The various health problems associated with long-term alcohol consumption are generally perceived as detrimental to society, for example, money due to lost labor-hours, medical costs, and secondary treatment costs. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor for head injuries, motor vehicle accidents, violence, and assaults. Beyond money, there is also the pain and suffering of the all individuals besides the alcoholic affected. For instance, alcohol consumption by a pregnant woman can lead to Fetal alcohol syndrome,^[1] an incurable and damaging condition.^[2]

Estimates of the economic costs of alcohol abuse, collected by the World Health Organization, vary from one to six per cent of a country’s GDP.^[3] One Australian estimate pegged alcohol’s social costs at 24 per cent of all drug abuse costs; a similar Canadian study concluded alcohol’s share was 41 per cent.^[4]

A study quantified the cost to the UK of all forms of alcohol misuse as £18.5–20 billion annually (2001 figures).^[5]