Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health

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Volume 5, Issue Supplement 1, December 2015, Pages S45 - S57

Can pricing deter adolescents and young adults from starting to drink: An analysis of the effect of alcohol taxation on drinking initiation among Thai adolescents and young adults

Authors
Bundit Sornpaisarna, b, c, *, bundit.sornpaisarn@alum.utoronto.ca bundit.sornpaisarn@yahoo.com, Kevin D. Shieldb, c, d, Joanna E. Cohene, f, Robert Schwartzf, Jürgen Rehmb, c, d, f, g
aCenter for Alcohol Studies, Bangkok, Thailand
bPAHO–WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, Toronto, Canada
cCentre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada
dInstitute of Medical Science (IMS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
eJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA
fDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
gKlinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
*Corresponding author at: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada.
Received 1 November 2014, Revised 5 May 2015, Accepted 18 May 2015, Available Online 13 June 2015.
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2015.05.004How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Alcohol; Drinking initiation; Middle-income countries; Prevention; Taxation; Thailand
Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between alcohol taxation changes and drinking initiation among adolescents and young adults (collectively “youth”) in Thailand (a middle-income country). Using a survey panel, this study undertook an age-period-cohort analysis using four large-scale national cross-sectional surveys of alcohol consumption performed in Thailand in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 (n = 87,176 Thai youth, 15–24 years of age) to test the hypothesis that changes in the inflation-adjusted alcohol taxation rates are associated with drinking initiation. Regression analyses were used to examine the association between inflation-adjusted taxation increases and the prevalence of lifetime drinkers. After adjusting for potential confounders, clear cohort and age effects were observed. Furthermore, a 10% increase of the inflation-adjusted taxation rate of the total alcohol market was significantly associated with a 4.3% reduction in the prevalence of lifetime drinking among Thai youth. In conclusion, tax rate changes in Thailand from 2001 to 2011 were associated with drinking initiation among youth. Accordingly, increases in taxation may prevent drinking initiation among youth in countries with a high prevalence of abstainers and may reduce the harms caused by alcohol.

Copyright
© 2015 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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Journal
Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue
5 - Supplement 1
Pages
S45 - S57
Publication Date
2015/06/13
ISSN (Online)
2210-6014
ISSN (Print)
2210-6006
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2015.05.004How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2015 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bundit Sornpaisarn
AU  - Kevin D. Shield
AU  - Joanna E. Cohen
AU  - Robert Schwartz
AU  - Jürgen Rehm
PY  - 2015
DA  - 2015/06/13
TI  - Can pricing deter adolescents and young adults from starting to drink: An analysis of the effect of alcohol taxation on drinking initiation among Thai adolescents and young adults
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - S45
EP  - S57
VL  - 5
IS  - Supplement 1
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2015.05.004
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2015.05.004
ID  - Sornpaisarn2015
ER  -