Alcohol-related deaths are a crisis, and taxes are a known solution.
The synthetic opioid fentanyl is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. It's a national crisis and deserves our attention. |
Only one of these two tragedies has the nation's attention. The other has been normalized to the point where we seemingly don't consider more than 100,000 lives lost to a preventable cause a crisis. |
While winning the war on drugs is now far out of reach, we do actually know how to reduce American fatalities from excessive drinking. |
About a half-century worth of research has shown that raising taxes on alcohol reduces alcohol-related deaths. According to researchers, a rough rule of thumb holds that a 10 percent increase in the price of alcohol reduces drinking by 5 percent or more. |
In some ways, my comparison to fentanyl is unfair and unneeded. The insidious nature of drug syndicates lacing pills to increase America's habit is incomparable. |
But America's failed war on drugs has led many experts to believe we should be focusing on harm reduction — strategies to reduce deaths and suffering — instead of on ineffective prohibition and enforcement measures. |
Why shouldn't that same philosophy carry over to a legal and widely used drug like alcohol? |
Yes, we know taxes aren't fun. But even an increase of pennies per drink could lead to fewer car crashes, lower rates of liver disease, a dip in crime — even fewer cases of sexually transmitted diseases. |
Would you be willing to pay such a tax if you knew it could save lives? |
Today's Opinion Video confronts this matter. We also invite you to chime in and participate in a poll: Do you think raising taxes on alcohol is a good idea? Let us know if we've convinced you. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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