Changing the Conversation About Alcohol
We all want Burlington to be a great place to live. A big part of that is making sure everyone is healthy and safe, especially our young people. Thinking about the community policies and culture related to alcohol is an important piece. Excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable death in the US and here in Vermont we have the highest prevalence of underage alcohol use in youth and some of the highest alcohol use rates in the country across all age groups (youth, young adults, and adults). The amount of alcohol Vermonters are drinking is not without consequences for our state. Consider the impact of the related data about VT below. We have the...
2nd highest rate of Alcohol Use Disorder in the US (from the 2021/22 National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
4th highest rates of drunk driving (VT Department of Health)
Also, 1 in 4 deaths of people age 20-34 and 1 in 5 for those age 35-49 is associated with alcohol in Vermont (Esser et al., 2022). We were excited that this Seven Days article recently drew attention to Vermont’s drinking problem and we agree that “it’s time to talk about it.”
Kids and teenagers under 21 are especially at risk when it comes to alcohol because of the negative impacts on the developing brain. It's the most common drug used by this age group.The good news is that there is a lot more our state and local community can be doing to support proven solutions to reduce alcohol-related harms and improve health and safety.
Some proven local strategies include:
Setting limits on alcohol outlet density: limiting the number of places in a community that can sell alcohol, the distance between them, and/or how close they can be to schools and youth centers.
Increasing taxes: Low alcohol prices have been shown to lead people to buy and drink more alcohol and make it easier for youth to access. Alcohol excise taxes have not kept up with inflation and in VT have not been raised since 1981, meaning that alcoholic products have become cheaper compared to other items over the last 44 years. Even small increases in price at the state or local level have been shown to reduce harms and save lives. For example, recent research estimated an external cost to our society of $1.34 per ounce of pure alcohol, compared with about .25$ an ounce of combined federal, state, and local tax revenue generated. Some costs include the effects of alcohol consumption on motor vehicle crashes, public health, domestic violence, and other crimes”. Alcohol Excise Taxes: An Overview. This great policy brief compiled by another local substance misuse prevention organization is a helpful tool to understand this and related issues for our state.
A bill was introduced in the VT Legislature this year that aims to address this and calls for an increased tax and changes to labeling requirements to better inform the public about the increased cancer risk associated with alcohol use. Follow bill H. 376.
Limiting advertising: Exposure to alcohol ads has been shown to contribute to youth use. Restrictions on how and where stores, manufacturers, and distributors can advertise can help reduce this harm.
Require businesses to be partners in supporting health: Businesses that treat the responsibility of the sale of products with a potential for misuse seriously, can be partners in reducing community harms. Businesses can reduce harm by: requiring clear warnings and disclosures on adult-only product labels, coolers, and at stores that include information about the health risks of use and proper disposal, and ensuring staff are properly trained not to sell to anyone underage.
We’ve been organizing a small group of committed partners to come together to think about what strategies like these are the best fit to help prevent and reduce alcohol and other substance misuse in Burlington.
If you are interested in this type of work, reach out to mariah@burlingtonpartnership.org to learn more about how to get involved in our Healthy BTV Workgroup.
Accessibility note for those with visual impairments: Complex graphic of a data graphic. Text reads: Higher alcohol consumption increases alcohol-related cancer risk in women and men. Graphs demonstrate a correlation with increased drinking and increased risk of cancer with the most significant jumps in women and men who drink 1-2 drinks per day (5 more women would get cancer and 3 more men). This image is from the Office of the US Surgeon General.
