BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Taxes on alcoholic beverages vary widely from state to state. Beer, for example, is taxed at less than 10 cents per gallon in Colorado and more than a dollar per gallon in Alabama.

New research has found that states with the higher alcohol taxes may be enjoying a greater reduction in alcohol-related deaths.

Doctors from the University of Florida studied the issue in Alaska, where alcohol abuse is a common problem. Alaska was among the first states to put a noticeable tax hike on alcoholic beverages -- the beer tax rose 15 percent in 1993 and then nearly doubled in 2002.

Researchers found that after each increase, alcohol-related deaths decreased. Fewer people died of oral and breast cancers, as well as liver disease and alcohol poisonings.

Deaths dropped by 29 percent after the first tax increase and by an additional 11 percent after the second increase.

The authors said that because state alcohol taxes have largely not been adjusted for inflation, the overall tax rate on alcohol in the United States has actually dropped since the 1950s.