Big Alcohol’s Campaign Against Chicago’s Alcohol Tax: Protecting Profits and Misleading Policymakers

The recent pushback from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) against a proposed spirits tax hike in Chicago highlights yet another attempt by Big Alcohol to block public health measures that could save lives. DISCUS, whose major members include multinational corporations like Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi, and Beam Suntory, is lobbying against the tax increase, arguing that it would harm Chicago’s economy. Yet, evidence shows that alcohol tax increases can actually boost local economies, contrary to DISCUS’s claims.

DISCUS and other alcohol industry actors often claim that alcohol taxes result in job losses and economic harm, but evidence suggests otherwise. Modeling research, including a study published in Preventive Medicine, shows that higher alcohol taxes can create net job gains. For example, this research indicates that a modest increase in alcohol taxes across several U.S. states could generate thousands of new jobs, not only through substitution effects — where spending shifts to other sectors of the economy — but also by using increased tax revenue toward public services and infrastructure, which further stimulates employment. This model underscores that funds not spent on alcohol can circulate within the economy, supporting jobs in areas less associated with health risks. This data reveal that DISCUS’s warnings are exaggerated and misleading, ultimately protecting Big Alcohol’s profits at the community’s expense.

Political interference, or lobbying, is Big Alcohol’s activity to eliminate or minimize any alcohol policy effort that would threaten sales and profits. The focus of this Dubious 5 strategy is the decision-makers and opinion leaders with the power to shape and decide alcohol policy decisions. Tactics of political interference are delay, derail, or even destroy alcohol policy initiatives, and to divide coalitions supporting alcohol policy initiatives. Big Alcohol is paying lobbyists and lobby front groups to interfere in public health policy making around the world.

Sources:

• Fred Minnick, DISCUS Warns Chicago Spirits Tax Hike Would Be Costly, available at: https://www.fredminnick.com/2024/11/07/discus-warns-chicago-spirits-tax-hike-would-be-costly/
• Wada, R., Chaloupka, F. J., Powell, L. M., & Jernigan, D. H. (2017). Employment impacts of alcohol taxes. Preventive Medicine, 105S, S50-S55, available at:
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28823685/

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