madmick19
Bluelight Crew
I went to the launch of this research today which was pretty interesting. It would appear that only now do we have the research eveidence that goes beyond the use of the individual and looks at the broarder social costs of alcohol. Funny ever since the 2008 addiction conference many of the policy makers and researchers are talking about a return to grass roots community action promoting moderation
COST OF ALCOHOL MISUSE GOES BEYOND THE DRINKER
NEW RESEARCH SHOWS HARM CAUSED BY OTHER’S DRINKING
MORE THAN DOUBLES ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ALCOHOL MISUSE
• Total cost of alcohol misuse now estimated at $36 billion annually
• This includes tangible costs of $24.7 billion
• New report shows $20 billion in costs caused by someone else’s drinking
• Over 73% of adults are negatively affected by someone else’s drinking
• Almost 70,000 Australians are reported victims of alcohol-related assaults every
year, including 24,000 victims of domestic violence
• Almost 20,000 children across Australia are victims of substantiated alcoholrelated
child abuse [in 2006/07]
24 August 2010: A new report launched today, commissioned by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER Foundation), found the hidden cost of harms caused by someone else’s drinking brings the total economic impact of alcohol misuse to $36 billion annually, more than double previous estimates.
This includes tangible costs of $24.7 billion and intangible costs of $11.4 billion¹. The report, ‘The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others’, found the cost of harm to others totalled more than $20 billion annually². This is in addition to the known cost identified by Collins and Lapsley in 2008³, bringing the new total to $36 billion. The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others report, undertaken by the AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research in Melbourne, provides an insight into how individual acts of alcohol misuse ripple through families and communities. It analyses the rarely studied connections between child protection, health, law enforcement and family services.
In compiling this report, researchers drew on and analysed a wide variety of existing⁴ and newly developed data, including a national survey completed in 2008 of more than 2,600 Australians aged 18 years or older. AER Foundation Director Rev. Tim Costello said “When people drink too much, they often
fail to acknowledge the negative impact this can have on their friends, family, colleagues and the broader community. We often hear stories of family breakdowns, domestic violence, child neglect and violence on the streets. This highlights the causal link between alcohol misuse and entirely avoidable personal trauma.”
Other key findings include:
• The tangible and intangible costs caused by someone else’s drinking totals more
than $20 billion
• Tangible costs equate to $14.3 billion which consists of out-of-pocket costs, forgone
wages or productivity, and hospital and child protection costs
• Intangible costs equate to $6.4 billion. These are costs assigned to lost quality of life
due to someone else’s drinking
• 367 deaths and 13,669 hospitalisations because of the drinking of others [in 2005]
• $88.6 million in total morbidity costs, due to the drinking of others (hospital costs,
road crash injury cases and assault)
• 29% of the population reported being negatively affected by the drinking of
someone who was well known to them
• More than 10 million Australians experienced some negative effect of a stranger’s
drinking in one year
• 43% of people reported experiencing alcohol-related harm (physical, verbal or fear)
from the drinking of someone not known to them, and altogether 70% reported
experiencing noise, annoyance or worse
• $1.6 billion a year in cost of repairs to property and personal belongings due to
drinking by a stranger
• Women nominated being negatively affected by the drinking of a relative or
household member more frequently than men (14% vs 8%)
• Men and women nominated being negatively affected by the drinking of friends
almost equally (12% vs 11%)
“Behind each of these statistics lie personal, family and community problems that stem from the harms associated with the drinking of others. Although we don’t know the details of the stories behind these statistics, the majority of Australians will know of times when they themselves, or those close to them, have been affected by other people’s drinking,” Rev. Costello said.
“The results are clear: too many Australians are experiencing the negative impact of other’s drinking. A range of evidence-based measures is needed to shift Australia’s drinking culture. These figures demonstrate the need for population-wide strategies including volumetric taxation, licensing restrictions and mandatory regulation of alcohol advertising.” The report will also be discussed at the AER Foundation workshop at the United Nations Department of Public Information/Non Government Organisation Conference in Melbourne
from 30 August to 1 September 2010.
