The early impact of the UK's new alcohol taxation system on product strength and price: an exploratory comparative descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: We explored the early impact of changes to the UK alcohol tax system, implemented in August 2023, on the strength and price of alcoholic products available for sale on the website of the largest supermarket in England. STUDY DESIGN: Our comparative descriptive study using longitudinal brand-level data was not preregistered and should be considered exploratory. METHODS: Data were collected weekly (May to October 2023) using automated web scraping tools. Outcomes were product strength (% alcohol by volume [ABV]) and price (per 10 mL of pure alcohol and per litre of product). We undertook paired t-tests, two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, and quantile regression to compare outcomes before and after the tax changes. Beer, cider, spirits, and ready-to-drinks (RTDs) were analysed separately. RESULTS: There was a reduction in the mean strength of beer, driven by manufacturers reformulating a small number of weaker beers, moving them into a lower tax band (<3.5%ABV). The mean price per 10 mL of alcohol and per litre of product was significantly higher after the new tax system for beer, cider, and spirits and significantly lower for RTDs. Increases in the price of beer tended to occur across the entire distribution, whereas increases in the price of cider occurred among more expensive products. CONCLUSIONS: Changes to product strength tended to occur among weaker products near the new lowest tax band, suggesting tax bands may be a potential stimulus for change. Reformulation of stronger products would have better public health potential. Longer term monitoring, including data on purchasing/consumption, is required.

Evaluation of Alcohol Taxes as a Public Health Opportunity to Reduce Liver Transplant Listings for Alcohol-Related Liver Disease.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is a leading indication for liver transplantation. METHODS: State consumption of spirits, wine, and beer was determined from published sources. Excise and ad valorem alcohol taxes of spirits, wine, and beer were calculated following standard practices and correlated using multiple logistic regression models to 2002 to 2015 ALD transplant listing data from the United Network for Organ Sharing database. RESULTS: 21.22% (29,161/137,440) of transplant listings were for ALD. Increased consumption of spirits was associated with increased ALD transplant listings (odds ratio [OR]: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.12 to 2.49, p = 0.01), but wine and beer consumption did not have a statistically significant association with ALD transplant listings. Spirits excise taxes on- and off-premise were inversely associated with ALD transplant listing (OR: 0.79 and 0.82, respectively, both p < 0.02). Beer and wine taxes were not significantly associated with ALD transplant listings. CONCLUSIONS: Transplant listings for ALD are directly associated with spirit consumption and inversely associated with spirits excise taxes. These findings suggest a possible public health benefit of increasing excise taxes for spirits.

Profiling of carbohydrates in commercial beers and their influence on beer quality.

BACKGROUND: The carbohydrates in beer play an important role as they are essential for fermentation. Any change in their composition may influence the sensory characteristics of the beer and so their determination is of great interest. This study compares the carbohydrates in three types of commercial beer - barley malt beer, wheat beer, and barley malt beer with adjuncts - and examines their influence on beer quality, which is important for selecting raw ingredients and production conditions, and for quality control. RESULTS: Among the oligosaccharides in three types of beer, raffinose was the most, followed by maltotetraose, maltotriose and maltose. Monosaccharides were only present in small amounts. Dextrin, oligosaccharides with 2-6 polymerization degree and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) make up 15.90-34.83%, 17.59-38.63%, and 2.33-7.47% of the total carbohydrates in beer, respectively. The dextrin content and NSP content were significantly (P < 0.05) different in wheat beer and barley malt beer, and their content was significantly (P < 0.01) correlated with the content of extracts in beer. Non-starch polysaccharide, dextrin, trisaccharide, and tetrasaccharide content significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with beer viscosity. These beer samples could be categorized clearly into three groups by principal component analysis. CONCLUSION: The oligosaccharides in beer reflect yeast utilization, depending on the type of beer. Dextrin, oligosaccharides with 2-4 polymerization, and NSP, were major carbohydrates in beer. Their composition and concentration influenced its characteristics and quality, and played an important role in the discrimination of different beer types. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Price Elasticity of Alcohol Demand in India.

