Citation

Sherk A. J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

DOI

10.15288/jsad.23-00241

PMID

38206668

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Governments generate substantial revenue from the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages. However, the use of this alcohol results in considerable public costs of healthcare, criminal justice and economic loss of production. As comparisons of these two sides of the same coin are limited, this study aims to estimate this net alcohol surplus or deficit in Canada and each province/territory for a fourteen-year study period.

METHOD: Net government revenue from alcohol sales and net social costs of alcohol use were estimated for Canada and each province/territory for all years of study 2007 to 2020 and all dollar figures were CPI-adjusted to 2020 $CAD. The net alcohol surplus/deficit was estimated as the difference. Per capita recorded alcohol sold was from administrative sources and used as proxy to calculate alcohol used by adding an estimate of unrecorded use and converting to Canadian standard drinks (CSDs). The per-drink net deficit was the net deficit divided by CSDs.

RESULTS: In Canada in 2020, governments generated CAD$13.3 billion in revenue from alcohol sales, but this was offset by $19.7 billion in social costs attributable to alcohol use. This 'alcohol deficit' increased by 122.0% in real-dollar terms over the study period and reached a high of CAD$6.4 billion in 2020. In 2020, the magnitude of the alcohol used in Canada was 16.8 billion CSDs. Each of these drinks resulted in a public net deficit of CAD$0.379.

DISCUSSION: Both alcohol use and the resulting public alcohol deficit are high in Canada. To mitigate these losses to the well-being of Canadians and their economy, government planners, regulators and policymakers must urgently deploy evidence-based alcohol policies towards reducing the magnitude of alcohol used in Canada.

Language: en

Keywords

alcohol; alcohol deficit; alcohol policy; economic cost of alcohol use study; government revenue from alcohol; per-drink alcohol deficit; total alcohol consumption; total alcohol sold