Taxation is the most cost-effective policy to reduce alcohol consumption, with a cost of 22 and 41 international dollars per DALY saved in low- and lower-middle-income countries and upper-middle-and high-income countries, respectively (this estimate does not account for the revenues generated by alcohol taxation). According to recent modelling by the WHO for the Global Business Plan for Noncommunicable Diseases, the return on investment of the alcohol “best buy” policies (increases in taxation, comprehensive restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising, and restrictions on availability) in low- and lower-middle-income countries showed that for every $1 invested, a country should expect, on average, $9.13 in return.

Table of contents

Key points | Alcohol consumption and its impact on health in the Americas | The effects of excise taxation on alcohol consumption | The effects of increasing alcohol prices through taxes on alcohol-related harms | Cost-effectiveness of alcohol taxation | Types of alcohol taxation | Effects of alcohol taxation on subpopulations | Alcohol taxation and pricing in the Americas | Other considerations of taxation | Bibliography.