AIMS: Using a household survey conducted in 2014, this study estimates price elasticity of demand (PED) for beer, country liquor and spirits in India. METHODS: Ordinary least-square models were used to estimate the responsiveness in alcohol demand due to price change. A large number of control variables were included to adjust for potential confounding in the model. Inter-district variation in alcohol consumption is adjusted for by including district fixed effects. RESULTS: Alcohol prices are negatively associated with demand for alcoholic beverages. The PED ranged from -0.14 for spirits to -0.46 for country liquor. Low level of education was positively associated with spirits consumption. The magnitude of elasticity varied by rural-urban, education and gender. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that a policy mix of price controls and awareness campaigns would be most effective in tackling the adverse effects of harmful drinking in India. SUMMARY: The demand for beer, country liquor and spirits is negatively associated with its own price. The elasticity estimates ranged from -0.14 for spirits to -0.44 for country liquor. The elasticity estimates varied by rural-urban, gender and by education levels of the drinkers.

Chinese consumers and European beer: Associations between attribute importance, socio-demographics, and consumption.

The demand for western alcoholic beverages in China has increased tremendously in recent years. However, there is still a lack of understanding with regard to the behaviour of Chinese consumers towards European beer, which is a common western alcoholic beverage. This study explores associations between beer attribute importance scores, socio-demographic factors, general beer consumption frequency and country associations of European beer, and the consumption of imported European beer in China. The data (n = 541) were collected in two Chinese cities: Shanghai and Xi'an. Results of ordered logistic regression analyses show that the consumption of imported European beer is positively associated with importance attached to the product attributes Origin, Brand, Colour and Texture, and it is negatively associated with importance attached to Price and Alcoholic content. Furthermore, male gender, living in Shanghai city, a good financial situation, frequent beer consumption and a high-level employment position have a significantly positive influence on European beer consumption in China. In addition, about two thirds of the study participants associate imported European beer with 'Germany'.

Unrecorded Alcohol and Alcohol-Related Harm in Rural Sabah, Malaysia: A Socio-economically Deprived Region with Expensive Beer and Cheap Local Spirits.

AIM: To investigate recorded and unrecorded alcohol and the relation to alcohol-related harm in a region with high taxation, economic deprivation and cultural use of alcohol. METHODS: Two participants per household were systematically sampled from 12 different villages chosen using stratified random sampling in the North of Sabah, Malaysia. Participants were asked about each type and amount of drink consumed; price paid, whether tax was paid, number of days sick in the last year and whether they had experienced various health problems. A brief screen for mental disorders (PHQ) and an alcohol disorder screening test (AUDIT) were completed. Village heads were also interviewed about alcohol-related problems at village level. RESULTS: 470 people were interviewed. The most commonly drunk beverages were beer and Montoku (a local distilled beverage), which had average prices of RM3.85 and RM0.48 per standard drink respectively. Montoku was more likely to be drunk by problem drinkers. Only 3.1% of alcohol drunk was believed by respondents to be taxed. Men with an AUDIT score of more than 15 were more likely to have had a sick day in the last year and have a female household member with symptoms of mental disorder on PHQ. CONCLUSIONS: Change in the taxation structure needs to be considered to reduce alcohol-related harm. Most alcohol consumed in rural Sabah is smuggled or informal. The low price of local spirits is likely to be contributing to alcohol-related harm. Differential effects on minority populations need to be considered when designing alcohol policy.

Impact of Maryland's 2011 alcohol sales tax increase on alcoholic beverage sales.

