SAN DIEGO -- Raising the state alcohol tax will ease California's budget deficit and reduce drinking problems among young people, community leaders said at a news conference Friday.

The comments came at the annual Youth Action Meeting hosted by the San Diego County Alcohol Policy Panel.

Participants said a 10-cent per drink tax increase could raise $1 billion for the state. They also cited a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research that found a correlation between higher prices for alcoholic beverages and a decrease in spousal and child abuse, fatal traffic accidents, workplace injuries, teenage pregnancy and other problems.

"Alcohol tax increases can save lives and reduce alcohol-related problems, plus raise substantial revenue for cash-strapped states and the federal government," said George Hacker, the director of the Alcohol Policies Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Hacker said he believes the public would support a tax increase on alcohol, but the industry's powerful lobbyists in Sacramento have prevented a hike since 1992.

"It's irresponsible and unfair for our state to make cuts that severely hurt kids when a simple solution such as raising alcohol taxes is available," Demaris Climax, a Kearny High School student, said at the news conference. "Why are our elected leaders trying to protect the alcohol industry from reasonable and long-overdue excise tax increases while at the same time forcing kids to suffer from these drastic (education) cuts?"

A dime-a-drink tax increase proposal was put forth to the Assembly Health Committee earlier this year by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose. The San Jose Mercury News reported Beall withdrew the measure when he garnered support from only three of 19 members.

According to Hacker's group, California's tax of 20 cents per gallon of wine is the third lowest in the country, ahead of only New York and Louisiana.

The rate for beer and hard liquor is also below the national average.