Excessive Drinking is Draining the U.S. Economy

"The cost of excessive alcohol use in the U.S. rose to almost a quarter trillion dollars in 2010. Implementing effective community-based interventions can reduce excessive drinking and its costs.

Excessive alcohol use is known to kill about 88,000 people in the United States each year, but a CDC study suggests it is also a drain on the American economy, mostly due to losses in workplace productivity.

Overview of study findings

Total costs
The cost of excessive alcohol use in the United States reached $249 billionin 2010, or about $2.05 per drink. Most (77%) of these costs were due to binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as drinking four or more alcoholic beverages per occasion for women or five or more drinks per occasion for men. Further, 2 of every 5 dollars were paid by federal, state, and local governments, demonstrating that we are all paying for excessive alcohol use.

 

State costs
Excessive alcohol use cost states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) a median of $3.5 billion in 2010, ranging from $488 million in North Dakota to $35 billion in California. D.C. had the highest cost per person ($1,526, compared to the $807 national average), and New Mexico had the highest cost per drink ($2.77, compared to the $2.05 national average)..."
Excessive drinking

US Adults Drink 17 Billion Binge Drinks a Year

"Don’t binge drink. Drinking less reduces the chance you’ll harm yourself or others.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming 4 or more drinks on an occasion (2-3 hours) for women and 5 or more drinks on an occasion for men.

Binge drinking is responsible for over half of the 88,000 alcohol-attributable deaths and three quarters of the $249 billion economic costs of excessive drinking each year in the United States.

Binge drinking can result in dangerous driving, risky sexual behavior, and violent behavior. Over time, binge drinking also increases the risk of other serious health problems, including cancer, heart disease, and liver failure.

U.S. adults consume more than 17 billion binge drinks, or about 470 binge drinks per binge drinker annually.¹ While binge drinking is more common among young adults aged 18-34 years, more than half of the binge drinks consumed each year are by adults aged 35 years or older. Adult binge drinkers binge frequently, about once a week, and at high intensity, averaging seven drinks per binge, significantly increasing the risk of harm to themselves and others..."
Binge drinkers

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention

"CDC recently reported that 1 in 8 women and 1 in 5 high school girls binge drink, increasing their risk of breast cancer, heart disease, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy. CDC also reports that 1 in 13 women drink during pregnancy, increasing their risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of lifelong disorders in their babies known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)..."
Alcohol Screening

Binge Drinking

"New estimates show that binge drinking is a bigger problem than previously thought. More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink, about 4 times a month, and on average the largest number of drinks consumed is eight. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a short period of time.

As reported in this month’s Vital Signs, the CDC found that those who were thought less likely to binge drink actually engage in this behavior more often and consume more drinks when they do. While binge drinking is more common among young adults aged 18–34 years, binge drinkers aged 65 years and older report binge drinking more often—an average of five to six times a month. Similarly, while binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more, the largest number of drinks consumed on an occasion is significantly higher among binge drinkers with household incomes less than $25,000—an average of eight to nine drinks per occasion, far beyond the amount thought to induce intoxication...

1 in 4 High School Students and Young Adults Report Binge Drinking
"0 percent of high school students who drink, binge drink

More than 1 in 4 high school students and adults ages 18 to 34 engaged in a dangerous behavior known as binge drinking during the past month, according to the findings from a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows that each year more than 33 million adults have reported binge drinking, defined as having four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a short period of time, usually a couple of hours. And the report said levels of binge drinking have not declined during the past 15 years.

The CDC report found men are more than twice as likely to binge drink than women (21 percent compared to 10 percent). It said binge drinking is more common among non-Hispanic whites (16 percent of whom binge drink) than among non-Hispanic blacks, (10 percent of whom binge drink)..."