Post subject: Alcohol tax

Alcohol products are generally believed that they are hazardous to your health if excessive amount is taken. This is often the argument made to support alcohol tax. What's your take on alcohol tax?

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Although I am known for enjoying a drink or three, I have no problem with alcohol being taxed.

Aaron

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You think it's justified?

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Yes, I think it's justified. Alcohol isn't a necessity. It's a luxury which usually isn't so good for us.

Aaron

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Perhaps there are good reasons besides drinking for relaxant and euphoric effects?

Uses

In many countries, alcoholic beverages are commonly consumed at the major daily meals (lunch and dinner).

In places and eras with poor public sanitation, such as Medieval Europe, consumption of alcoholic beverages (particularly weak or "small" beer) was one method of avoiding water-borne diseases such as the cholera. Though strong alcohol kills bacteria, the low concentration in beer or even wine will have only a limited effect. Probably the boiling of water, which is required for the brewing of beer, and the growth of yeast, which would tend to crowd out other micro-organisms, were more important than the alcohol itself. In any case, the ethanol (and possibly other ingredients) of alcoholic beverages allows them to be stored for months or years in simple wood or clay containers without spoiling, which was certainly a major factor in their popularity.

In colder climates, strong alcoholic beverages are popularly seen as a way to "warm up" the body, possibly because ethanol is a quickly absorbed source of food energy and dilates peripheral blood vessels. This however is a dangerous myth, and people experiencing hypothermia should avoid alcohol.

In many cultures, both contemporary and historical, alcoholic beverages — mostly because of their neurological effects — have also played an important role in various kinds of social interaction. While other psychoactive drugs (such as opium, coca, khat, cannabis, kava-kava, etc.) also have millennial traditions of social use, only coffee, tea and tobacco have been as universally used and accepted as ethanol is today.

The document was originally published at Wikipedia and the document is licensed under GNU Free Document License. If you'd like to find out more about Alcoholic beverage, you might be interested in visiting this page in Wikipedia.

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Yes, there are many potential benefits associated with drinking alcohol, but I think the consensus of opinion is probably that, all told, it's not that good overall. Maybe red wine shouldn't be taxed because of its believed health benefits.

Aaron

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That's actually a good point. Specific alcohol beverages and how you drink them actually benefit your health, while others are for relaxant and euphoric effects. Also once the price goes above a certain price, it's fair to assume that it's luxury. It seems to make sense that these luxurious alcohol beverages get taxed more.

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I have nothing against a tax on alcohol; afterall, it's what? only a few extra cents?

I agree with what was said before, alcohol is not a necessity, and well, taxing it would be just like taxing cigarettes: some will get angry, some will just accept it.

But, what I'd like to know is where the taxed money would go to...

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