Talking about Dry January
February is here, and with it, the first tipple in weeks for people who have been abstaining for “dry January.” A month of sobriety can be a valuable opportunity to examine a relationship with drinking. Unfortunately, these 31 days are one of only a few times in the year when there is national attention directed at alcohol use, even as it continues to be a significant public health issue.
The number of annual alcohol-related deaths in America more than doubled to 72,558 from 1999 to 2017, according to a recent study.
Plenty of people enjoy alcohol without problems, and some studies find that drinking in moderation can deliver health benefits. The industry creates significant employment at businesses large and small, not to mention products that can be both delicious and culturally significant. So prohibition isn’t a good or realistic answer. But statistics show that there are plenty of individuals for whom alcohol is a problem, and the health risks of even mild overuse are clear enough that efforts to reduce consumption are worthwhile.
Smoking has dropped in recent decades after years of effort to the point where it’s having a positive impact on cancer mortality. While there are plenty of trend pieces on lower alcohol consumption by millennials, it hasn’t shown up in population-level statistics. In fact, after years of decline, America’s recorded use has been gradually ticking up since the late 1990s.
There are plenty of cost-effective opportunities to treat alcohol abuse like the public health problem it is—the World Health Organization highlights increasing taxes, regulating physical availability, and restricting exposure to advertising. Over time, such measures can cut consumption and harm, particularly for younger and heavier drinkers.
Americans aren’t much for consumption taxes, and alcohol is no exception. While policy varies by state, the average tax per hectoliter of absolute alcohol is among the lowest in the OECD, though some countries are more lax on beer and wine.
America does have a higher drinking age than many nations, but a majority of countries set permissible blood-alcohol content for drivers below the U.S. standard of 0.08 percent. Regulation varies by state and municipality. Only America could have dry counties where alcohol is entirely unavailable and others where you can buy a high-octane frozen daiquiri at a drive-through store.
Access to smoking-cessation aids has been a big help in lowering tobacco use. Treatment remains an area where the U.S. is notably ineffective when it comes to alcohol, however. Relatively few people that abuse alcohol get treatment at all, and effective medications that can curb abuse are underused due to limited availability and unfortunate stigma.
Dry January focuses on individual improvement. A broader conversation about alcohol regulation could do far more to help the country as a whole—especially when a small measure such as a boosted alcohol tax could help cover the cost of more expensive initiatives.