Wine Information Council
october 2011
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Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in the U.S., 2006

Background: Excessive alcohol consumption causes premature death (average of 79,000 deathsannually); increased disease and injury; property damage from fýre and motor vehicle crashes;alcohol-related crime; and lost productivity. However, its economic cost has not been assessed for theU.S. since 1998. Purpose: To update prior national estimates of the economic costs of excessive drinking. Methods: This study (conducted 2009 -2010) followed U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines toassess the economic cost of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006. Costs for health care, productivitylosses, and other effects (e.g., property damage) in 2006 were obtained from national databases.Alcohol-attributable fractions were obtained from multiple sources and used to assess the proportionof costs that could be attributed to excessive alcohol consumption. Results: The estimated economic cost of excessive drinking was $223.5 billion in 2006 (72.2% fromlost productivity, 11.0% from healthcare costs, 9.4% from criminal justice costs, and 7.5% from othereffects) or approximately $1.90 per alcoholic drink. Binge drinkingBinge drinking (consuming rapidly four or more alcoholic drinks over a short period of time) has bee... resulted in costs of $170.7 billion(76.4% of the total); underage drinking $27.0 billion; and drinking during pregnancy $5.2 billion. Thecost of alcohol-attributable crime was $73.3 billion. The cost to government was $94.2 billion (42.1%of the total cost), which corresponds to about $0.80 per alcoholic drink consumed in 2006 (categoriesare not mutually exclusive and may overlap). Conclusions: On a per capita basis, the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption in theU.S. is approximately $746 per person, most of which is attributable to binge drinking. Evidencebasedstrategies for reducing excessive drinking should be widely implemented.

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Bouchery Ellen E. MS Henrick J.Harwood Jeffrey J.Sacks MD MPH Carol J.Simon PhD Robert D.Brewer MD MSPH

  • Issue

    Am J Prev Med., pages 516-524, volume 41(5)

  • Published Date

    october 2011

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