Is wine the drink of moderation?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Alcohol Consumption Research
• Beverage Taxation Policy

Background:

• Concerns exist regarding alcohol misuse and wine consumption patterns.
• A national inquiry into wine taxation prompts re-evaluation of alcohol misuse claims.
• Specific claims suggest low misuse rates among wine drinkers and higher misuse of cask wine versus bottled wine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate claims about wine drinkers' alcohol misuse rates.
• To determine if cask wine is more prone to misuse than bottled wine.
• To inform national alcohol taxation policies.

Main Methods:

• A household survey of 1272 metropolitan Perth residents aged 16+ was conducted.
• Alcohol consumption, particularly wine, was assessed against National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines.
• Data on wine type (cask vs. bottled) was collected for a subset of participants.

Main Results:

• While average daily wine intake rarely exceeded low-risk levels, overall alcohol consumption did for a significant percentage of participants.
• On their highest consumption days, a substantial proportion of both women (41.1%) and men (17.0%) exceeded low-risk alcohol levels.
• No significant difference in consumption amounts was found between cask and bottled wine drinkers.

Conclusions:

• Previous estimates of wine's contribution to excessive alcohol intake are likely underestimates.
• Increasing wine taxes, potentially based on alcohol content, is suggested as a public health strategy.
• Encouraging consumption of lower-alcohol wine varieties through taxation is recommended.