Impact of minimum unit pricing on youth alcohol consumption: insights from Lebanon. Issue 6 (11th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chaaban, Jad; Haddad, Joanne; Ghandour, Lilian; Chalak, Ali
• Is Part Of: Health policy and planning. Volume 37:Issue 6(2022)
• Page Start: 760
• Page End: 770
• Publication Date: 2022-03-11
• Subjects: Almost-ideal demand system -- volumetric choice experiment -- alcohol -- youth -- minimum unit pricing -- elasticity; Medical policy -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Public health -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Health planning -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; 362.1091724
• DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czac021
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-1080

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyses the impact of introducing an alcohol minimum unit pricing policy on youth's off-premise alcohol consumption. We rely on price elasticities derived using stated preference alcohol purchase data from a survey of 1024 university students in Lebanon. Selectively targeting drinks with high ethanol concentration by applying a minimum unit pricing (MUP) corresponding to the maximum price that respondents are willing to pay per beverage achieves a reduction in ethanol intake close to 0.23 l/month (∼28% of pre-MUP ethanol intake). Imposing a flat MUP corresponding to the average price respondents are willing to pay for all alcoholic beverages decreases ethanol intake by nearly half the reduction from the previous targeted MUP. This work provides evidence in favour of MUP in conjunction with taxation capable of substantially reducing alcohol consumption. We also document a positive welfare benefit of MUP.