Binge Drinking Costly to Society

Heavy drinking, binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption continues to place a growing financial burden on Americans, which is not a welcomed sign in the current economic climate. Excessive drinking is estimated to cost the United States $223.5 billion each year, the latest government figures show.

Much of that costs comes in the form of lost productivity due to missing work with hangovers.

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the cost of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 - the latest year full data is available - at about $746 per person, or a total of almost $224 billion.

A similar study in 1998, put that cost at $185 billion.

Lost Productivity, Health Care

The cost of heavy alcohol consumption breaks down like this:

• 72% for lost productivity.
  
• 11% for healthcare costs.
  
• 9% for law enforcement and courts.
  
• 6% auto crashes by drunk drivers.

For the sake of the study, the CDC defined excessive alcohol consumption, or heavy drinking, as an average of more than one drink a day for women and an average of more than two drinks for men. It also included any alcohol consumption by pregnant women or underage drinkers.

Who Is Hit the Hardest?

The CDD study also showed who pays the most of the binge drinking costs:

Local, state and federal governments bear 42% of the costs.

Family members pay about 41.5% of the costs.

Government agencies pay 61% of related healthcare costs.

Drinkers and their family face 55% of the costs due to lost of productivity

Hangover Passed on to All of Us

"This research captures the reality that binge drinking means binge spending and, left unchecked, the burdensome cost of excessive drinking will only go up," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D. "Unfortunately the hangover is being passed on to all of us in the workplace and the health and criminal justice systems. The cure is responsible individual behavior combined with the successful policies we used to decrease smoking in the United States."

Health officials recommend that communities reduce these costs by increasing the cost of alcohol and reducing the number of outlets that sell alcohol in their communities. Both have been shown to reduce alcohol consumption.

^{Source: Bouchery, EE, et al, "Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in the U.S., 2006." American Journal of Preventive Medicine November 2011.}

Related Information:

• How Much Is Too Much?
  
• What Is At-Risk Drinking?
  
• Binge Drinking Risky on Many Levels

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