Report: Arizona drinkers cost taxpayers $860 per person
Aug 14, 2013, 4:00 PM | Updated: Aug 22, 2013, 1:19 pm
PHOENIX — You may want to think twice before saying, “Just one more.”
According to The Daily Mail, every Arizonan that drinks costs taxpayers about $864 every year in lost productivity, criminal justice and medical expenses.
About 42 percent of the cost of heavy drinking was paid by state or federal funds – whether through Medicare and Medicaid or by other government services. That amounted to the largest share of the cost – and less than the cost paid by heavy drinkers and their families.
Some 70percent of the costs of excessive alcohol use was incurred by binge drinkers – those who consume five or more drinks in a single sitting.
On average, each drink someone has costs taxpayers about $2 in additional costs.
Overall, drinking-related costs in the United States average about $223.5 billion per year.