BACKGROUND: Increasing alcohol taxes has proven effective in reducing alcohol consumption, but the effects of alcohol sales taxes on sales of specific alcoholic beverages have received little research attention. Data on sales are generally less subject to reporting biases than self-reported patterns of alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the effects of Maryland's July 1, 2011 three percentage point increase in the alcohol sales tax (6-9%) on beverage-specific and total alcohol sales. METHODS: Using county-level data on Maryland's monthly alcohol sales in gallons for 2010-2012, by beverage type, multilevel mixed effects multiple linear regression models estimated the effects of the tax increase on alcohol sales. We controlled for seasonality, county characteristics, and national unemployment rates in the main analyses. RESULTS: In the 18 months after the tax increase, average per capita sales of spirits were 5.1% lower (p < 0.001), beer sales were 3.2% lower (p < 0.001), and wine sales were 2.5% lower (p < 0.01) relative to what would have been expected from sales trends in the 18 months prior to the tax increase. Overall, the alcohol sales tax increase was associated with a 3.8% decline in total alcohol sold relative to what would have been expected based on sales in the prior 18 months (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that increased alcohol sales taxes may be as effective as excise taxes in reducing alcohol consumption and related problems. Sales taxes also have the added advantages of rising with inflation and taxing the highest priced beverages most heavily.

Minimum prices for alcohol and educational disparities in alcohol-related mortality.

BACKGROUND: Minimum price of alcohol is one of the proposed set of alcohol policies in many high-income countries. However, the extent to which alcohol-related harm is associated with minimum prices across socioeconomic groups is not known. METHODS: Using Finnish national registers in 1988-2007, we investigated, by means of time-series analysis, the association between minimum prices for alcohol overall, as well as for various types of alcoholic beverages, and alcohol-related mortality, among men and women ages 30-79 years across three educational groups. We defined quarterly aggregations of alcohol-related deaths, based on a sample including 80% of all deaths, in accordance with information on both underlying and contributory causes of death. RESULTS: About 62,500 persons died from alcohol-related causes during the 20-year follow-up. The alcohol-related mortality rate was more than threefold higher among those with a basic education than among those with a tertiary education. Among men with a basic education, an increase of 1% in the minimum price of alcohol was associated with a decrease of 0.03% (95% confidence interval = 0.01, 0.04%) in deaths per 100,000 person-years. Changes in the minimum prices of distilled spirits, intermediate products, and strong beer were also associated with changes in the opposite direction among men with a basic education and among women with a secondary education, whereas among the most highly educated there were no associations between the minimum prices of any beverages and mortality. Moreover, we found no evidence of an association between lower minimum prices for wine and higher rates of alcohol-related mortality in any of the population sub-groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results reveal associations between higher minimum prices and lower alcohol-related mortality among men with a basic education and women with a secondary education for all beverage types except wine.

Release of bisphenols from can coatings into canned beer in China market.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this research was to understand the migration of bisphenols from can coatings into foods in the Chinese market. RESULTS: The migration of bisphenols was studied in commercial cans from the Chinese market filled with four types of food simulant (FS), which were heated at 121 °C for 30 min and stored at 40 °C for 30 days. Only bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) were found in the can coatings, and SimC (10% (v/v) ethanol/water) was the most suitable FS for their release. The levels of these bisphenols in 24 kinds of canned beer from Chinese markets were also investigated. The average concentrations of BPA and BADGE were 2.85 ± 0.79 and 0.38 ± 0.19 µg · L⁻¹ respectively, which were both lower than the EU limits, and their respective daily intakes were estimated at 0.015 and 0.0020 µg · kg⁻¹ body weight · day⁻¹. Besides, increasing storage temperature and time accelerated the release of bisphenols into FSs. CONCLUSION: The present results provide some guidance to reduce the migration of bisphenols during the transport and storage of canned foods.

