Rudd's Midnight Booze Strike

Sun Herald

Sunday April 27, 2008

By Kerry-Anne Walsh Political correspondent

THE Rudd Government last night made a daring assault on teenage binge drinking by lifting taxes on alcoholic drinks aimed squarely at the young.

The lightning move - which increased excise on "alcopop" drinks from 39.36 cents a litre to 66.67 cents - took effect as the clock struck midnight.

It was prompted by alarming findings in a national drug survey, which tracked a steep rise in drinking among teenage girls.

The survey found that teenage girls bucked the trend of females drinking more responsibly than males.

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