Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in the United States, 2006: Final Report
October 2011
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for an average of 79,000 deaths and 2.3 million years of potential life lost in the United States each year, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in this country. In addition to premature mortality, excessive alcohol consumption affects us all through consequences such as additional health care costs, property damage from fire and motor vehicle crashes, increased crime and criminal justice system costs, and lost productivity. The most recent detailed study of the economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption was conducted in 1998, and produced an estimate for 1992. Since then, there have been significant advances in our scientific understanding of the health and social impacts of excessive drinking.
Given the huge public health impact of excessive alcohol consumption and the improvements in scientific understanding since the prior estimates the CDC Alcohol Team, with generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, engaged The Lewin Group to develop updated estimates of the economic cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. The purpose of the study was develop a more current estimate of the economic cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. and also to estimate the cost of binge drinking, drinking by underage youth, and drinking during pregnancy. Estimates were developed for 2006, the most recent year for which cost and outcome data were generally available.
A companion article based on this study was also published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine at
http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797%2811%2900538-1/abstract