買酒多交稅可以有效阻止淋病傳染

Maryland increased its liquor taxes in 2011 and a sharp decrease in the rate of new gonorrhea infections immediately followed. Researchers have determined that the two events are closely linked.

2011年，馬里蘭州提高了酒類稅，隨即新發淋病感染率就急劇下降。研究人員現已確定這兩個事件之間存在密切關聯。

The study, in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used three control groups to exclude other explanations for the decline. The first control group included all states that did not change alcohol taxes. The second group looked at states that did not share a border with Maryland, in order to avoid bias from people buying liquor in nearby states where the taxes were lower. And the third group eliminated states in which the government has a monopoly on hard liquor sales, since prices may rise in those states even without an increase in taxes.

這項研究發表在《美國預防醫學雜誌》(American Journal of Preventive Medicine)上，它使用了三個對照組來排除感染率下降的其他解釋。第一個對照組納入了所有未改變酒類稅的州。第二組研究了與馬里蘭州不接壤的州，以避免因人們從附近稅收較低的州購買酒類而產生的偏倚。第三組排除了那些由政府壟斷烈性酒銷售的州，因爲即使沒有加稅，這些州的酒類價格也可能會上漲。

In 2011, the Maryland liquor tax rose to 9 percent from 6 percent. After the increase, Maryland’s gonorrhea rate declined by 24 percent — the equivalent of 1,600 cases per year. There was no decrease in the control states.

2011年，馬里蘭州的酒類稅從6%增加到了9%。 加稅後，馬里蘭州的淋病率下降了24%，相當於每年1600例。而對照組的各州中則沒有降低。

The authors suggest that decreased alcohol consumption decreases sexual risk-taking, including unprotected sex, casual sex and sex with new partners.

作者認爲，飲酒的減少降低了性冒險，包括無保護的性行爲、性濫交以及與新的性夥伴發生性行爲等。

“Policy makers should consider raising liquor taxes if they’re looking for ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections,” said the lead author, Stephanie A.S. Staras, an assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “In the year and a half following the alcohol tax rise in Maryland, this prevented 2,400 cases of gonorrhea and saved half a million dollars in health care costs.”

“如果政策制定者們在尋找防止性傳播感染的途徑，他們應該考慮提高酒類稅，”該研究的主要作者，美國佛羅里達大學醫學院(University of Florida College of Medicine)的助理教授斯蒂芬妮·A·S·斯塔拉斯(Stephanie A.S. Staras)說。“在馬里蘭州酒類稅上漲後的一年半期間，這一舉措預防了2400例淋病，節省了約50萬美元的醫療費用。”