Brief Report
2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.031Get rights and content

Introduction

Excessive alcohol use cost the U.S. $223.5 billion in 2006. Given economic shifts in the U.S. since 2006, more-current estimates are needed to help inform the planning of prevention strategies.

Methods

From March 2012 to March 2014, the 26 cost components used to assess the cost of excessive drinking in 2006 were projected to 2010 based on incidence (e.g., change in number of alcohol-attributable deaths) and price (e.g., inflation rate in cost of medical care). The total cost, cost to government, and costs for binge drinking, underage drinking, and drinking while pregnant were estimated for the U.S. for 2010 and allocated to states.

Results

Excessive drinking cost the U.S. $249.0 billion in 2010, or about $2.05 per drink. Government paid for $100.7 billion (40.4%) of these costs. Binge drinking accounted for $191.1 billion (76.7%) of costs; underage drinking $24.3 billion (9.7%) of costs; and drinking while pregnant $5.5 billion (2.2%) of costs. The median cost per state was $3.5 billion. Binge drinking was responsible for >70% of these costs in all states, and >40% of the binge drinking–related costs were paid by government.

Conclusions

Excessive drinking cost the nation almost $250 billion in 2010. Two of every $5 of the total cost was paid by government, and three quarters of the costs were due to binge drinking. Several evidence-based strategies can help reduce excessive drinking and related costs, including increasing alcohol excise taxes, limiting alcohol outlet density, and commercial host liability.

Introduction

Excessive alcohol consumption causes about one in ten deaths among working-age adults in the U.S. annually,1 and cost the U.S. an estimated $223.5 billion in 2006.2, 3 However, these economic costs have not been re-evaluated despite ongoing concerns about the public health impact of excessive drinking, underutilization of prevention strategies,4 and economic changes in the U.S. since 2006. This study’s purpose is to update national and state cost estimates to inform the planning and implementation of prevention strategies.5

Section snippets

Methods

Excessive alcohol consumption was defined as binge drinking (four or more drinks per occasion for women; five or more drinks per occasion for men); heavy drinking (more than eight drinks per week for women; and ≥15 drinks per week for men); any alcohol consumption by youth aged <21 years; and any alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

The methodology for the 2006 estimates is described in detail elsewhere.2, 3 Briefly, alcohol-attributable fractions from studies were used to assess the

Results

The estimated cost of excessive drinking in 2010 was $249.0 billion. This equates to $2.05 per drink or $807 per person. Lost productivity comprised 71.9% of costs, health care comprised 11.4%, and other comprised 16.7%. The cost to government was $100.7 billion ($0.83 per drink, $306 per capita) (Table 1, Table 2).

Binge drinking costs ($191.1 billion) represented 76.7% of total costs (Table 1). Binge drinking accounted for $78.7 billion (78.2%) of the $100.7 billion in government costs.

Discussion

Despite the severe economic recession in the U.S. from late 2007 to mid-2009, the cost of excessive drinking increased about 2.7% annually from $223.5 billion in 2006 to $249.0 billion in 2010, significantly outpacing the 1.9% annual inflation rate during this four-year time period. Had the recession not occurred, the cost of excessive drinking in 2010 might have been even higher than estimated in this study given the significant reduction in labor force participation that occurred as a result

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the assistance of: Marissa Esser, MPH, Alcohol Program, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), CDC; Dafna Kanny, PhD, Alcohol Program, NCCDPHP, CDC; Yong Liu, MD, MS, Division of Population Health, NCCDPHP, CDC; and Jessica B. Mesnick, MPH, Alcohol Program, NCCDPHP, CDC.

Dr. Sacks received funding for this project from CDC via contract 200-2013-M-57540. All authors participated in (1) study conception/design and data acquisition;

References (16)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

View full text
Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.