Economic Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in the U.S., 2006

Excessive alcohol drinking is the third leading cause of death in the United States, leading to 79,000 premature deaths annually. It is also the cause of increased disease and injury. Although the public health impacts of binge drinking are known, its economic cost has not been assessed for the United States since 1998. Using data from 2006, a new study by Mathematica assessed costs for health care, productivity losses, and other effects, including property damage, from excessive drinking. On a per-capita basis, the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption is approximately $746 per person, mostly attributable to binge drinking.