Opinion: Governments’ alcohol subsidies are harmful to public health

Each January, millions of people around the world make resolutions to cut back on the amount of alcohol they drink; many participate in the popular “dry January” pledge to give up alcohol altogether for a month. Given the high societal cost of harmful alcohol use, and the pandemic-driven increase in the use of alcohol , it’s a trend that should be encouraged.
Changing personal drinking habits isn’t easy. The addictive nature of alcohol aside, pervasive marketing of alcoholic products, their availability, and social pressures to drink all contribute to alcohol consumption. Governments also contribute to it by supporting the industry with billions of dollars of alcohol subsidies to bring their products to consumers. Read the rest…