By Annette Shailer
New statistics have revealed that the controversial RTD tax has forced drinkers from pre-mixed alcohol drinks to full spirit bottles.
According to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday (May 27), RTD consumption fell by 30 percent in 2008-09, while pure spirits consumption rose 13.4 percent.
The ABS data was collected after the government’s 70 percent RTD tax hike in 2008 and sees as reverse in the four-year upward trend for RTDs.
The apparent consumption of beer and wine also increased over this period, with beer jumping 1.7 percent and wine consumption increasing 2.2 percent.
In total, there was very little change in the apparent consumption of pure alcohol between 2007-08 and 2008-09, with only 0.1 percent recorded.