Cigarette tax hikes and smoke-free policies have not only cut tobacco use in the United States, they may have led to a noticeable drop in alcohol consumption, according to a new study.
Consumption of beer and hard liquor -- but not wine -- declined in states where strict anti-tobacco legislation was enacted over the past three decades, the study found.
"The major finding is that over a 30-year time span increasing cigarette prices and strengthening smoke-free air laws has also reduced alcohol consumption per capita," said study author Melissa Krauss, a senior statistical data analyst at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
"The big message is that some very good state tobacco policies have had public health implications that go beyond what was actually intended," Krauss said.
[For more of this story, written by Alan Mozes, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...ol-sales-691997.html
Comments (0)