Impact of Alcohol

Americans spend about $100 billion each year on beverage alcohol. In purchasing a variety of perceived benefits and pleasures, they pay more than $13 billion annually in alcohol revenues or taxes. Through alcohol abuse, they also generate a yearly expenditure of $150 billion. This total, estimated annual cost of national alcohol problems reflects expenditures for death expenses, reduced productivity in the workplace, lost employment, motor-vehicle crashes, crime, welfare programs, incarceration, and treatment and rehabilitation services.

At present, all states provide for the legal sale and consumption of beverage alcohol. However, specific restrictions controlling its manufacture, availability, and the time, place, occasion, and qualifications for drinking persist. For example, more than 200 counties in 17 states allow "package" or container sales only, and another 400 counties in 15 states prohibit all sales of alcoholic beverages. In addition, all states now have adopted the 21-year-old minimum drinking age.

While drinking may still be considered a social norm, for the vast majority of Americans, alcohol use in not a very important part of their lives. In fact, just one-third of the total drinking-age population consumes more than 90% of all alcoholic beverages in the United States. However, there are approximately 12 million identified alcoholics today in the United States, of whom about 20% to 50% are women.

When does alcohol begin to be a problem? The key appears to be "loss of control." Clinically, an individual is diagnosed as alcoholic if he/she continues to drink even though alcohol is causing physical, emotional, family, social, or occupational problems.

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