers and young people with alcohol-related injuries.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd slapped a 70 per cent tax increase on pre-mixed drinks - dubbed "alcopops" - in 2008 to try to curb binge drinking.
But a new University of Queensland analysis of 87,665 alcohol-related visits to hospital emergency departments over three years has found the tax made no difference.
"The premise was that this tax would reduce alcohol consumption among young people, as teenagers of both sexes prefer pre-mixed drinks over other forms of alcohol," the researchers concluded.
"The increased tax on `alcopops' was not associated with any reduction in hospital admissions for alcohol-related harms in Queensland 15-29 year-olds."
The lead researcher, UQ School of Population Health professor Steve Kisely, said young people had turned to other types of drink.
He said some bottle shops began taping bottles of soft drink or fruit juice to bottles of spirits, once the tax came in.
"If teenagers are looking for a good time and find their favorite tipple of alcopops has doubled in price, they're not going to go home and have a hot mug of chocolate," he told News Limited yesterday.
"They're going to find something else ... it's generally spirits.
"People are falling over and breaking limbs, hitting their heads, getting into fights and having traffic accidents."
The UQ analysis will be presented at the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in Sydney today.
An analysis of the federal Budget papers reveals that Australians have paid $4.5bn in "alcopops" taxes since 2008/09.
They are forecast to spend $960m next financial year, and $1bn in 2014/15.
But the tax collected in the past three years has fallen $411m short of forecasts made in the 2010/11 budget.
Actual revenue fell $60m short in 2010/11 and $121m short in 2011/12 - while the forecast for this financial year has been lowered by $230m.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows drinkers have switched from pre-mixed drinks, such as rum-and-coke, to pure spirits since the tax was introduced.
Consumption of pre-mixed drinks fell 31 per cent between 2008 and 2011, the latest data shows.
But Australians drank 20 per cent more in pure spirits over the same period.
Professor Kisely suggested that alcohol taxes be raised across the board, and that bottle shops and pubs enforce age limits for drinkers.
"The problem with targeting one particular drink is that people will go and find something cheaper," he said.
"Maybe look at pricing across the board."
ALCOPOP TAX REVENUE
What the 2010/11 Budget papers predicted .... and what was collected
- 2010/11 $960m $900m
- 2011/12 $1.03bn $909m
- 2012/13 $1.13bn $900m
Source: Budget papers
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