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Costs of Substance Abuse in America

Addiction to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs inflicts a substantial toll on Americans, measurable in terms of deaths and illnesses, social costs, and economic costs. More than one-fourth of Americans over age 15 have a physiological dependence on at least one addictive substance. As a result, 25 percent of all deaths in the United States are caused by addictive substances. In addition, approximately 40 million illnesses and injuries each year are due to addiction.

The economic burden of addiction--including health care costs, lost worker productivity, and crime--is estimated at greater than $400 billion each year. Economic costs are measured as

• Direct Medical Costs (hospital costs attributable to alcohol and drug abuse);
• Morbidity Costs (the losses in productivity due to alcohol and drug abuse);
• Mortality Costs (the present value of future earnings lost due to alcohol and drug abuse and smoking); and
• Other related costs (including the direct and indirect costs related to crime, social welfare expenditures, motor vehicle accidents, and fire destruction attributed to alcohol and drug abuse).

• Direct medical costs: $114,402 billion
• Morbidity costs: $103,047 billion
• Mortality costs: $114,442 billion
• Other related costs: $96,219 billion

• Alcohol-related: 105,000
• Tobacco-related: 446,200
• Drug-related: 38,900

• Alcohol-related: 9,830,000
• Tobacco-related: 26,771,000
• Drug-related: 3,103,600

One out of every eight dollars spent on personal health care in the United States is spent on health care for people suffering from diseases caused by substance abuse. Combined, the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs inflict a greater toll on the health and well-being of Americans than any other single preventable factor. Prevention can play a significant role in reducing the economic burden of substance abuse.

Sources: Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Use of Addictive Substances in the United States and Economic Costs of Substance Abuse, 1995, Proceedings of the Association of American Physicians, V.

To receive a complimentary copy of this PreventionAlert, call SAMSHA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) @ 1-800-729-6686, TDD 1-800-487-4889 (for the hearing impaired.) PREVENTIONAlert is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For information about PREVENTIONAlert, please contact CSAP by phone (301) 443-0581 or e-mail gensley@samhsa.gov

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