AFFORDABILITY OF INTOXICATION FROM CHEAP ETHANOL: EVIDENCE FROM RETAIL ALCOHOL MARKETS IN UGANDA

The study examined alcohol affordability in Uganda by analyzing 824 alcoholic beverages from urban, rural, and urban-slum retail markets. Researchers calculated the price of ethanol needed to achieve intoxication (60 grams of ethanol). The cheapest pathways to intoxication were provided by opaque beers and illicit spirits with median costs of 1,200 to 1,500 Ugandan shillings. Plastic packaging was associated with lower ethanol costs than glass packaging. Ethanol prices differed between formal and informal markets, with rural areas and urban informal settlements having 20 to 25 percent lower costs than urban areas. The study concluded that alcohol affordability is determined by access to ethanol rather than beverage price alone. The authors recommend policies targeting ethanol content through minimum unit pricing and alcohol-content-based taxation.