Externalities from Alcohol Consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for Policy

doi:10.3390/ijerph6123205

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(12), 3205-3224; doi:10.3390/ijerph6123205

Article

Externalities from Alcohol Consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for Policy

Thomas K. Greenfield ^1,2^,* , Yu Ye ¹ , William Kerr ¹ , Jason Bond ¹ , Jürgen Rehm ^3,4 and Norman Giesbrecht ³

¹ Alcohol Research Group, 6475 Christie Avenue, Suite 400, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA ² Clinical Services Research Training Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA ³ Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1, Canada ⁴ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 3M7, Canada

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 19 October 2009 / Accepted: 5 December 2009 / Published: 11 December 2009

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Research on Alcohol: Public Health Perspectives)

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Abstract: A subsample (n = 2,550) of the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey of adults was used to estimate prevalence and correlates of six externalities from alcohol abuse—family problems, assaults, accompanying intoxicated driver, vehicular accident, financial problems and vandalized property—all from another‘s drinking. On a lifetime basis, 60% reported externalities, with a lower 12-month rate (9%). Women reported more family/marital and financial impacts and men more assaults, accompanying drunk drivers, and accidents. Being unmarried, older, white and ever having monthly heavy drinking or alcohol problems was associated with more alcohol externalities. Publicizing external costs of drinking could elevate political will for effective alcohol controls.

Keywords: externalities; alcohol consumption; heavy drinking; population survey; impact; policy; economics; cost; environment; US

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MDPI and ACS Style

Greenfield, T.K.; Ye, Y.; Kerr, W.; Bond, J.; Rehm, J.; Giesbrecht, N. Externalities from Alcohol Consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for Policy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 3205-3224.

AMA Style

Greenfield T.K., Ye Y., Kerr W., Bond J., Rehm J., Giesbrecht N. Externalities from Alcohol Consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for Policy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2009; 6(12):3205-3224.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Greenfield, Thomas K.; Ye, Yu; Kerr, William; Bond, Jason; Rehm, Jürgen; Giesbrecht, Norman. 2009. "Externalities from Alcohol Consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for Policy." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 6, no. 12: 3205-3224.

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