Call to lift alcohol levy by another $5m following damning report

An alcohol harm prevention expert is calling for change after a damning report estimated the cost of alcohol harm to be at $9.1 billion dollars.

The report was commissioned by the Ministry of Health in an attempt to estimate the cost of alcohol harm in New Zealand.

It found the cost of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder at $4.8 billion, $4 billion in loss of productivity, and $2.1 billion in the societal cost of road crashes.

Many of the costs overlapped, which was why the overall cost was estimated to be $9.1 billion.

Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Andrew Galloway from Alcohol Healthwatch said the total dollar figure "unfortunately" was "not a surprise".

"What alarms me, or is shocking really, is just how much more evidence there is around the impact of alcohol harm to others.

"I think the staggering $9.1 billion cost evidence some of those harms felt by society."

At Cabinet yesterday, the Government agreed to lift the current alcohol levy, which funded alcohol harm reduction, from $11.5 million to $16.6 million.

The report suggested increasing it to $21.5 million to keep up with inflation.

Galloway said it was a "missed opportunity" not to put the levy higher.

"We’re disappointed it’s not more because even at $20 million, it would be half a cent on a unit of alcohol."

He said there was "really good strong evidence" and "international consensus" that the price, availability, and marketing of alcohol were "the most effective" things that New Zealand could change to reduce harm.

"I think we need to think about whether we are comfortable as a society with everywhere that alcohol is for sale.

"You could ask the question of whether supermarkets are the right place to stock them.

"This report and this staggering cost of $9.1 billion should be an indication to the Government that there’s a big problem, and it would be good to look at some of those big policy leavers."

Virginia Nicholls from the NZ Alcohol Beverages Council also joined Breakfast, and said she welcomed the report.

"It’s clearer than previous reports about how we can use this information to reduce alcohol harm," she said.

Nicholls said, however, the report acknowledged "a lot of uncertainty" about the numbers estimate, "with potential overestimation as well as significant gaps in the evidence base".

She said, "the categories should not be compared directly with one another", as there was a lot of overlap.

"I think what we need to do here and really need to look at is this an opportunity really to look at targeted measures.

"We need to deal with specific measures like interventions aimed at discouraging risky drinking among heavy drinkers.

Nicholls suggested introducing something similar to South Dakota's innovative 24/7 Sobriety Program, which required those arrested for or convicted of alcohol-involved offences to take twice-a-day breathalyser tests or wear a continuous alcohol monitoring bracelet.

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"And pregnancy is an absolute area that we need to be looking at."

Asked whether the current levy should be higher to ensure the alcohol industry was paying its fair share, Nicholls said excise tax and GST already cost billions and said the "significant" increase would hit retailers and consumers.