Bar Drinks Costs $2 More

Alcohol consumption costs the U.S. over 220 billion dollars

(RxWiki News) For many Americans, Friday is just the beginning of a three day break. During this time, alcohol consumption is not uncommon and apparently it’s extremely costly for the U.S. and you.

Binge drinking is considered consuming four or more alcoholic beverages in a short amount of time on one occasion for women and five or more for men. And this is what researchers have found to be the most common form of excessive drinking in the United States.

"Binge drinking is dangerous and ends up costing a lot of money."

Not only is excessive drinking emptying your wallet, it’s also affecting other parts of your life, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say.

The experts found that a loss of workplace productivity accounted for 72 percent of the total losses. Health care expenses, criminal justice expenses, and motor vehicle accident costs accounted for the rest of the funds.

CDC researchers used the most recent national data from 2006 and found that the cost of excessive drinking equaled out to $746 dollars for each man, woman and child in the United States.

One out of every seven people binge drinks and it’s most common in wealthy men between the ages of 18 to 34. Even though many Americans binge drink, it does not mean they have an addiction.

The CDC provides tips on how to reduce these economic costs:

  • Increase alcohol excise taxes
  • Reduce the number of places the sell alcohol
  • Reduce the days and hours alcohol is sold
  • Alcohol retailers should be liable for injuries or damages done by intoxicated or underage customers
     
Review Date: 
October 18, 2011