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Economic Impact from Long-Term Consumption of Alcohol
There is currently no consistent approach in measuring the economic impact of alcohol consumption. The economic burden such as direct, indirect, and intangible cost of diseases can be estimated through cost-of-illness studies. Direct costs are estimated through prevalence and incidence studies, while indirect costs are estimated through the human capital method, the demographic method, and the friction cost method. It is difficult to accurately measure the economic impact due to differences in methodologies, cost items related to alcohol consumption, and measurement techniques.

Alcohol dependence has far reaching impact on health outcomes. In one study conducted in Germany in 2016, researchers found the economic burden for those dependent on alcohol is 50% higher than those who are not. Over half of the economic burden was due to lost productivity, and only 6% was due to alcohol treatment program. The economic burden was mostly borne by individuals between 30 - 49 years old. In another study conducted with data from eight European countries, 77% of Alcohol dependent patients suffered from psychiatric and somatic comoborbidities, which in turn increase systematic healthcare and economic cost. Alcohol consumption also has a detrimental impact on infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and pneumonia, when the immune system is adversely affected by alcohol consumption.

In-direct costs due to alcohol dependence are significant. The biggest indirect cost comes from lost productivity, followed by premature mortality. Men with alcohol dependence in the U.S. have lower labor force participiration (2.5%), lower earnings (5.0%), and higher absenteeism of 0.5 - 1.2 days. Female binge drinkers have higher absenteeism of 0.4 - 0.9 days. Premature mortality is another large contributor to in-direct cost of alcohol dependence. In 2004, 3.8% of global deaths are attributable to alcohol, 6.3% for men and 1.1 for women. Those under 60 years old have much higher prevalence, with 5.3% of deaths attributable to alcohol.

In general, in-direct cost such as premature mortality due to alcohol dependence, loss of productivity due to absenteeism and presenteeism, and cost of property damage and enforcement, far exceed the direct health care and law enforcement costs. Aggregating the economic burden from all sources, the impact can range from 0.45% - 5.44% of a country's gross domestic product (GDP). The wide range is due to inconsistency in measurement of economic burden, as researchers in some studies attributed possible positive effect from long term alcohol consumption, such as lower risk of cardiovascular illness.