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- A Yale study found the link between taxes and alcohol consumption
- Excessive drinkers, young and less well off smokers drank less if tobacco taxes went up
- The study also found that the health effects are worse when smoking at drinking at the same time
PUBLISHED: 15:00 EST, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 17:59 EST, 9 August 2013
A tax hike on cigarettes makes the vulnerable drink less alcohol, according to a new study.
Researchers found that those closed as 'vulnerable' - excessive drinkers, young and less well off smokers - consume less alcohol if the price of tobacco is increased.
In the first study of its kind, experts at Yale University found a 'modest to moderate' reduction in alcohol intake when smoking becomes more expensive.
Professor Sherry McKee said: 'Smoking and heavy drinking co-occur at alarmingly high rates.
'Tobacco can enhance the subjective effects of alcohol and has been shown to increase the risk for heavy and problematic drinking.
'Smokers drink more frequently and more heavily than non-smokers, and are substantially more likely than non-smokers to meet criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence.'
The results of the study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, added that the health risks are greatly increased when alcohol and tobacco are consumed together.
It also found that an increase in tax on cigarettes leads to less people taking up smoking, more people quitting and a decrease in the number of smoking related deaths.
Professor McKee added: 'Cigarette taxes have broad population reach and have been recognized as one of the most significant policy instruments to reduce smoking.
Read more:Higher taxes on cigarettes make young people DRINK less as well as encouraging smokers to quit | Mail Online