Association of the availability of beer, wine, and liquor outlets with beverage-specific alcohol consumption: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence exists on whether beverage-specific alcohol availability is associated with beverage-specific consumption. We longitudinally examined whether the number and change in number of beer, wine, and liquor outlets near one's home are associated with alcohol consumption by beverage type. METHODS: The study population consisted of 28,074 women and 6,639 men of the Finnish Public Sector Study who reported their alcohol use at baseline (in 2004/2005) and follow-up (in 2008/2009). The coordinates of their residence and alcohol outlets during the study period were obtained from national registers. Associations of the number and change in the number of beer, wine, and liquor outlets with beer, wine, and liquor consumption were analyzed using 2-level cumulative logistic regression adjusted for individual- and area-level characteristics. RESULTS: Having ≥3 wine outlets within 0.5 km of home was associated with a higher likelihood of wine consumption compared with having no outlets within 0.5 km: the cumulative odds ratios (CORs) 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10 to 1.31) in women and 1.29 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.56) in men. For an increase in the number of wine outlets, the COR for wine consumption was 1.16 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.25) among all women and 1.10 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.21) among those who did not move between surveys. No corresponding beverage-specific outlet-consumption associations were observed for beer and liquor. CONCLUSIONS: A high number of wine outlets near home may increase wine consumption among men and women. In addition, an increase in the number of wine outlets may add to its consumption among women, independent of the individuals' choice to move to areas of better availability.

Characterization of the volatile profiles of beer using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was a multivariate characterization of the volatile profile of beers. Such a characterization is timely considering the increasing worldwide consumption of beer, the continuous growth of microbreweries and the importance of volatile compounds to beer flavour. A method employing solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was optimized and then applied to a sample set of 36 industrial and craft beers of various styles and fermentation types. RESULTS: The volatile profiles of different beer styles is described, with particular attention paid to the volatile compounds characteristic of a spontaneously fermented lambic raspberry framboise beer. Furthermore, it was also possible to identify which specific volatile compounds are principally responsible for the differences in the volatile profiles of top- and bottom-fermented beers. Moreover, a volatile fingerprint of the craft top-fermented Italian beers was defined, as they show a very similar volatile profile. Finally, the volatile compounds that are characteristic of the bock-style beers are described. CONCLUSIONS: The SPME-GC-MS analytical method optimized in this study is suitable for characterizing the volatile fingerprint of different beers, especially on the basis of the kind of fermentation (top, bottom or spontaneous), the method of production and the style of the beer.

Brewer's spent grain: a valuable feedstock for industrial applications.

Brewer's spent grain (BSG) is the most abundant by-product generated from the beer-brewing process, representing approximately 85% of the total by-products obtained. This material is basically constituted by the barley grain husks obtained as solid residue after the wort production. Since BSG is rich in sugars and proteins, the main and quickest alternative for elimination of this industrial by-product has been as animal feed. However, BSG is a raw material of interest for application in different areas because of its low cost, large availability throughout the year and valuable chemical composition. In the last decade, many efforts have been directed towards the reuse of BSG, taking into account the incentive that has been given to recycle the wastes and by-products generated by industrial activities. Currently, many interesting and advantageous methods for application of BSG in foods, in energy production and in chemical and biotechnological processes have been reported. The present study presents and discusses the most recent perspectives for BSG application in such areas.

Phenolic-enriched fractions from brewers' spent grain possess cellular antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects in cell culture model systems.

BACKGROUND: Large quantities of brewers' spent grain (BSG), a co-product of the brewing industry, are produced annually. BSG contains hydroxycinnamic acids, and phenolic-rich extracts from BSG have previously demonstrated the ability to protect against oxidant-induced DNA damage. The present study investigated the anti-inflammatory potential of eight phenolic extracts from BSG: four pale (P1-P4) and four black (B1-B4) extracts. RESULTS: BSG extracts were more cytotoxic in Jurkat T than U937 cells, with lower IC50 values in Jurkat T cells, measured using the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Pale BSG extracts P2 and P3 showed the greatest anti-inflammatory potential, significantly (P < 0.05) reducing interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4, P2 only), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production. In addition, extracts P1-P3 and B2-B4 showed significant (P < 0.05) antioxidant effects, determined by the cellular antioxidant activity assays superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione content (GSH). CONCLUSION: Phenolic extracts from BSG, particularly the pale BSG extracts, have the ability to reduce a stimulated cytokine production and may also protect against cellular oxidative stress. Results of the present study highlight the potential of BSG phenolic extracts to act as functional food ingredients, providing an alternative use and improving the value of this brewing industry co-product.

