Past alcohol tax hikes reduced deaths, not consumption

To the editor:

Thank you for your excellent coverage of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly’s recent decision to allow voters to decide whether an alcohol tax should be implemented.

We also appreciate the support of Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss, though we need to clarify some of the data he shared. He was quoted in the July 19 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman story as saying that twice previously when statewide alcohol taxes were increased, consumption declined by 29 percent one time and 11 percent the second time. The 29 percent and 11 percent reductions were actually in alcohol-related deaths, not consumption.

Again, thank you for covering this important story! Mat-Su Health Foundation will be working hard to educate voters about how a borough-wide alcohol tax can help Mat-Su become the healthiest borough in the nation.

Elizabeth Ripley

Executive Director

Mat-Su Health Foundation