Author: John Carter

Excessive Alcohol Use: A Drain on the American Economy Infographics Online Media Alcohol

Achieving a reduction in the harmful use of alcohol in line with the targets included in the SDG 2030 agenda and the WHO Global Monitoring Framework for Noncommunicable Diseases requires concerted action by countries, effective global governance and appropriate engagement of all relevant stakeholders. By working together effectively, the negative health and social consequences of alcohol can be reduced. WHO emphasizes the development, implementation and evaluation of cost-effective interventions for harmful use of alcohol as well as creating, compiling and disseminating scientific information on alcohol use and dependence, and related health and social consequences. For comparison, regular beer is 5% alcohol by volume (alc/vol), table wine is about 12% alc/vol, and straight 80-proof distilled spirits is 40% alc/vol.

The researchers believe that the study still underestimates the cost of excessive drinking because information on alcohol is often underreported or unavailable, and the study did not include other costs, such as pain and suffering due to alcohol-related injuries and diseases. The cost of excessive alcohol use in the United States reached $249 billion in 2010, or about $2.05 per drink. 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.

1. Do you know how much money you’re spending on alcohol each week, month, or year?
2. There are gender differences in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity, as well as levels and patterns of alcohol consumption.
3. That way you can estimate how many standard drinks you’re being served in a restaurant or bar that uses large glasses and generous serving sizes.

People with a parent, grandparent, or other close relative with alcoholism have a higher risk for becoming dependent on alcohol. Heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause brain damage and other serious problems in the baby. Because it is not yet known whether any amount of alcohol is safe for a developing baby, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not drink.

How many “drinks” are in a bottle of wine?

That way you can estimate how many standard drinks you’re being served in a restaurant or bar that uses large glasses and generous serving sizes. Health, safety and socioeconomic problems attributable to alcohol can be reduced when governments formulate and implement appropriate policies. The harmful use of alcohol can also result in harm to other people, such as family members, friends, co-workers and strangers. †Males reporting having five or more drinks on one occasion, females reporting having four or more drinks on one occasion, in the past 30 days. Enter in the proof of the alcohol in the left field to automatically calculate the alc/vol. Malt beverages are not required to list their alcohol content on the labels, so you may need to visit the bottler’s Web site.

The percent alcohol by volume (alc/vol) for distilled spirits is listed on bottle labels and may be found online as well. Although they have fewer calories, many light beers have almost as much alcohol as regular beer—about 85% as much, or 4.2% versus 5.0% alcohol by volume, on average. A significant proportion of the disease burden attributable to alcohol consumption arises from unintentional and intentional injuries, including those due to road traffic crashes, violence, and suicide. Fatal alcohol-related injuries tend to occur in relatively younger age groups. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance with dependence-producing properties that has been widely used in many cultures for centuries. The harmful use of alcohol causes a high burden of disease and has significant social and economic consequences.

This “increased risk” category contains three different drinking pattern groups. Overall, nearly 20% of people who drink in this category have alcohol use disorder. A typical 25-ounce (750 ml) bottle of table wine holds about 5 “standard” drinks, each containing about 5 ounces. This serving size of wine contains about the same amount of alcohol as a 12-ounce regular beer or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits.

Individual factors include age, gender, family circumstances and socio-economic status. Although there is no single risk factor that is dominant, the more vulnerabilities a person has, the more likely the person is to develop alcohol-related problems as a result of alcohol consumption. Poorer individuals experience greater health and social harms from alcohol consumption than more affluent individuals. These estimates update two previous CDC studies that found excessive drinking cost the U.S. $223.5 billion and cost states and D.C.

Reducing the burden from harmful use of alcohol

The context of drinking plays an important role in the occurrence of alcohol-related harm, particularly as a result of alcohol intoxication. Alcohol consumption can have an impact not only on the incidence of diseases, injuries and other health conditions, but also on their outcomes and how these evolve over time. The cost of excessive alcohol use in the U.S. was almost a quarter trillion dollars in 2010. Implementing effective community-based interventions can reduce excessive drinking and its costs.

Do you know how much money you’re spending on alcohol each week, month, or year? Use this calculator to figure out your average spending on alcohol per week, month, and year. † Number of binge drinking occasions in the past 30 days among adults who reported binge drinking.

Alcohol spending calculator

The Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH) has been developed by WHO to dynamically present data on levels and patterns of alcohol consumption, alcohol-attributable health and social consequences and policy responses at all levels. There are gender differences in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity, as well as levels and patterns of alcohol consumption. The percentage of alcohol-attributable deaths among men amounts to 7.7 % of all global deaths compared to 2.6 % of all deaths among women. Total alcohol per capita consumption in 2016 among male and female drinkers worldwide was on average 19.4 litres of pure alcohol for males and 7.0 litres for females.

Low-risk drinking

† Largest number of drinks consumed on an occasion in the past 30 days among adults who reported binge drinking. About 50% of people who drink in this group have alcohol use disorder. Examples of medical conditions for which it’s safest to avoid drinking include liver disease (such as from hepatitis C), bipolar disorder, abnormal heart rhythm, and chronic pain. A  causal relationship has been established between harmful drinking and incidence or outcomes of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. 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. 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 Alcohol Use: A Drain on the American Economy

Societal factors include level of economic development, culture, social norms, availability of alcohol, and implementation and enforcement of alcohol policies. Adverse health impacts and social harm from a given level and pattern of drinking are greater for poorer societies. A variety of factors which affect the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption and the magnitude of alcohol-related problems in populations have been identified at individual and societal levels. The researchers found that the cost of this dangerous behavior impacts many aspects of the drinker’s life and the lives of those around them.