The Rudd government has raised taxes on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, bringing them into line with spirits.

There’s no doubt the government will be arguing it’s an important step in lowering binge drinking rates, but I’d be doubtful whether that level of taxation will in fact have much impact – in fact, it’ll be interesting to see whether the change just leads to a transfer of use from pre-mix to more traditional spirits consumption. It’d also be nice to see the extra proceeds being used to improve prevention initiatives with the demographic that consumes them.

Government has a lot of catching up to do in regard to communicating with younger age groups of alcohol. YouTube is likely to be used more and more but that is really only tokenism. A concerted social media campaign is needed but I won’t be holding my breath for that one.