Social & Economic Costs of Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction imposes heavy social and economic costs on society, including health care costs, legal burdens, premature deaths and lost productivity among alcoholics. Although it is difficult to calculate with precision the overall costs of alcoholism, various estimates suggest that alcohol-related problems cost American society and the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in business, medical and legal costs.

Size

• According to a 2000 estimate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alcohol addiction cost the U.S. economy an estimated $184.6 billion in 1998, a 25 percent increase over the department's previous estimate of $148 billion in 1992. Researchers estimated the cost of alcoholism increased between 3 percent and 4 percent each year.

Types

• The report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified the following economic costs related to alcohol abuse and addiction: medical consequences related to fetal alcohol syndrome; other medical consequences; lost earnings resulting from premature deaths; lost earnings related to alcohol-related illnesses; lost earnings related to being a victim or perpetrator of crime; and various costs stemming from alcohol-related traffic accidents, and criminal justice and legal costs.

Significance

• The Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog organization based in California, identified other costs related to alcoholism. The institute estimated that alcohol-related problems cost society more than $175 billion a year. Researchers at Marin also noted that alcohol addiction causes thousands of deaths each year. Finally, the report drew attention to alcohol use by underage youths, noting that alcohol is the most frequently abused substance by young people 12 to 17 years old.

Identification

• The social, economic and health costs of alcohol addiction span the entire world. The World Health Organization, in a 2004 report on the global impact of alcohol use, cited many serious diseases related to alcohol addiction, including cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, cardiovascular disease and mental conditions.

Effects

• In addition to the economic costs, alcohol addiction correlates with a wide range of social problems. These include divorce, child and spousal abuse, drunken driving and other criminal offenses. Alcohol addiction also affects quality of life in neighborhoods heavily populated by seedy bars and liquor stores, where many alcoholics may consume and purchase alcohol.