NIAAA Presents Its 10th Annual Report
 
November 22, 2000
 
Barbara Adams- Chicago

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recently released its 10th Annual Report to Congress. The report provides an interesting overview of current research on many aspects of alcohol consumption, including its physical and social effects generally, genetic factors involved in alcoholism, effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, and the effectiveness of various treatment methods for alcoholism.

Additionally, the report explores research concerning how advertising affects long-term and short-term consumer preferences for alcohol. The report suggests that beverage alcohol advertisements do not increase overall consumption, but are effective in encouraging consumers to switch brands or types. Though research continues to suggest advertising does not greatly influence people’s short-term beliefs about, or behaviors toward, alcohol consumption, the report cautions that more research needs to be conducted on the effects of long-term exposure to such advertising, especially among children and adolescents.

The report also surveys research done to determine how increases in beverage alcohol prices and taxation affect both consumer purchases of beverage alcohol and some of the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. The report concludes that increased prices and taxation do not affect consumption of beverage alcohol as much as they affect the consumption of other products. The report does suggest, however, that increased prices and taxation lead to a reduction of some of the negative effects of alcohol consumption, such as traffic fatalities. Finally, the report explores the benefits and costs of taxation and discusses how to determine the optimal level of taxation for beverage alcohol products.

A copy of the report can be obtained by visiting the NIAAA’s Web site at www.niaaa.nih.gov.