High cost of alcohol abuse really far‐reaching

The High Price of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

While most people know that drinking too much alcohol can lead to injuries and deaths in car crashes, many people do not know that drinking too much alcohol also can increase the chances of cancer, suicide, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and other negative health outcomes.

Consult your personal health care provider if you feel you or someone you know has a drinking problem. Other resources include the National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service, available at 1-800-662-HELP. This service can provide you with information about treatment programs in your local community and allow you to speak with someone about alcohol problems.

What is excessive drinking?

Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age 21.

Excessive alcohol consumption is known to cause about 79,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, but a study released by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) and the Lewin Group shows that it also has a huge impact on our wallets.

The cost of excessive drinking in the U.S. reached $223.5 billion in 2006 or about $1.90 per drink. Almost three‐quarters of these costs were due to binge drinking. 

Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 g/dl or above. Typically this occurs with consuming 4 or more alcoholic beverages per occasion for women or 5 or more drinks per occasion for men.

Drinking too much, including binge drinking, cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2010, or $2.05 a drink. Binge drinking was responsible for 77% of these costs, or $191 billion.

Binge drinking is the most common, costly, and deadly form of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S.

The researchers found the cost of excessive drinking to be far‐reaching, affecting many aspects of the excessive drinker’s life and the lives of those around them.

The costs largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72% of the total cost), healthcare expenses for problems caused by excessive drinking (11% of total), law enforcement, and other criminal justice expenses related to excessive alcohol consumption (9% of total), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (6% of the total).

The study analyzed national data from multiple sources to estimate the costs due to excessive drinking in 2006. The study did not consider a number of other costs such as those due to pain and suffering among either the excessive drinker or others that were affected by their drinking, and thus may be an underestimate. Nevertheless, the researchers estimated that excessive drinking cost $746 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. in 2006.

Drinking is a problem if it causes trouble in your relationships, in school, in social activities, or in how you think and feel. If you are concerned that either you or someone in your family might have a drinking problem, consult your personal health care provider.

Long-Term Health Risks

Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:

High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.

Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, and colon.

Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.

Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

Social problems, including lost productivity, family problems, and unemployment.

Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism.

By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short- and long-term health risks.

Binge drinking is reported by about 15% of U.S. adults and is most common among men, 18-34-year-olds, whites, and people with household incomes of $75,000 or more. Most binge drinkers are not alcohol dependent.

How can we prevent excessive drinking and reduce its economic costs?

By implementing some or all of these evidence-based strategies, communities can reduce excessive drinking consumption and the many costs related to it.

For more information on effective strategies communities can use to prevent excessive drinking and its costs, go to http://www.thecommunityguide.org/alcohol.

For tools and resources related to the surveillance and prevention of excessive alcohol consumption and its costs, go to http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol.

Source: Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol consumption in the U.S., 2006. http://www.ajpmonline.org/

Increased stress can lead to increases in alcohol and substance use. If you or someone you care about is starting to use alcohol or other substances or is increasing their use during the COVID-19 pandemic, here are a few suggestions that may help:

• Contact your healthcare provider.
• Locate virtual treatment and recovery programs [244 KB, 3 pages].
• Medication-assisted treatment for alcohol or opioid use disorders may be an option.
• Take medicine as prescribed and continue your therapy, treatment, or support appointments (in person or through telehealth services) when possible.
• Call the National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service (1-800-662-HELP) to speak with someone about an alcohol or substance use problem.