Estimating the impact of the minimum alcohol price on consumers’ alcohol expenditure in the Northern Territory, Australia
June 2023
Citation:
Taylor, N., Miller, P., Coomber, K., Livingston, M., Jiang, H., Buykx, P., Scott, D., Baldwin, R. and Chikritzhs, T. (2023) Estimating the impact of the minimum alcohol price on consumers’ alcohol expenditure in the Northern Territory, Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Vol. 47, No 3. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100053
In October 2018, the Northern Territory government introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol of $1.30 per standard drink. This paper examined the alcohol expenditure of drinkers not targeted by the policy to assess industry claims that the MUP penalised all drinkers.
Based on post-MUP drinking patterns, the research found the MUP policy was associated with an increase of AU$3.07 (0.94%) in annual alcohol expenditure for moderate consumers. For heavy alcohol consumers, the increase was AU$37.12 (1.28%).
The paper provides evidence that counters the alcohol industry’s messaging, enabling an evidence-based discussion in an area dominated by vested interest.
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