HLTH 252 Week 4 Discussion Board Forum 3 Example

Discussion Board Forum 3: Alcohol

HLTH 252 Drugs in Society, Discussion Board Forum 3

Thread by [Student Name]

The classmates are composites; the textbook, Scripture and the peer-reviewed studies cited are real.

Most alcohol policies in the United States raise prices through taxes, which add a small amount to every drink. Scotland tried something different. Since May 1, 2018, no alcoholic drink there can be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol. The policy barely affects a glass of wine at a restaurant, but it sharply raises the price of cheap, strong cider and vodka, which heavy drinkers buy most.

Hart and Ksir (2018) explain that the harms of alcohol, including liver disease, injuries and dependence, are concentrated among heavy drinkers, and that alcohol use responds to price, with higher prices generally reducing consumption. A policy that targets the cheapest alcohol aims directly at the group that suffers the most harm.

The results have been encouraging. Wyper et al. (2023) compared Scotland with England, which did not adopt the policy, over 32 months after the law began. Minimum unit pricing was associated with a 13.4% reduction in deaths wholly attributable to alcohol, mostly from alcoholic liver disease, and a 4.1% reduction in hospital stays that was not quite statistically significant. The greatest improvements came in the four most deprived tenths of the population. The United States, meanwhile, is moving in the wrong direction. White et al. (2022) found that alcohol-related deaths rose 25.5% in one year, from 78,927 in 2019 to 99,017 in 2020. A policy that saves lives mostly among the poorest drinkers deserves serious attention in a country where alcohol deaths rose by a quarter in a single year. American states already set alcohol taxes and some run their own liquor stores, so a state could test a minimum price.

Proverbs 23:29-35 describes the person who lingers long over wine, with woe, sorrow and wounds without cause, and Ephesians 5:18 warns against drunkenness (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Scripture is realistic about how alcohol can harm people, and a policy that makes the cheapest route to drunkenness more costly may help protect the most vulnerable.

Reply to Grace

Grace, I appreciated your focus on binge drinking among college students, which the chapter identifies as one of the most serious alcohol problems on campuses. Hart and Ksir (2018) explain that drinking a large amount in a short time can push blood alcohol concentration high enough to impair judgment and coordination and, at very high levels, to suppress breathing, which is how alcohol poisoning kills. Binge drinking is also linked to injuries, assaults and unprotected sex. I wonder whether pricing policies like Scotland's would help on campuses, since students often drink the cheapest products available at parties. A minimum price might make those drinks less affordable, though it would not address drinking games or social pressure. Proverbs 20:1 says that wine is a mocker and strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. That verse describes binge drinking well, since so much of the harm comes from what people do while impaired.

Reply to Ethan

Ethan, you proposed restricting alcohol advertising, especially on social media, to reduce drinking among young people. I think you raised a strong point, since Hart and Ksir (2018) note that the alcohol industry spends heavily on marketing, and young people are exposed to a great deal of it. Advertising helps shape the idea that drinking is a normal part of having fun, which can encourage early and heavy drinking. However, advertising restrictions in the United States face legal challenges, because courts protect commercial speech, which may make price policies easier to put in place. Perhaps the two approaches could work together, with limits on advertising aimed at young audiences and a minimum price for the cheapest products. First Corinthians 10:23-24 reminds us that not everything that is lawful is helpful, and that we should seek the good of our neighbor, which seems like a fair standard for how alcohol is marketed to young people.

References

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Hart, C. L., & Ksir, C. (2018). Drugs, society, and human behavior (17th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

White, A. M., Castle, I. P., Powell, P. A., Hingson, R. W., & Koob, G. F. (2022). Alcohol-related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA, 327(17), 1704-1706. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.4308

Wyper, G. M. A., Mackay, D. F., Fraser, C., Lewsey, J., Robinson, M., Beeston, C., & Giles, L. (2023). Evaluating the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland: A controlled interrupted time series study. The Lancet, 401(10385), 1361-1370. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00497-X