The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial.

AIMS: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England. DESIGN: Randomised crossover field trial. SETTING: England. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness. FINDINGS: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was -20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = -41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of -29 L per week (95% CI = -53 to -5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = -328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available. CONCLUSIONS: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.

The Paradox of Alcohol and Food Affordability: Minimal Impact of Leading Beer and Cachaça Brands on Brazilian Household Income Amid Hazardous Drinking Patterns.

Alcohol consumption, associated with various cancers, mental disorders, and aggressive behavior, leads to three million deaths globally each year. In Brazil, the alcohol per capita consumption among drinkers aged 15 and over is 41.7 g of pure alcohol/day (~1 L beer/day), which falls into the risky consumption category and exceeds the global average by almost 30%. An effective way to mitigate alcohol-related harm is to increase its retail price. This study assesses the costs of consuming leading brands of beer and sugarcane spirit cachaça (Brazil's most popular alcoholic beverages) against the expenditure on staple foods. Data on food and alcoholic beverage prices were collected in João Pessoa, Brazil, for 2020 and 2021. The cost per gram of pure alcohol and food were considered to establish consumption patterns of 16.8 g/day (moderate), 41.7 g/day, and 83.4 g/day (heavy), distributed in three scenarios involving the beverages alone or combined (64% beer and 36% cachaça), and a balanced 2000 kcal/day staple diet. The study finds that all heavy consumption scenarios cost less or significantly less (cachaça alone) than a 2000 kcal/day staple diet, highlighting an urgent need for fiscal policies, such as a minimum unit pricing for alcohol, to address public health concerns.

One more beer? Serving alcohol to pseudo-intoxicated guests in bars.

BACKGROUND: Consuming large quantities of alcohol might result in negative consequences for both individual drinkers (alcohol dependency and addiction) and society (violence, traffic crashes). In order to decrease the prevalence of alcohol abuse, many countries have adopted regulations prohibiting the catering industry to serve alcohol to intoxicated guests. This article investigated compliance with these regulations in the Netherlands. METHODS: A study was conducted in which pseudo-intoxicated actors tried to order alcoholic drinks in 58 bars. A 2 × 2 design was used, based on (i) the number of actors involved (1 vs. 2) and (ii) the level of intoxication (moderately vs. very drunk). In contrast to earlier studies, research accomplices checked afterward whether the bartenders noticed that the actors appeared intoxicated. RESULTS: In 86% of the cases, the actors were able to buy alcohol, without comments or questions. In 10%, the actors were refused entrance by a bouncer. Only in 4%, the bartender refused to serve. In 81% of the cases, the bartenders remembered the actors: In 93% of those cases, they noticed that the actor appeared intoxicated. Only the "very drunk" script involving 2 actors led to refusals. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that compliance with the regulations regarding overserving to intoxicated guests is problematic in the Netherlands. Misinterpretations of the situation could be ruled out: Most bartenders noticed that the actors appeared intoxicated but served nonetheless.

