What Are the Effects of Alcohol in the Community?

Alcohol consumption can have many negative effects on the community. Each year alcohol is tied to violent acts, crime and numerous deaths and injuries from alcohol-related accidents. Higher insurance premiums and decreased worker productivity are also attributed to alcohol use. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that the effects of alcohol cost the economy $184.6 billion.

Crime

• Most people who consume alcohol do so safely and responsibly. Those who misuse alcohol often are associated with drunken driving and other crimes. In the United States, alcohol-related accidents account for 13,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries each year. Additionally, about 1.4 million people are arrested each year on charges of driving while intoxicated (DWI). There also are numerous incidents of other alcohol-involved crimes such as assault and domestic violence. In 2008, research surveys from the Pew Center found that over 5.3 million adults were drinking at the time of their conviction offense.

Cost

• Alcohol also has an economical effect on everyone in the community. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributes alcohol as a factor in 26 percent of accident costs in the United States. In 2000, alcohol-related accidents cost the public about $114.3 billion. Over half of these costs were paid by people other than the drunken driver. Also, alcohol-related accidents accounted for about 18 percent of the $103 billion in auto insurance payments.

Underage Drinking

• Underage drinking poses a high risk to both the individual and community. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, nearly 50 percent of adolescents have had at least one drink by the time they reach the eighth grade. Fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old are two times more prevalent than for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older. Alcohol can have a negative effect on youth suffering from stress and depression, which can contribute to suicides. Alcohol use can also be attributed to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in adolescents.

Environmental Prevention

• Environmental prevention uses policy interventions to create an alcohol environment that supports safe and responsible behavior and reduce the effects of alcohol on the community. For example, increasing taxes on alcohol could result in reduced consumption and decrease the effects of alcohol abuse. Another environmental prevention action could be to regulate outlet density and restrict sales to reduce the availability of alcohol. This could decrease crime rates and improve communities.