What you need to know — ASAP
Sponsored by Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative
This week in Augusta, legislators passed an increase in the alcohol tax for the first time in over 30 years. Prior to its passage, Anheuser-Busch flew in their CEO to try to convince legislators not to pass the tax; thankfully he was not successful!
What is the big deal about an alcohol tax?
Taxation is an effective, low-cost prevention strategy. Use of comprehensive alcohol prevention strategies is a dire need for communities in the nation and in Maine because alcohol abuse harms more people, either directly or indirectly, than are harmed by any other drug. In fact, alcohol kills 6.5 times more youth than all other illegal drugs combined.
Problems associated with alcohol abuse not only cost lives, but also cost Maine residents millions of dollar per year. According to a December 2007 report from the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, the total estimated cost of substance abuse in Maine in 2005 was $898.4 million, which translates into a cost of $682 for every resident of Maine. The majority of those costs were attributed to alcohol abuse, with treatment comprising only 3 percent ($25.2 million) of the total and costs associated with crime comprising the largest proportion of total costs ($214.4 million or 23.9 percent)
According to Malory Shaunnessy of the Maine Association to Prevent Substance Abuse, “The “social costs of alcohol”… are the costs we all pay for now out of our property taxes and income taxes. We pay for the jails and prisons, fire and police protection, child protection and other social welfare programs … [which] are all driven up by the abuse of alcohol.
Please thank your legislator for supporting the very moderate increase in alcohol taxes that was passed this week. It is one step toward curbing a significant problem that impacts all of us.
The article was brought to you by Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention. For more information about ASAP and its prevention efforts contact Clare Desrosiers, project director at 521-2408.
