In contrast to the two studies just discussed, Sloan and colleagues (1994), using State-level death rates for the period from 1982 through 1988, found that higher alcoholic beverage prices do not significantly reduce deaths that are primarily related to alcohol, mainly deaths from liver cirrhosis. This finding is surprising, given the results of the earlier studies. In addition, however, the study considered the effects of price on various other death rates related to alcohol use and abuse, including deaths from motor vehicle crashes, homicides (which are discussed in the following section), suicides, diseases for which alcohol is a contributing factor (e.g., cancers of the alimentary tract), and accidental deaths. Sloan and colleagues (1994) concluded that increases in the monetary price of alcoholic beverages would reduce suicides and deaths from diseases for which alcohol is a contributing factor, but not deaths that are primarily related to alcohol. Conversely, the study found that alcohol availability, which is another component of the full price of alcoholic beverages, has a significant impact on many of the death rates estimated, including deaths primarily related to alcohol; suicides; and deaths from drowning, falls, and other injuries.
