Cost of alcohol harm up by 40%
What this report is clearly showing, is that the problem is getting worse and, as well as needing to improve how we support people today to start to reverse the increase in alcohol consumption, we need to protect future generations from harm. There is no ‘one solution’ but there are steps we can take that we know will help.
Alice Wiseman
ADPH Vice President
New research from the Institute of Alcohol Studies has found that alcohol harm costs society in England £27.44 billion each year.
The figures, which were calculated in the first nationwide analysis of its kind in over 20 years, show a 40% increase in the cost of harm from alcohol since 2023.
The report also concludes that tax revenue from alcohol only raises around £12.5 billion each year.
Responding to the report, Alice Wiseman, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:
“We have known for a long time that alcohol consumption places an avoidable burden on society – that there has been a 40% rise in the cost to society from alcohol in the last 20 years really puts into perspective the scale of this issue.
“Half of police workload is alcohol related, 40% of ambulance time is spent responding to alcohol-related incidents and around 17 million working days are lost every year because of alcohol-related sickness – these are staggering statistics.
“These costs are of course putting strain on the economy now, but unless we address the situation, the costs will be felt long into the future. One in five children live with a parent who has an alcohol use disorder, and these children are themselves twice as likely to go on to develop an alcohol use disorder themselves.
“This isn’t just about the economy though. There is an unquantifiable, human cost of lives lost, health problems, financial worries, relationship breakdowns and more associated with alcohol use. This ongoing cycle of both financial and personal cost can’t be allowed to continue.
“What this report is clearly showing, is that the problem is getting worse and, as well as needing to improve how we support people today to start to reverse the increase in alcohol consumption, we need to protect future generations from harm.
“There is no ‘one solution’ but there are steps we can take that we know will help. For example, the alcohol industry’s huge marketing machine needs to be regulated much more rigorously so that we are no longer bombarded with the message that alcohol is a safe, attractive product. We also need to reduce the availability and affordability of alcohol by introducing minimum unit pricing.
“The evidence is all there – alcohol is harmful. It harms individuals and, if that isn’t motive enough, it harms our country’s economy. What’s needed now is for the Government to take action and develop a new alcohol strategy so that we can drive down the increasing, and unacceptable, cost of alcohol harm.”