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Simon M. Rosen, Marin Institute Ted R. Miller, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Michele R. Simon, Marin Ins

Simon M. Rosen, Marin Institute Ted R. Miller, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Michele R. Simon, Marin Institute. The Cost of Alcohol in California. California Largest Alcohol Market in the U.S. Spirits - 47.66*. Wine 117.84*. Beer 651.25*.

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Simon M. Rosen, Marin Institute Ted R. Miller, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Michele R. Simon, Marin Ins

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  1. Simon M. Rosen, Marin InstituteTed R. Miller, Pacific Institute for Research and EvaluationMichele R. Simon, Marin Institute The Cost ofAlcohol in California

  2. CaliforniaLargest Alcohol Market in the U.S. Spirits - 47.66* Wine 117.84* Beer 651.25* • California alcohol sales $19.5 billion in 2005 • More than 817,322,000 gallons of alcohol were sold in California in 2005* • Beer represented almost 80% of these sales *Source: NIAAA California Alcohol Sales

  3. What’s NewAbout This Study? • First comprehensive study in California estimating the total cost of alcohol in the state • Includes quality of life costs, as analyzed in Ted Miller’s national study on underage drinking* • Examines the role of alcohol in risky sexual behavior, the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, and teen pregnancy *Ted Miller et al., 2005 – Societal Cost of Underage Drinking

  4. Methodology • We analyzed moderate-to-high consumption effects • For each of type of harm, we found the number of non-fatal and fatal cases that occurred in California • We then estimated the proportion of those cases attributable to alcohol use • Finally, we estimated the cost of each case

  5. Types of Harm Associated with Alcohol Illness Crime Injury Traffic

  6. Types of Costs Related to Alcohol Use Value of tangible goods and services (e.g. adjudication and sanctioning costs of an assault) Direct Costs Loss of work either in the workplace or at home (e.g. lost work of the victim of an assault) Indirect Costs Pain, suffering, and lost quality of life (e.g. reduced quality of life due to permanent physical and/or mental trauma) Quality of Life Costs

  7. Alcohol-related Deaths 9,439 Deaths caused by: • Illness: 5,382 (more than half) • Injury: 2,371 • Traffic Collision: 1,144 • Violent Crime: 533 • One person dies every hour due to alcohol use

  8. The Cost of Alcohol in California $38 Billion • Roughly $1,000 per California resident or $3,000 per family • A cost of $2.80 per drink consumed • Current taxes are only 8 cents per drink

  9. Breakdown of Costs $5.4 billion in medical costs $7.8 billion in criminal justice and highway patrol costs $25.3 billion in lost productivity 22% ($8.3 billion) of all costs fall on government finances

  10. How Alcohol Destroys Health The Cost of Alcohol-related Illness Total economic costs are $18.2 billion Digestive diseases such as liver cirrhosis cause 3,357 deaths Alcohol causes 49,400high-risk sex incidents

  11. How Alcohol Causes Bodily Harm Injury and Traffic Collisions 3,524 deaths each year and 109,917 non-fatal injuries 784 suicides annually 26% of all traffic deaths are caused by alcohol Annual economic cost of injury and traffic collisions totals $12.4 billion

  12. How Alcohol Contributes to Crime The Cost of Violence 90% of crime costs are for violent crime Over 360,000 assaults, 26,000 rapes and 10,000 incidents of child abuse Alcohol-fueled violent crime costs the medical and mental health sectors $800 million and the criminal justice system $4.8 billion

  13. Quality of Life Costs Total quality of life costs: $48.8 billion This is the equivalent of losing 14,400 lives in California annually Fatalities from illness, injury, traffic collisions, and crime account for 51% of quality of life costs The remaining 49% is borne by survivors of alcohol-related crime, injury, traffic collisions, and illnesses Permanent disability caused by injury and traffic collisions accounts for $13.4 billion in costs, while the victims of rape and assault and their families bear $8.6 billion in quality of life costs

  14. Comparing Alcohol with Other Disasters Alcohol costs are more than twice that of tobacco Equal to a Northridge-style earthquake every year Higher than Loma Prieta, Oakland fires, and So. Cal. fires (2003) combined

  15. What Can We Do? • The devastating toll of alcohol harm in California is not inevitable • Most, if not all, costs can be entirely prevented • Enacting effective government policies could significantly reduce much of the harm caused by alcohol

  16. Recommendations 1) Require an annual study on the societal harm and costs caused by alcohol consumption in California 2) Adequately fund counties and cities to mitigate and prevent harm 3) Curb alcohol industry lobbying and influence which blocks public policy efforts to reduce harm 4) Raise fees by implementing an alcohol producer surcharge to cover government programs 5) Raise alcohol excise taxes to reduce excessive consumption and the related harm and costs

  17. Citation and Contact Published Article Rosen, SM, Miller, TR, Simon, M (2008). The Cost of Alcohol in California. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Vol. 32 No. 11. Simon Rosen simonr@marininstitute.org (415) 257-2487 www.marininstitute.org

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