The consumption of alcohol by Australian adolescents: a comparison of revenue and expenditure.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To estimate (i) Australian government taxation revenue collected from the consumption of alcohol by adolescents and (ii) the amount spent by the government on interventions aimed at educating adolescents about the potential dangers of alcohol use. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis. SETTING: Australia. FINDINGS: Australian adolescents (aged between 12 and 17 years, inclusive) spent approximately US dollars 217 million on alcoholic beverages in 2002, netting the Australian government approximately US dollars 112 million in tax revenue. This resulted in an average of US dollars 195 earned in tax per adolescent drinker. It is estimated that the Government spent approximately US dollars 17 million on adolescent drinking interventions in 2002, equating to an expenditure of about US dollars 10.51 per adolescent on the delivery of alcohol interventions. For every dollar spent on alcohol interventions aimed at adolescents, it is estimated that the government receives around US dollars 7 in alcohol tax revenue. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial disparity exists between the amount of tax revenue received by the Australian government from adolescent drinkers and the overall amount spent in attempting to prevent and relieve some of the problems associated with adolescent problem drinking.