IT WAS meant to help the Federal Government fight binge drinking among young people, but it looks more like Kevin Rudd's alcopop tax will end up being nothing more than an embarrassment for the Prime Minister.

From the moment Mr Rudd proposed the tax in April this year, critics lambasted it as window dressing and unlikely to make much difference at all to the binge drinking epidemic.

And now we have statistics that would seem to suggest that the critics may be right.

As Benjamin Disraeli famously said, there are lies, damned lies and statistics. We know that statistics can be twisted and turned to support anyone's argument.

But yesterday, Treasurer Wayne Swan was having a hard time fending off statistics produced by the liquor industry. He could do little more than tell the industry to "go jump".

The Liquor Merchants Association of Australia said yesterday that while sales of pre-mixed alcoholic beverages had fallen almost 30 per cent since the 70 per cent tax increase, sales of bottled spirits rose by almost 50 per cent.

In other words, young people are simply mixing the drinks themselves.

Overall, according to the statisticians, that's a net increase of 21 million standard spirit drinks _ hardly the results Labor wanted.

The tax, though yet to be officially passed through legislation, has been a cash windfall for the government, reaping as much as $600,000 a day into its coffers.

Mr Swan and his colleagues may well be annoyed that the tax is being scrutinised so closely after only two months in place, but the public will want at some point to see tangible evidence that it is having an impact on binge

drinking.

The government is yet to produce such evidence.

It remains confident that the legislation will pass through the senate, though those with the balance of power, independent Nick Xenophon included, are yet to declare their hands.

If it is to avoid an embarrassing blow, Labor will be doing everything in its power to ensure it does pass.