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The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices on Them: A Summary of Evidence from Finland.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2015 Nov; 50(6):661-9.AA

Abstract

AIMS

We make a case study of Finland to study the connections between socioeconomic status, alcohol use, related harm and possibilities for intervention by means of alcohol pricing.

METHODS

A review of Finnish studies on the topic.

RESULTS

The socioeconomic differences in severe alcohol-related harm were great, and in the past two decades, these differences have widened. Alcohol-related mortality has also strongly contributed to both the level and widening of socioeconomic differences in life expectancy. Both in 2004, when alcohol prices were abruptly cut, and in the longer term with more gradual changes in lowest prices of alcohol, the lowest socioeconomic groups were most affected in absolute-but not so clearly in relative-terms, particularly among men. However, these effects are sometimes weak, not fully consistent by gender and across different measures of harm.

CONCLUSIONS

The large and increasing socioeconomic differences in alcohol-related harm in Finland underline the importance of reducing these differences. The finding that particularly among men the impact of reduced alcohol prices on health has often in absolute terms been the greatest in the lower socioeconomic groups suggests that policies aimed at keeping the price of alcoholic beverages high may help to both minimize the overall level of alcohol-related health problems and to reduce absolute inequalities.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Mäkelä P
Alcohol and Drugs Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland pia.makela@thl.fi.
Herttua K
Population Research Unit, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Centre of Maritime Health and Society, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark.
Martikainen P
Population Research Unit, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

MeSH

Alcohol DrinkingAlcohol-Related DisordersAlcoholic BeveragesCommerceFinlandHumansLife ExpectancySex FactorsSocial Class

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26113490

Citation

Mäkelä, Pia, et al. "The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices On Them: a Summary of Evidence From Finland." Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), vol. 50, no. 6, 2015, pp. 661-9.
Mäkelä P, Herttua K, Martikainen P. The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices on Them: A Summary of Evidence from Finland. Alcohol Alcohol. 2015;50(6):661-9.
Mäkelä, P., Herttua, K., & Martikainen, P. (2015). The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices on Them: A Summary of Evidence from Finland. Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 50(6), 661-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agv068
Mäkelä P, Herttua K, Martikainen P. The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices On Them: a Summary of Evidence From Finland. Alcohol Alcohol. 2015;50(6):661-9. PubMed PMID: 26113490.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Related Harm and the Effects of Alcohol Prices on Them: A Summary of Evidence from Finland. AU - Mäkelä,Pia, AU - Herttua,Kimmo, AU - Martikainen,Pekka, Y1 - 2015/06/25/ PY - 2015/04/29/received PY - 2015/04/30/accepted PY - 2015/6/27/entrez PY - 2015/6/27/pubmed PY - 2016/8/27/medline SP - 661 EP - 9 JF - Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) JO - Alcohol Alcohol VL - 50 IS - 6 N2 - AIMS: We make a case study of Finland to study the connections between socioeconomic status, alcohol use, related harm and possibilities for intervention by means of alcohol pricing. METHODS: A review of Finnish studies on the topic. RESULTS: The socioeconomic differences in severe alcohol-related harm were great, and in the past two decades, these differences have widened. Alcohol-related mortality has also strongly contributed to both the level and widening of socioeconomic differences in life expectancy. Both in 2004, when alcohol prices were abruptly cut, and in the longer term with more gradual changes in lowest prices of alcohol, the lowest socioeconomic groups were most affected in absolute-but not so clearly in relative-terms, particularly among men. However, these effects are sometimes weak, not fully consistent by gender and across different measures of harm. CONCLUSIONS: The large and increasing socioeconomic differences in alcohol-related harm in Finland underline the importance of reducing these differences. The finding that particularly among men the impact of reduced alcohol prices on health has often in absolute terms been the greatest in the lower socioeconomic groups suggests that policies aimed at keeping the price of alcoholic beverages high may help to both minimize the overall level of alcohol-related health problems and to reduce absolute inequalities. SN - 1464-3502 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26113490/The_Socioeconomic_Differences_in_Alcohol_Related_Harm_and_the_Effects_of_Alcohol_Prices_on_Them:_A_Summary_of_Evidence_from_Finland_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -