Transcript Chapter One: Shaping Your Health

Chapter Two:
Alcohol and Its Costs
points for consideration
 Alcohol use in the U.S.
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Patterns of alcohol consumption
Social costs related to alcohol use
Personal costs resulting from alcohol
drinking in the U.S.
 Alcohol legally available drug
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65% of all Americans drink
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Statistically average American
annual consumption = 2.18 gal. ethanol
30 % from liquor
14 % from wine
56 % from beer
variety of drinking patterns
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Statistically average American is a myth
Drinking patterns are variable
Drinking patterns vary with —
 gender
 household income
 age
 education
 race
 geographic region
 marital status
 community type
 religion
 marital status
distribution
of
consumption
demographics of drinking
 Gender: Women less likely to drink
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Age: Above age 25, older people drink less
Race/ethnicity
 Whites highest rate of drinkers
 Hispanics & African-Americans large
number non-drinkers —
 Racial/ethnic groups % of non-drinkers
• 48% Hispanic women
• 54% African-American women
• 43% African-American men
• 33% Hispanic men
demographics of drinking (cont.)
 Education
use increases with education
 34 % less than high school diploma drink
 63% college graduates drink
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Income level
 drinking rises with income
demographics of drinking (cont.)
 Geographical region
 Northeast highest % drinkers
 South lowest % of drinkers
 But South highest per capita
consumption among drinkers
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Marital status
 Widowers lowest % drinkers,
remainder little difference
 Highest % heavy drinking among nevermarried
international comparisons
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Why comparisons are difficult
 different ways of collecting data
 variation in proportion of population
who drinks
Nonetheless. . .
 differences are diminishing
 declines in developed countries
 increases in developing countries
economic considerations
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Economic costs related to alcohol use
 health care, lost work, crime, injuries
Economic benefits to society
 tax revenues, hospitality industry,
beverage industry
Cost-benefits
 for each $1 taxes, $10 costs
social costs alcohol, 1998
$ billion
Reduced productivity, work
Reproduced productivity, home
Motor crashes
Related illness
Unintentional injury (not auto)
Crime
FAS
Alcohol Treatment
87.7
15.0
20.9
15.9
17.6
7.2
11.2
8.5
% costs
47.8
8.2
11.3
8.6
9.6
3.9
6.0
4.6
personal costs
Alcohol disproportionately a factor in
 injuries
 burns and fires
 falls
 motor vehicle fatalities
 suicide
 water mishaps
 crime
 violence
 health care costs
health care and alcohol use
Those with alcohol problems . . .
 have a disproportionate
share of health care costs
 represent about 10% of
population, but 20% of
hospitalizations, and
 the members of their families have
higher use of health care
alcohol problems: prevalence
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7.7% of those 12 years or older
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Of those with an alcohol problem,
17% also have a drug problem
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One in three people report
having a family member
with an alcohol problem
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Only 5% of those with alcohol
problem are on skid row or homeless
focus on drugs: Afghanistan
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Afghanistan produces 90% of opium poppy
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Why?
Land poorly suited for other
crops
 Poppy cultivation well suited
to small plots
 Poppy provides access to credit
 Loan repaid not in $ but next
year’s crop
 No other crop provides
comparable income
 Wages for laborers harvesting
opium are twice that paid for
other crops
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