Letters | Liquor tax cut is not worth the risks to public health and society

Readers discuss the dangers of alcohol tax exemption, and National Day celebrations

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Hong Kong currently has a 100 per cent levy on any liquor that has an alcohol content of more than 30 per cent. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:30am, 26 Sep 2024

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The recent appeal made by the alcohol industry and some political parties to cut the tax on beverages with more than 30 per cent alcoholic content ignores facts about alcohol harm and puts people’s health at risk.

First, there is no safe drinking level. Alcohol use plays a causal role in more than 200 diseases, injuries and other health conditions. It contributes to liver and heart diseases; cancers of the breast, liver, head and neck, oesophagus and large bowel; mental health and behavioural conditions such as depression, anxiety and alcohol-use disorders; and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can harm the fetus, causing miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and abnormalities.

According to the World Health Organization, 2.6 million deaths worldwide were attributable to alcohol consumption in 2019, affecting 2 million men and 0.6 million women.

Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, which is a psychoactive and toxic substance with dependence-producing properties, the consequences of which are faced by the drinker and others in the form of road traffic injuries, falls, drowning, burns, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, suicide, family difficulties, issues at work, financial problems and unemployment, although the link to drinking is often unrecognised, tends to be under-reported or simply ignored. The industry’s rationale of promoting “drinking in moderation” is not convincing as every effort in society should be made to reduce alcohol consumption.

Second, a fall in alcohol prices is known to increase consumption, and vice versa. A surge in alcohol consumption per capita was observed from 2.64 litres in 2007 to 2.79 litres in 2008 following the lifting of duty on wine and liquor of an alcoholic strength not more than 30 per cent since February 2008.