The possible impact of an alcohol welfare surcharge on consumption of alcoholic beverages in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: The abuse of alcoholic beverages leads to numerous negative consequences in Taiwan, as around the world. Alcohol abuse not only contributes to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer, but it is also an underlying cause of many other serious problems, such as traffic accidents, lost productivity, and domestic violence. International leaders in health policy are increasingly using taxation as an effective tool with which to lower alcohol consumption. In this study, we assessed how consumption patterns in Taiwan would be affected by levying a welfare surcharge on alcoholic beverages of 20%, 40% or 60% in accordance with the current excise tax. We also assessed the medical savings Taiwan would experience if consumption of alcoholic beverages were to decrease and how much additional revenue a welfare surcharge would generate. METHODS: We estimated the elasticity of four types of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, whisky and brandy) using the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Demand Model. Specifically, we estimated alcohol's price elasticity by analyzing the sales prices and time statistics of these products from 1974 to 2009. RESULTS: Alcoholic beverages in Taiwan have the following price elasticities: beer (-0.820), wine (-0.955), whisky (-0.587), brandy (-0.958). A welfare surcharge tax of 40% in accordance with the excise tax would decrease overall consumption of beer, wine, whisky and brandy between 16.24% and 16.42%. It would also generate New Taiwan Dollar (NT$) revenues of 5.782 billion to 5.993 billion. Savings in medical costs would range from NT$871.07 million to NT$897.46 million annually. CONCLUSIONS: A social and welfare surcharge of 40% on alcoholic beverages in Taiwan would successfully lower consumption rates, decrease medical costs, and generate revenue that could be used to educate consumers and further decrease consumption rates. Consequently, we strongly recommend that such a tax be imposed in Taiwan.

The raising of minimum alcohol prices in Saskatchewan, Canada: impacts on consumption and implications for public health.

OBJECTIVES: We report impacts on alcohol consumption following new and increased minimum alcohol prices in Saskatchewan, Canada. METHODS: We conducted autoregressive integrated moving average time series analyses of alcohol sales and price data from the Saskatchewan government alcohol monopoly for 26 periods before and 26 periods after the intervention. RESULTS: A 10% increase in minimum prices significantly reduced consumption of beer by 10.06%, spirits by 5.87%, wine by 4.58%, and all beverages combined by 8.43%. Consumption of coolers decreased significantly by 13.2%, cocktails by 21.3%, and liqueurs by 5.3%. There were larger effects for purely off-premise sales (e.g., liquor stores) than for primarily on-premise sales (e.g., bars, restaurants). Consumption of higher strength beer and wine declined the most. A 10% increase in minimum price was associated with a 22.0% decrease in consumption of higher strength beer (> 6.5% alcohol/volume) versus 8.17% for lower strength beers. The neighboring province of Alberta showed no change in per capita alcohol consumption before and after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Minimum pricing is a promising strategy for reducing the public health burden associated with hazardous alcohol consumption. Pricing to reflect percentage alcohol content of drinks can shift consumption toward lower alcohol content beverage types.

The alcohol industry lobby and Hong Kong's zero wine and beer tax policy.

BACKGROUND: Whereas taxation on alcohol is becoming an increasingly common practice in many countries as part of overall public health measures, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is bucking the trend and lowered its duties on wine and beer by 50 percent in 2007. In 2008, Hong Kong removed all duties on alcohol except for spirits. The aim of this paper is to examine the case of Hong Kong with its history of changes in alcohol taxation to explore the factors that have driven such an unprecedented policy evolution. METHODS: The research is based on an analysis of primary documents. Searches of official government documents, alcohol-related industry materials and other media reports on alcohol taxation for the period from 2000 to 2008 were systematically carried out using key terms such as "alcohol tax" and "alcohol industry". Relevant documents (97) were indexed by date and topic to undertake a chronological and thematic analysis using Nvivo8 software. RESULTS: Our analysis demonstrates that whereas the city's changing financial circumstances and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's strong propensity towards economic liberalism had, in part, contributed to such dramatic transformation, the alcohol industry's lobbying tactics and influence were clearly the main drivers of the policy decision. The alcohol industry's lobbying tactics were two-fold. The first was to forge a coalition encompassing a range of catering and trade industries related to alcohol as well as industry-friendly lawmakers so that these like-minded actors could find common ground in pursuing changes to the taxation policy. The second was to deliberately promote a blend of ideas to garner support from the general public and to influence the perception of key policy makers. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the success of aggressive industry lobbying coupled with the absence of robust public health advocacy was the main driving force behind the unparalleled abolition of wine and beer duties in Hong Kong. Strong public health alliance and advocacy movement are needed to counteract the industry's continuing aggressive lobby and promotion of alcoholic beverages.