PORTLAND, OR — Today, the Oregonian reported breaking investigative news the Oregon Health Authority appears to have intentionally withheld a publicly funded report that contradicted its position on alcohol tax increases. The report by reputable Oregon economists and researchers from EcoNorthwest, which should have been published in 2021, found alcohol taxes “are far less likely to reduce consumption in heavy and excessive drinkers.”
“This shocking news is deeply concerning that the Oregon Health Authority appears to have intentionally buried a taxpayer-funded study it commissioned because the findings contradicted efforts to justify raising alcohol taxes,” said the Oregon Beverage Alliance. “As the Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services prepares to hear more potential bias and inaccuracies from Oregon Health Authority at the upcoming, Feb. 1, meeting, how can members trust the information Oregon Health Authority is providing to stakeholders and policymakers? If Oregon Health Authority, and possibly others, knew about the report findings in 2021, and yet continued to advocate that increasing alcohol taxes would reduce consumption for problem drinkers, this appears deceptive and we demand answers. Oregonians should be able to expect truth and honesty from the Oregon Health Authority – a public health agency – and once again it violated that trust.”
The report found if Oregon raised beer and cider taxes by 2,444% and wine taxes by 664% – numbers similar to task force chair and Rep. Tawna Sanchez’s 2021 bill HB 3296 – it would maybe decrease consumption by 2% for problem drinkers, but when accounting for problem drinkers switching to cheaper spirits or other substances, which the report determined likely, that reduction might not even be 1%. That’s because, “evidence does not clearly support the idea that higher prices will lead to a meaningful reduction in alcohol consumption among heavy or binge drinkers — populations that generate a disproportionate share of the economic costs of alcohol consumption.”
While the report states alcohol costs Oregon $4.8 billion a year, beer, wine, cider and spirits contribute $17 billion to the state’s economy. The report also states, “the magnitude of reduction in the expected economic burden will likely be smaller than the resulting decrease in consumption from raising the alcohol excise tax.”
Alcohol is the third largest source of revenue for the state, yet only 3% of that revenue goes toward funding mental health and drug addiction recovery and treatment. The rest goes to the general fund. Even so, Oregon spends more on drug addiction recovery and prevention than 75% of other states yet is one of the worst in outcomes according that state’s own psychiatrist.
“Despite what the Oregon Health Authority and advocates might say, Oregon’s breweries, wineries and cideries are facing major challenges with record closures rates and reduced volume sales,” said the Oregon Beverage Alliance. “Between inflation on the cost of ingredients, supply chain issues, employee shortages, natural disasters and a pandemic, these homegrown businesses need the support of lawmakers and the public to survive. The last thing any local business needs are tax increases.”
###
About the Oregon Beverage Alliance
The Oregon Beverage Alliance is made up of local brewers, winemakers, cidermakers, distillers and their supply and hospitality partners creating hundreds of thousands of jobs generating $17 billion for the state. Learn more: www.DontTaxMyDrink.org
ADVISORY: Oregon Alcohol Tax Task Force to Hold Meeting, Hear From OHA After It Withheld Vital Report
Oregon Health Authority will face questions about why the agency hid a report from the public showing alcohol taxes don’t curb drinking
PORTLAND, OR — On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services will hold its second meeting, which is open to the public and will be live streamed. On the agenda, Oregon Health Authority official, Dean Sidelinger, is scheduled to present less than a week after investigative news revealed his agency withheld a publicly funded report from 2021 which found raising alcohol taxes doesn’t reduce excessive drinking, contrary to what OHA has been saying for three years.
The buried report found if Oregon raised beer and cider taxes by 2,444% and wine taxes by 664% – numbers similar to task force Chair, Rep. Tawna Sanchez’s 2021 bill HB 3296 – it would maybe decrease consumption by 2% for problem drinkers, but when accounting for problem drinkers switching to cheaper spirits or other substances, which the report determined likely, that reduction might not even be 1%. That’s because, “evidence does not clearly support the idea that higher prices will lead to a meaningful reduction in alcohol consumption.”
The task force was formed when the state legislature passed HB 3610 last year – more than a year after the report was finalized and provided to OHA – creating a 20-member task force to examine increasing taxes on Oregon’s breweries, cideries and wineries. The 20-seat task force only has six seats for representatives of the beer, wine and cider sectors, while the rest are taken by the Oregon Health Authority and addiction recovery and prevention providers, recipients of alcohol tax revenue.
Representatives from Oregon beer, wine and cider are coming to the table and participating because they want to ensure the work of the task force is based on accurate data reflecting the true state of the industry and facts. The recent revelation OHA let bias untruths cloud its judgement make this work even more important.
While the report states alcohol costs Oregon $4.8 billion a year, beer, wine, cider and spirits contribute $17 billion to the state’s economy. Alcohol is the state’s third largest source of revenue and yet only 3% of those taxes go to mental health and addiction services. Over the past couple years, the state has increased spending on addiction by $1 billion without results from OHA and providers.
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) was charged with organizing and staffing the task force (see its attached agenda). The task force is supposed to report findings to the state legislature in September 2024.
WHAT: HB 3610 Task Force on Alcohol Pricing, Addiction and Prevention Services Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, February 1, 2024, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission, 9079 SE McLoughlin Blvd., Portland, OR 97222
LIVE STREAM: Microsoft Teams, Meeting ID: 291 059 411 888, Passcode: 5tkAdf
WHO: Members of the HB 3610 Task Force on Alcohol Pricing, Addiction and Prevention Services:
- Senator Janeen Sollman, (D) Senate District 15
- Senator Tim Knopp, (R) Senate District 27
- Representative Tawna Sanchez, (D) House District 43
- Representative E. Werner Reschke, (R) House District 55
- Craig Prins, OLCC Executive Director
- Jamie Floyd, Founder, Ninkasi Brewing Co.
- Marcus Reed, Widmer Brewing
- Fawn Barrie, Executive Director, Oregon Wine Council
- Jana McKamey, Executive Director, Oregon Winegrowers Association
- Aaron Sarnoff-Wood, Co-Founder, 2 Towns Ciderhouse
- Jason Renaud, Board Secretary, Mental Health Association of Portland
- Todd Jeter, LCSW, CADC III (Director of Behavioral Health | Interim Director SDoH-E & Transformation Samaritan Health Plans – Inter Community Health
- Dr. Tom Jeanne, Deputy State Health Officer/Epidemiologist at Oregon Health Authority
- Annaliese Dolph, Executive Director, Alcohol Drugs and Policy Commission
- Danelle Romain, Association Executive Director, Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors
- Sarah Lochner, Executive Director, Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials
- Robb Corbett, City Manager of Pendleton
- Sean Kolmer, MPH, EVP, External Affairs, Oregon Association of Hospitals & Health Systems (OAHHS)
- Solara Salazar, Executive Director, Cielo Treatment Center
- Doug Barrett, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
0 comments (click to read or post):
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment...I do moderate each comment so it may not appear immediately...and please be nice! You can also comment using Disqus (below) or even comment directly on Facebook (bottom).