Reducing Booze Consumption Better For Public Health And Economy, Australia

Date: May-18-2012According to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health, Australia could yield economic and health benefits by reducing its overall national yearly alcohol consumption.

In 2008, researchers estimated the economic benefits Australia could achieve in health, production and leisure, if the annual per capita consumption of alcohol would be reduced to a designated average yearly target of 6.4 liters per capita.

They discovered that reducing the annual per capita alcohol consumption by just 3.4 liters would save Australia's health sector $789 million. The saving would be the result of one-third fewer cases of disease, deaths, lost working days and home-based production loss days.

The authors concluded:

"If Australia were able to achieve a national reduction in adult alcohol consumption from an average 9.8 liters to 6.4 liters per capita per year, the largest component of the total potential opportunity cost savings modeled would occur in the health sector, followed by workforce and household production, respectively, using the more realistic FCA (friction cost approach, a more conservative estimate). We estimated a reduction in new cases of alcohol-related disease (alcohol dependence, suicides, injuries and cancers), decline in days absent from work and an increase in days of home-based production."



Written By Petra Rattue

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