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The Annual Societal Cost of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland Susan J. Varney

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Abstract

Objective: To estimate the annual socioeconomic burden imposed by alcohol misuse on Scottish society.

Design and setting: Resource use attributable to alcohol misuse was obtained from appropriate databases, published literature and a Working Party on Social Work Caseload and Alcohol Misuse. Unit resource costs at 2001/2002 prices were applied to the resource use estimates to determine the annual direct cost attributable to alcohol misuse. Indirect costs arising from excess unemployment, absenteeism from work and premature mortality were also estimated as was the human cost of alcohol misuse arising from premature mortality among the non-working population.

Main outcome measures and results: The annual healthcare cost of managing alcohol misuse was estimated to be £95.6 million. Hospital admissions (57%) and accident and emergency attendances (10%) accounted for the greatest health service costs. Social work services including the Children’s Hearing System were estimated to cost £85.9 million whilst the criminal justice system was estimated to cost £267.9 million. Indirect costs were estimated to account for £404.5 million. The human cost of premature mortality among the non-working population was estimated to be £216.7 million.

Conclusions: Alcohol misuse imposes a substantial burden on Scottish society, costing £1071 million per year at 2001/2002 prices, which is greater than many prevalent illnesses such as stroke, depression and diabetes mellitus. In terms of the statutory agencies, alcohol misuse imposes a greater burden on the criminal justice system than both the health service and social work services. However, the greatest burden is on the individual and society as a whole arising from lost productivity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following members of the Working Party on Social Work Caseload and Alcohol Misuse for their contributions to this study. Alistair Baird, Aberdeen City Council Social Work Department; Kay Barton, Head Substance Misuse Division, Scottish Executive Health Department; Iona Colvin, Glasgow City Council Social Work Department; Mary Cuthbert, Alcohol and Tobacco Issues Branch, Scottish Executive Health Department; Ray de Souza, City of Edinburgh Council Social Work Department; Tom Leckie, Social Work Inspectorate, Scottish Executive; Isobel McCarthy, South Lanarkshire Council Social Work Department.

The authors also thank Dr Jennifer Steedman, Economic Adviser, Health Department Economics and Information Branch, Scottish Executive and Dr John Loudon, Principal Medical Officer (Mental Health), Scottish Executive, for their contribution to this analysis.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Scottish Executive for their financial support of this study. The views expressed are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the views of the Scottish Executive or Scottish Ministers. The authors have no conflicts of interests that are directely relevant to the content of this manuscript.

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    Julian F. Guest (CATALYST Health Economics Consultants)

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Varney, S., Guest, J.F. The Annual Societal Cost of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland Susan J. Varney. Pharmacoeconomics 20, 891–907 (2002). https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-200220130-00003

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