Does Beverage Type Matter?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the associations of different beverage types with different types of harm and discuss their likely causes. The key issue is whether alcohol policy can influence the occurrence of harms by affecting consumers' beverage choices. This is dependent on the following questions addressed in this article: 1) Does beverage choice affect alcohol-related harm if quantity of alcohol is equal? 2) Does beverage choice impact the quantity of alcohol consumed? 3) Can beverage choice influence the nature of the drinking situation and thereby quantities and harm? The literature review did not reveal great differences between different beverages with regard to harm if equal amounts are drunk, although it seems that spirits are somewhat more closely associated with alcohol poisonings and aggressive behaviour. Our results showed that spirits have a prominent role in Finnish binge drinking: the proportion of spirits consumed increases in direct proportion to the amounts of alcohol consumed on individual drinking occasions. we conclude that it would be unwise to encourage consumers to favour spirits. Currently, the difference in taxes on spirits and mild alcoholic beverages in Finland is larger than the corresponding difference in harm per litre of ethyl alcohol. However, an equal rate of taxes would make spirits much cheaper per litre of ethyl alcohol than other beverages. Based on our review, this situation would in all probability lead to an increase in alcohol-related harm.