Citations:
¹Tangible costs consist of out-of-pocket expenses, forgone wages and productivity. Intangible costs
COST OF ALCOHOL MISUSE GOES BEYOND THE DRINKER
NEW RESEARCH SHOWS HARM CAUSED BY OTHER’S DRINKING
MORE THAN DOUBLES ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ALCOHOL MISUSE
• Total cost of alcohol misuse now estimated at $36 billion annually
• This includes tangible costs of $24.7 billion
• New report shows $20 billion in costs caused by someone else’s drinking
• Over 73% of adults are negatively affected by someone else’s drinking
• Almost 70,000 Australians are reported victims of alcohol-related assaults every
year, including 24,000 victims of domestic violence
• Almost 20,000 children across Australia are victims of substantiated alcoholrelated
child abuse [in 2006/07]
24 August 2010: A new report launched today, commissioned by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER Foundation), found the hidden cost of harms caused by someone else’s drinking brings the total economic impact of alcohol misuse to $36 billion annually, more than double previous estimates.
This includes tangible costs of $24.7 billion and intangible costs of $11.4 billion¹. The report, ‘The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others’, found the cost of harm to others totalled more than $20 billion annually². This is in addition to the known cost identified by Collins and Lapsley in 2008³, bringing the new total to $36 billion. The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others report, undertaken by the AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research in Melbourne, provides an insight into how individual acts of alcohol misuse ripple through families and communities. It analyses the rarely studied connections between child protection, health, law enforcement and family services.
In compiling this report, researchers drew on and analysed a wide variety of existing⁴ and newly developed data, including a national survey completed in 2008 of more than 2,600 Australians aged 18 years or older. AER Foundation Director Rev. Tim Costello said “When people drink too much, they often
fail to acknowledge the negative impact this can have on their friends, family, colleagues and the broader community. We often hear stories of family breakdowns, domestic violence, child neglect and violence on the streets. This highlights the causal link between alcohol misuse and entirely avoidable personal trauma.”
Other key findings include:
• The tangible and intangible costs caused by someone else’s drinking totals more
than $20 billion
• Tangible costs equate to $14.3 billion which consists of out-of-pocket costs, forgone
wages or productivity, and hospital and child protection costs
• Intangible costs equate to $6.4 billion. These are costs assigned to lost quality of life
due to someone else’s drinking
• 367 deaths and 13,669 hospitalisations because of the drinking of others [in 2005]
• $88.6 million in total morbidity costs, due to the drinking of others (hospital costs,
road crash injury cases and assault)
• 29% of the population reported being negatively affected by the drinking of
someone who was well known to them
• More than 10 million Australians experienced some negative effect of a stranger’s
drinking in one year
• 43% of people reported experiencing alcohol-related harm (physical, verbal or fear)
from the drinking of someone not known to them, and altogether 70% reported
experiencing noise, annoyance or worse
• $1.6 billion a year in cost of repairs to property and personal belongings due to
drinking by a stranger
• Women nominated being negatively affected by the drinking of a relative or
household member more frequently than men (14% vs 8%)
• Men and women nominated being negatively affected by the drinking of friends
almost equally (12% vs 11%)
“Behind each of these statistics lie personal, family and community problems that stem from the harms associated with the drinking of others. Although we don’t know the details of the stories behind these statistics, the majority of Australians will know of times when they themselves, or those close to them, have been affected by other people’s drinking,” Rev. Costello said.
“The results are clear: too many Australians are experiencing the negative impact of other’s drinking. A range of evidence-based measures is needed to shift Australia’s drinking culture. These figures demonstrate the need for population-wide strategies including volumetric taxation, licensing restrictions and mandatory regulation of alcohol advertising.” The report will also be discussed at the AER Foundation workshop at the United Nations Department of Public Information/Non Government Organisation Conference in Melbourne
from 30 August to 1 September 2010.
Citations:
¹Tangible costs consist of out-of-pocket expenses, forgone wages and productivity. Intangible costs
