Policymakers could reduce the number of people dying from alcohol-related disease by raising taxes on alcohol, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers at the University of Florida College of Medicine found that raising taxes on beer, wine and spirits immediately reduces the number of deaths from alcohol poisoning, liver disease, mouth and breast cancers.
Researcher Dr Alexander Wagenaar described the effect as 'quite astounding'.
'A simple adjustment of the tax rate resulted in a substantial drop in the death rate,' Dr Wagenaar confirmed.
'When we see an intervention that can reduce the death rate of any chronic disease such as cancer or heart disease by a few per cent across the whole population, we consider it an important success,' the expert added.
The researchers analysed a unique experiment in Alaska, where taxes on alcoholic beverages were increased in 1983 and again in 2002.
They found that the first tax increase immediately reduced the number of deaths by 29 per cent, while the latter tax raise was followed by an 11 per cent reduction in deaths.
Home Office figures suggest that as many as 8.2 million English people drink above the sensible level.
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